Perinatal Support Washington (PS-WA) seeks a visionary Executive Director to lead the organization into its next chapter of growth and impact.
We are committed to shining a light on perinatal mental health to support all families and communities. We support people in the emotional transition to parenthood, including those experiencing depression, anxiety, loss, infertility, trauma, and more.
PS-WA is seeking a leader who shares our commitment to supporting families through this transformational time of life. Having recently gone through a period of significant organizational growth and transformation, we are looking for a leader who is excited to work alongside us to stabilize and strengthen our foundation so we can realize PS-WA’s incredible opportunities for impact. We are particularly eager to meet candidates who:
Are experienced nonprofit leaders, with a track record of leading an organization through growth and change.
Have experience building and supporting effective teams, including fostering a culture of collaborative decision-making, supporting wellness, and celebrating and uplifting the lived expertise, knowledge and skills of all staff.
Are practiced and proactive fundraisers with strong relationship-building skills, and demonstrated capacity to support a fast-growing organization through significant momentum.
Are familiar with the perinatal mental health landscape, how to build relationships with peer organizations and providers, and cultivate community partnerships and coalitions to advocate for systemic change and resources.
Understand board governance, volunteer engagement, and nonprofit finance and operations.
Have fluency and experience leading and operationalizing anti-racist culture building efforts and prioritizing trauma-informed, culturally-responsive programming.
Applications submitted by Thursday, October 31 will be given full consideration. Early applications are strongly encouraged. Interviews are anticipated in early to mid November.
Salary Range: $120,000 - $140,000
Come join us in this exciting work!
Perinatal Support Washington (PS-WA) is a statewide non-profit committed to shining a light on perinatal mental health to support all families and communities. Mental health conditions are THE most common complication from pregnancy and birth and the leading cause of death for birthing parents in the first year postpartum. Untreated, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders can also compromise the emotional, cognitive, and physical development of a child. 1 in 5 birthing parents - 1 in 3 birthing parents of color - experience a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, like depression or anxiety. In Washington state, that’s roughly 22,000 birthing parents every year. At PS-WA, we support people in the emotional transition to parenthood, including those experiencing depression, anxiety, loss, infertility, trauma, and more. We connect parents experiencing anxiety and depression with others who’ve been through it, educate providers to better identify and treat affected families, provide access to a network of trained clinicians, and raise awareness of this public health issue.
Our toll-free telephone support line, the "Warm Line", has been operating since 1991, providing peer support to parents in need. We also offer mental health therapy, free and low-cost new parent support groups, culturally-matched peer support in King County, training and consultation for health care providers, and education and advocacy.
Our work is powered by 14 full-time and five part-time staff members, and nine board members, plus dozens of committed volunteers. PS-WA has an annual operating budget of $2 million. While we are based in the Seattle metro area, our support resources are found all over our beautiful state of Washington.
Learn more about our work by viewing our Website; and our Theory of Change
At PS-WA we know that not all support is equal and that culturally appropriate support matters. The burden of marginalized people in navigating a health system that does not recognize their culture, language, or gender expression can affect births and the physical and emotional state of entire families. The trauma caused by racism and oppression exists. At PS-WA we know it is a struggle to find culturally informed services, which is why ensuring that our services are culturally relevant is so important to us. When providers and programs understand the importance of culture in aiding recovery, it will give their clients a better chance to understand themselves and maximize their access to treatment services. We empower programs that see resiliency in disenfranchised communities and represent the community and its needs.
Through our programs, the ultimate vision is to revolutionize perinatal mental health support, ensuring that every parent, regardless of their background, has access to the services and education needed for a transformative journey into parenthood. We aspire to break down barriers, especially in BIPOC communities where such support may be less accessible or normed. Our goal is to create a landscape where perinatal mental health is not only acknowledged but prioritized, fostering emotional well-being and resilience in all parents.
PS-WA is poised for a bright future as we aim to grow our presence across the state as the go-to organization supporting families during this tender stage of parenthood, especially families furthest from access to the services they need. PS-WA seeks an Executive Director ready to lead the organization into this next phase. The Executive Director will play a pivotal role in driving PS-WA’s vision and strategy, ensuring the organization's continued success in perinatal support, resource development, and growing and developing a committed staff team.
The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors and manages two direct reports: the Operations Director, and the Development and Communications Manager. Additionally, the ED will assess needs and available resources to shape a currently vacant Program Director position, and will oversee the program managers until this role can be filled. The new ED will spend their time on these key responsibilities:
Vision and Strategy: Lead staff and Board to align around a vision, strategic priorities and cohesive programs that achieve the desired impact
Staff Leadership: Lead a dedicated, values-aligned team that boasts a high degree of work/life balance, remote flexibility, and a culture of collaborative decision making
Fundraising: Lead fundraising efforts to build the foundation for long-term sustainability that matches our growth. This includes developing and implementing a diversified fundraising strategy and personally cultivating and securing gifts from major donors, foundations and corporate partners
Relationship Building and Raising Visibility: Serve as the chief spokesperson, relationship builder, and representative for PS-WA with key stakeholders
Organizational Management: Ensure all operational aspects of the organization are running smoothly and effectively, including developing and supporting the staff team, and creating and managing the budget
Advocacy: Build out burgeoning advocacy efforts for the organization and champion collaboration among perinatal health partners across Washington state to raise awareness and investment in our shared work
PS-WA is a fully remote team with office space available for occasional in-person staff meetings as needed. The ED can expect to work remotely, with frequent in-person meetings with community in the greater Seattle region.
At PS-WA we know that great leaders can come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and we are excited to meet candidates who reflect the strengths, skills, and values outlined for this role. We seek candidates who possess many of the following qualifications and can recognize areas where they can further grow. Our next Executive Director will:
Possess a strong track record of nonprofit leadership experience, with fluency in long-term financial visioning, oversight and strategic budgeting, as well as the ability to lead strategic planning to set vision, priorities and a diversified revenue strategy to drive impact.
Be a people-centered manager with a demonstrated ability to foster a values-aligned culture that honors lived expertise, and promotes transparency, accountability, professional development, work-life balance, and deep care for staff who provide critical perinatal mental health services to families.
Be a seasoned and fearless fundraiser with strong relationship-building skills, capable of leading efforts to diversify funding sources and building strategic partnerships that fuel growth. They will have exceptional communication and presentation skills to be an effective storyteller and inspire support of our work.
Have deep experience managing staff and board relations, with the ability to build cohesive teams and connective tissue across the organization, lead collaborative decision-making structures, align staffing and roles to strategic goals, and partner effectively with a Board of Directors to build capacity and engagement.
Have demonstrated skills in operationalizing anti-racism in an organization’s culture and in trauma-informed, culturally responsive services.
Possess an understanding of the perinatal mental health landscape at the state and national levels, with the demonstrated ability to strengthen relationships with peer organizations, and build community partnerships and coalitions to advocate for systemic change and investments in perinatal mental health.
A background in, or adjacent knowledge of direct service, social work, education, or early childhood systems is desired. Lived experience with perinatal mental health or related systems is a plus.
The PS-WA team is united in its deep commitment to supporting parents in the emotional transition to parenthood. As a direct-service organization working in mental health, we are committed to honoring each other’s humanity and well-being.
We are collaborative and team oriented, with a culture of learning that extends to our volunteers and providers
We believe in fostering a healthy team culture that supports wellness and work-life balance
Many of us are long-tenured staff, and many of us have personal experience with perinatal mental health
We live throughout the state of Washington and work on a remote, flexible schedule to support healthy work/life balance
This is a full-time salaried position requiring a willingness to work some evenings and weekends. The expected salary range is between $120,000 and $140,000, depending on qualifications and experience.
PS-WA offers 25 days of vacation time per year, 16 paid holidays, and 7 days of sick leave. Staff receive reimbursement for qualified health care expenses up to the QSEHRA maximum (currently $12,450/year for a family). Other benefits include paid family leave, up to 10 mental health days, 30 minute wellness break per 8 hour work day, and 1.5 hours/week paid appointment time.
PS-WA is a fully remote team, with an office located in the Wallingford neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, but our team meets as needed in the greater Seattle area.
Online applications only, please no email or paper submissions. You will be asked to upload a cover letter and resume. In your cover letter, please describe as specifically as you can how your experience, interests, and values are a fit with PS-WA’s goals, mission, and vision for the future as described in this announcement.
Applications received by October 31 will be given full consideration; early applications are strongly encouraged! All applications will be acknowledged via an email receipt. Consideration will be given to applications as soon as they are received; phone interviewing will begin in late October, with search committee interviews expected to begin in mid November.
If you have unanswered questions about the position, please email or schedule a call with Sumi:
Sumi Bhat-Kincaid, Search Consultant
