Executive Director at Cambridge Neighbors

Executive Director at Cambridge Neighbors

Can you write a grant on Tuesday morning and sit at a member's kitchen table on Wednesday afternoon? Cambridge Neighbors is looking for an Executive Director who wants to do both.

River walker Talent has been retained by Cambridge Neighbors to lead this search.

Job Type: Full-Time, Exempt | Four-day work week, Monday–Thursday, onsite role in office | Cambridge, MA | $100,000–$110,000 annually + generous time off

Cambridge Neighbors is a not-for-profit, member-centered organization that helps adults aged 60 and over stay in their own homes and communities as they age. We serve members across Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Somerville, and Watertown, connecting them to trusted services, vetted local providers, lifelong learning, and to one another.

We are part of the national Village-to-Village Network, and we are built on a simple idea: neighbors helping neighbors. Today, 61 volunteers provide nearly all of the services our 240+ members request — including rides to medical appointments, errands, technology support, handyman assistance, friendly visits — supported by a small staff and a network of 125 vetted professional service providers. Membership has grown every year for the past three years, with 50 new members joining this year alone.

We operate on an annual budget of roughly $250K with earned membership fees as a large part of the portfolio.

Cambridge Neighbors seeks an Executive Director to lead a small, well-established organization into its next chapter. Our Executive Director is retiring after seven years in the role, and we are looking for a leader who will honor what has been built here while helping it grow.

This is a hands‑on leadership role in a small organization. You will support a team of three: a full‑time Assistant Director, a part‑time Member Services Coordinator, and a contract bookkeeper. It spans visiting prospective members in their homes and building relationships with members, writing grants, speaking at events and seeking out places to speak, building the vendor network, supporting volunteer management, working with major donors and steering the organization forward.

If you thrive in a role that is different every week, requires a high‑level emotional intelligence and care, utilizes your creative and enterprising skills, and supports older adults across five cities then we want to hear from you!

Two things are at the center of this job The first is member relationships. Members know our Executive Director by name. This person visits prospective members in their homes, hears directly when something isn’t working, and supports staff on collaborating to support their members. Positive relationships yield a high retention rate, supporting the budget. The second is fundraising, roughly half the budget through individual giving, grants, sponsor ships, and legacy gifts.

The ED will report to the Board President and work alongside an engaged, hands‑on Board of Directors. The next Executive Director will be a full partner in that work, and will bring the self‑awareness, steadiness, and clarity to build a trusting, well‑defined working rhythm with a board that cares deeply about this organization and stays close to it.

The organization is financially sound, with three consecutive years of membership growth and a new multi‑year grant supporting member services.

Membership Growth & Member Relationships

• Know our members. Visit prospective members in their homes, or in the office, guide them through onboarding, and strive to stay personally connected to the people we serve.
• Grow membership thoughtfully and strategically.
• Lead retention efforts, including renewals and outreach to members at risk of disengaging.
• Develop recruitment and marketing strategies for eligible members with lower membership rates (65-75 years of age, etc.)
• Develop new benefits and programming that respond to what members tell us they need.
• Expand and steward the network of vetted professional service providers (vendor network).
• Hold the line, with care, on what the Cambridge Neighbors model can and cannot provide, so that members…