Mind Share Partners (MSP) is a national nonprofit that is changing the culture of workplace mental health so that both employees and organizations can thrive. It does this for two reasons: to normalize what it looks like to have a mental health challenge at work--which is everyone at some point in their lives--and to address the workplace factors that can cause poor mental health for all employees/workers. MSP believes that if workplaces commit to reducing stigma, supporting their employees with mental health challenges, and addressing related workplace factors, they can drastically improve individual lives, company cultures, and workplace productivity.
MSP has been at the start of a growing movement to support mentally healthy workplaces and is poised to grow its impact with offerings that meet the increasingly complex needs of employers with customized workplace training, strategic advising, and implementation as well as its advocacy work. Over 50% of MSP’s revenue is from client services earned income, with the remainder from a range of philanthropic sources. As one of the only nonprofits exclusively focused on workplace mental health in an increasingly competitive space, MSP brings a unique mission and value proposition to this important work as both a trusted service provider and a movement builder. In close concert with the Board of Directors and the team, the CEO will guide the development of a newly refreshed vision to drive revenue growth and increased impact.
The next CEO will be an authentic storyteller, entrepreneurial visionary, exceptional fundraiser, and sales strategist who will drive the co-creation of MSP’s next iteration of a vision and strategic plan. They will demonstrate the ability to set clear priorities and goals, formulate and execute new revenue generation strategies, and stay agile to pivot in response to external conditions and impact data. The CEO will bring a nuanced, asset-based understanding of mental health as a spectrum, including an understanding of the intersectionality with DEIBJ concepts and the experiences of people with marginalized identities. They will be able to speak personally and openly about their own mental health experience and inspire others to support the organization and the movement. They will bring exceptional communications skills, sales and fundraising expertise, team management and leadership, and an entrepreneurial mindset to the work of elevating MSP’s mission and nurturing connectivity and culture among the team and stakeholders.
HISTORY and VALUES
Mind Share Partners grew out of the idea that both employees and organizations should and could thrive in working relationships. Founder Kelly Greenwood knew that mental health is integral to the future of work as well as to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Old systems, practices, and styles that were negatively impacting employee mental health needed to be reevaluated in an effort to improve the future of work and DEIBJ in our country. Since 2020, workplace mental health has moved from a nice-to-have to a must-have, but few workplaces know how to execute well in this area. The pandemic’s lasting effects, racial reckoning, the political divide, and other factors created an unprecedented awareness of the mental health challenges and has normalized the conversation. MSP seeks to eliminate stigma and create more mentally healthy workplaces. MSP tripled its impact during 2020 and is seeking significant growth this year and beyond.
Since launching in 2017, MSP has proven its program model and continues to scale to meet this unique moment. Revenue is made up of about 55% earned income and 45% raised from the two focused program areas:
Movement Building: MSP leads the social movement to create mentally healthy workplaces. Building public awareness to normalize mental health challenges at work and promote a mentally healthy and sustainable culture of work. This includes engaging in public discussion at events, writing thought leadership pieces and research reports, influencing coalitions, launching campaigns, and coaching senior leaders to be changemakers. MSP hosts a free virtual community that supports the leaders of almost 500 company-sponsored mental health employee resource groups. MSP collaborated with the Office of the Surgeon General on its Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being. It also runs two columns on workplace mental health in Forbes and Thrive Global. Individuals from MSP are regular contributors to Harvard Business Review, including authors of three chapters in a first-of-its-kind book, the HBR Guide to Better Mental Health at Work. MSP’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME,Fast Company, and more.
Workplace training, strategic advising, and implementation: MSP helps executives, managers, and colleagues to build safe spaces, facilitate hard conversations, and learn tools and strategies to navigate mental health at work. MSP uses a proactive and preventative approach with a management lens. The client services function at MSP also serves as an R&D engine that is channeled into MSP’s movement building and cutting-edge thought leadership work. MSP has worked with over 100 industry leaders in tech, finance, professional services, and retail, including BlackRock, Genentech, Morrison Foerster, Pinterest, Yahoo!, and others.
MSP’s values, outlined below, help the organization put this mission into practice:
Impact with Integrity
We are a nonprofit for a reason— to prioritize impact in our programs and decision-making as well as to maintain high ethical standards. We seek true change for workplace mental health—not check-the-box solutions or one-off initiatives.
Strength in Vulnerability
We believe that vulnerability is a strength. We are committed to modeling authenticity, transforming empathy into action, and normalizing the challenges of life—including mental health.
Equity & Inclusion in All Forms
Mental health is the new frontier of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice (DEIBJ)—both as a new category in and of itself and in how it intersects with our identities. We are persistent in the hard and ongoing work to ensure that DEIBJ—in all their forms—are practiced and prioritized across our organization and in our work.
Vision with Action
We are an entrepreneurial team working to re-envision the future of workplace mental health, serving as pragmatic provocateurs. We learn, experiment, and prioritize tangible action—all while staying humble and having fun in the process.
Caliber with Compassion
We strive for excellence without compromising kindness, empathy, and life outside of work. We practice and advocate for inclusive flexibility and sustainable ways of working, recognizing that each of us needs something different to live, work, and be our best.
OPPORTUNITIES and EXPECTATIONS for the CEO
The CEO will be a seasoned executive leader (10+ years in a senior leadership role) who can passionately and authentically speak to current challenges in workplace mental health, the demands that C-Suite leadership and employees are facing to create and sustain supportive environments, and advocate for practical solutions. In collaboration with the Board and team, the CEO will create a 3–5-year strategic plan to grow and position MSP in an increasingly competitive client services landscape of well-resourced for-profit market players. Essential to success will be: (1) networks and relationships to drive business opportunity in client services and with new major donors, (2) examination and evolution of the client services portfolio to drive growth and maximize earned revenue, and (3) capacity and skill to drive thought leadership, movement building, and communications activities to support strategic growth and impact.
Revenue Generation: Fundraising & Sales
The CEO will demonstrate skill in fundraising and resource development, including securing major gifts from high-net-worth individuals, foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, and the like to fuel growth. A core responsibility of the CEO will also be to drive sales and effective market positioning for the client services work. In addition to bringing networks and relationships for potential new work, they will build on a unique mission identity as a nonprofit and support development of new offerings that meet the moment for companies looking for tailored, flexible tools and strategies to measurably improve workplace mental health.
Movement Building
The CEO will be an impactful spokesperson who can speak personally to the importance of mentally healthy workplaces across a range of external stakeholders including historically underrepresented communities, cross-sector thought leaders, advocates, and other strategic partners and influencers such as national press/media, nonprofits, companies, and coalitions – to share and build support for MSP’s vision and mission. In close partnership with the marketing and communications team the CEO will support strategic communications and movement building activities including building a social media presence focused on workplace mental health that will engage and grow an audience of followers, bylined articles, and other published contributions.
People Management & Culture Development
MSP’s passionate team is the heart of the organization. Throughout the COVID pandemic, racial reckoning, national and global challenges, and internal organizational change, the team has tirelessly pushed to think differently about the changing and increased needs of MSP and its offerings. Aligned with MSP’s mission and vision, the CEO will build and nurture honest, authentic, and accountable relationships. They will embody and actualize an organization-wide commitment to listening to, working with, and learning from internal and external partners. The CEO will be a people-centered leader and strong manager with experience in hiring, coaching, and resourcing managers in a values-driven environment as well as implementing effective performance management practices to facilitate the team’s growth and success.
The CEO will support the development and growth of the team and a healthy organizational culture. Specifically, continued development and measurable progress on DEIBJ integration is critical, such that both MSP’s culture and its programmatic work reflects the organization’s collective understanding of intersectionality and centers the experiences and needs of people with marginalized identities. They will work to foster a culture that values equity, transparency, trust, clear communication, and collaboration across MSP while maintaining a healthy, flexible, and caring culture.
Financial Management & Stewardship
In partnership with the senior leadership team, the CEO will lead and nurture a deeply committed team of 14 and bring strong business and financial acumen to manage an operating budget of $2 million and will advance effective business operations. This includes aligning growth with mission, planning for sustainability, and advancing internal policies and practices that reflect the organization’s core values.
Board Relations & Governance
The CEO will partner with the Board to ensure transparency and accountability in organizational governance, financial health, and compliance, and identify current and future leadership needs. The CEO will also leverage the experience, relationships, and wisdom of the board to mobilize and motivate champions for the movement.
DESIRED EXPERIENCE and QUALIFICATIONS
While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications enumerated below, the ideal candidate will possess many of the following professional and personal abilities, attributes, and experiences:
Personal Connection to Mental Health
A personal mental health story that can be told from the “I-voice”/personal lived experience (rather than from a friend or family perspective) and made broadly relevant and engaging, as well as shared in an authentic and vulnerable way.
Understanding of mental health as a broad spectrum of experiences in a strengths-based frame, both inextricable and intersectional to personal identity and lived experiences. Demonstrated depth of understanding of relevant fields and spaces, such as workplace mental health, human resources, learning and development, and diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice (DEIBJ).
Revenue Generator
Experience and orientation toward other types of revenue generation. Background in client services, sales, and/or earned income revenue strategies, including market positioning, services business development, and connecting with senior leaders around MSP’s unique value proposition.
Strategic fundraising orientation to effectively nurture, build, and sustain relationships with mission aligned donors as well as experience raising significant investments from public and private sources, including high net worth individuals, companies, corporate sponsorships, and foundations.
Inspiring Thought Leader
Experience with thought leadership, advocacy, and external relations via writing and speaking, building strategic partnerships, and establishing effective messaging and organizational voice.
Powerful communicator in writing, one on one, in small group settings, and with large audiences. Ability to authentically share the mission of MSP that draws in others. A natural brand-builder, connector, and networker to help expand the MSP network and motivate others. Models humility, vulnerability (especially around mental health) and authenticity.
Strategist and Scaler
Entrepreneurial and audacious spirit with demonstrated organizational, financial, and operational management expertise of a similarly sized or larger organization. Experience with scaling organizations is highly desirable.
Proven experience developing strategic plans, operationalizing effective planning processes, and implementing action steps that align programs and resources with mission and values.
Capacity to take multiple pieces of data, identify trends, risks and opportunities and make strategic recommendations for a path forward.
Team Culture Builder
Collaborative and compassionate leadership mindset, an openness to shared leadership with the Board and team, as well as an effective internal management style with both individuals and teams that breaks down silos and fosters mutual learning and cross team collaboration. A record of bringing a holistic lens to leadership regarding race, socioeconomic status, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, and other identities impacted by equity barriers.
Strong relationship-building skills and a genuine interest in listening to and learning from others. Ability to establish trust, engage partners, as well as act with intentionality and accountability.
Empathy, emotional intelligence, and expertise in change management to guide and further cultivate a values-centered, positive, supportive, and transparent work environment.
The Basics
Ability and willingness to travel as needed for MSP meetings, fundraising events, conferences, and speaking engagements.
Combination of educational, professional, and lived experience aligned with MSP’s mission and values.
This full-time, exempt role can be based anywhere in the United States; MSP has a nationally distributed and fully remote team.
COMPENSATION, BENEFITS, and LOCATION
MSP seeks to live its vision of a mentally healthy and inclusive workplace and below are just some examples of what that looks like in practice:
PTO (Paid Time Off): Four weeks of PTO and 12 paid holidays plus an office shutdown the week prior to New Year’s—more importantly, MSP encourages team members to completely sign off from work when they are on vacation and at the end of their workdays.
Flexibility: MSP has always been a nationally distributed team that puts employees first with flexible work practices. Team members connect often and convene in person for two in-person retreats each year and when necessary.
Benefits: MSP has strong medical (including mental health), dental, and vision benefits, life insurance, a 401k with 2% matching, professional development funds, and a stipend to set up a home office.
Culture: The MSP team is made up of good humans who strive for excellence with balance—they recognize the whole person at work.
The location of this role is flexible within the United States as it is a remote position. The salary range for this role is $190,000 to $215,000.
This search is being led by Allison Kupfer Poteet, Phuong Quach, Sarah Hecklau, and Ellen LaPointe of NPAG. We invite interested candidates to submit a cover letter that includes: (1) what draws you personally to care about the mission of Mind Share Partners, and (2) a brief outline of your qualifications and relevant professional and lived experiences, along with a resume or CV via NPAG’s website.
Mind Share Partners’ Hiring Values
We look at the whole picture: We recognize that neither job descriptions nor people are perfect. If you think you can be successful in this role but don’t meet every listed qualification, we encourage you to apply—we’d love to get to know you and see what you have to offer. We look for “culture adds” not “culture fits.” We want people who push our thinking and who bring a unique perspective to our work.
We seek to build an inclusive team: Mental health is a new frontier of DEIBJ and an intersectional issue that affects groups differently. At Mind Share Partners, we seek to reflect this in our team. We are an equal opportunity employer deeply committed to building an inclusive team with diverse perspectives and experiences from a range of backgrounds and cultures. We actively seek out identities, experiences, and perspectives that we don’t have represented on our team and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability. We strongly encourage people from underrepresented communities within the workplace mental health space to apply.
NPAG was founded in 2002 to bring the rapidly evolving social sector a more current, more strategic and less transactional approach to executive search and talent consulting. NPAG has distinguished itself from its inception as unique in the world of executive search by merging best practices in executive search, organizational strategy, board development, and leadership consulting with transparent project design that enables us to be flexible to our clients, smart about our counsel, ethical about our pricing, and exceptional in our recruitments. Our firm’s mission is to strengthen and increase our clients’ capacity, so they are well positioned to fulfill their own missions. Learn more about our philosophy and services at www.npag.com.
