Job Description

About Evergreen Goodwill

Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1923 that helps people get jobs across Northwest Washington by offering high-quality free job training, education and job placement. Goodwill empowers individuals to overcome barriers to working, by providing comprehensive support and connecting them with life changing job opportunities, ensuring they are career-ready and can support themselves and their families.

The organization employs over 2,000 people, operates five job-training centers, 23 nonprofit retail stores and more than 27 donation sites in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom and Kitsap Counties. Every day, Evergreen Goodwill connects people with the jobs, services and skills they need — because Jobs Change Lives. We are committed to creating and sustaining a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion (DEI) and are focused on creating a joyful, inclusive and successful organization.

Job Title: Executive Director, Evergreen Goodwill Education Center

Location: Evergreen Goodwill Job Training & Education Center - Seattle, WA

Salary Range: $180,000–$220,000

Evergreen Goodwill is seeking a Founding Executive Director to build and lead the Evergreen Goodwill Education Center (EGEC), a new organization formed to operate Washington State’s first adult high school using the Goodwill Education Initiatives model. Over the next decade, the Evergreen Goodwill Education Center plans to launch at least five Excel Centers—public high schools for adults ages 18 and older—in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Whatcom, and Kitsap counties. Washington’s Excel Centers will build on the national Goodwill Excel Center model, which now includes 50 campuses across 11 states and Washington, D.C. The model combines rigorous academics, wraparound services, and life coaching to help adult students earn high school diplomas.

The Executive Director will shape the execution strategy, build the organization, launch its schools, beginning with Excel Center Goodwill Dearborn in Seattle, and lead them toward long-term success.

We are looking for an executive and builder who can define a bold strategy, translate it into action, and deliver on the promise of these schools. This leader will build and inspire a team, deliver strong student outcomes, engage funders and community partners, advocate for the schools, build an effective board and collaborate with its members, and create a financially and operationally sustainable institution.

About The Excel Center

The Excel Center model is a tuition-free public high school designed to help adults earn a state-recognized diploma, not a GED, along with college credits or industry certifications. Flexible schedules, life coaching, childcare, and transportation support help students balance school with work and family responsibilities. Excel Center graduates earn more than a diploma: they gain college credits and professional certifications that open doors to higher-paying careers in high-growth fields. A University of Notre Dame LEO study of the Excel Center model in Indiana found that, five years after graduation, graduates earn 38% more and are significantly more likely to work in fields with career pathways, such as healthcare.

Evergreen Goodwill will bring the model to Washington and build on it. We aspire to open an Excel Center in each of the five counties where we operate, ultimately reaching 1,000–1,500 students within the next decade. The founding Executive Director will benefit from a proven model and significant training, guidance, and ongoing support from Goodwill Education Initiatives (GEI), the national experts behind The Excel Center, while shaping the school to meet the needs of our local community. A combination of public funding, including charter school funding, and private philanthropy will support the school.

Learn more about the national Excel Center model: https://www.goodwillexcelcenter.org/

Five key functions of this role include:

1. Academic Excellence, Curriculum Oversight, and Student Outcomes
2. Culture, Talent, and Organizational Leadership
3. Student Recruitment, Enrollment and Retention
4. Partnerships, Board Engagement, Fundraising, and External Leadership
5. Financial Management, Compliance and Accountability

What You’ll Do

• Build and lead the Evergreen Goodwill Education Center organization. You’ll hire and supervise the Excel Center principals and help build a team that includes teachers, special education and language teachers, coaches, a registrar, and an office manager. You’ll build the school culture, academic program, operations, systems, and infrastructure and put strong academic leadership and expertise in place to support the educational program.
• Shape the operational and growth strategy for the Excel Centers in Washington, translating a proven national model into exceptional public high schools for adults ages 18 and older that are responsive to their local communities.
• Set ambitious goals for enrollment, persistence, graduation, and postsecondary success, using data and accountability to drive strong student outcomes.
• Ensure the financial and operational health of the organization and its schools by overseeing budgeting, staffing, resource allocation, accreditation, charter requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Serve as the external leader for the Excel Centers, building strong relationships with the board, funders, employers, colleges, community organizations, public leaders, and other partners while leading fundraising, advocacy, and policy engagement for the schools.
• Build a sustainable institution with the visibility, partnerships, funding, and organizational strength to deepen its impact and support expansion across the five counties Evergreen Goodwill serves.

What You Bring

You are passionate about serving motivated adult learners who seek a second chance to earn a high school diploma while balancing work, family, and other responsibilities or challenges. You bring strong executive leadership skills, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and can lead an educational institution. You are entrepreneurial and enjoy shifting between strategy, operations, and “just get it done” tasks. You attract and retain talented, mission-aligned teachers and school employees.

You have:

• A minimum of 10 years of senior leadership experience, with responsibility for strategy, people leadership and development, operations, and finances and a record of proven results.
• Experience building, launching, scaling, or significantly transforming a school, educational organization, or similarly complex mission-driven initiative.
• Experience in adult, alternative, workforce-connected, or postsecondary education (preferred but not required).
• The knowledge and judgment to lead an accredited high school organization, with the ability to ensure strong oversight of academic quality, student outcomes, accreditation, and regulatory requirements through qualified academic leadership.
• Experience staffing boards and building productive relationships with funders, public leaders, employers, and community partners, including fundraising, advocacy, or policy engagement.
• Demonstrated success building and leading strong teams and organizational culture.
• Executive presence and communication skills to inspire, influence, advocate, and fundraise.
• A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

Charter school and education leadership experience are valuable, but we do not limit the search to traditional school administrators. We want an executive who thinks like a builder, can lead both the school and the institution around it, and knows how to put strong academic leadership in place.

Everyone Is Welcome

When you join Evergreen Goodwill, you join a truly vibrant community. We value the things that make us different and unique. From diverse international and ethnic backgrounds, to languages, identities, ages, orientations, and beyond, Evergreen Goodwill celebrates individual and cultural diversity.

Why work at Evergreen Goodwill?

A health plan that includes medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage

100% Employer-paid life, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), and long term disability insurance (for salaried employee)

Voluntary supplemental coverage for life, accident, illness, and short- and long-term disability

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) Plan

Roth and 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan program

Paid vacation, (9) holiday and sick time

Limited paid time off for Jury Duty and Bereavement Leave

Employee discounts

Employee referral bonus

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Mentorship Program

Career Advancement Opportunities

Paid Job Training

EEO Statement: Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, military status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or other protected characteristics in accordance with applicable law. This policy applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, compensation, benefits, and termination.

This document does not represent a contract of employment, and EGNW reserves the right to change this job description and/or assign tasks for the employee to perform, as EGNW may deem appropriate.