Canada’s charitable sector is heading into the largest leadership turnover in a generation, and most organizations already know they are not ready for it.
We partner with charities and non-profits to strengthen the human foundations of their organizations using focused diagnostics. Each engagement delivers actionable results in two to three weeks.
We understand the talent needs of the charitable sector. Our recruitment services are designed to assist charity boards and executives who need help finding leaders and team members in order to meet their cause-based mission. We offer 3 service packages to serve the varying needs of organizations within the sector.
We manage the entire executive search process for our clients from engagement through to final offer.
Undertake stakeholder interviews to identify key success factors and essential qualities to succeed in the role. This will inform & refine the creation of an opportuity profile to be used for marketing the role.
Proactively source qualified candidates using our professional networks and sector-specific databases. Market the role using relevant job boards and media posts.
Screen and interview qualified applicants to finalize a short-list of qualified candidates.
Facilitate and resource client interviews. Provide guidance to the client in selecting the successful candidate.
Facilitate offer negotiations, references, and police checks.
Provide a placement guarantee.
Using the client’s job description, identify key success factors and essential qualities to succeed in the role.
Market the role using relevant job boards and media posts.
Proactively source qualified candidates using our professional networks and sector-specific databases.
Screen and interview applicants to finalize a short-list of qualified candidates.
Prepare summaries of the top 3 candidates. Final steps and interviews handled by the client.
In addition to advertising, we will proactively source professionals to apply to the open roles, providing our clients with thoroughly qualified candidates to interview.
Know who could lead your organization tomorrow.
Only 13% of Canadian
charities have a well-
defined succession plan, and
most nonprofits are in the same position. Founder-led organizations face heightened exposure, and most organizations discover the gap only after a departure has occurred. Boards cannot fulfill their governance obligations without a clear
succession picture.
Leadership continuity is a fiduciary responsibility, not
an aspiration. Unplanned departures trigger funding disruptions, staff uncertainty, and reduced capacity. Proactive build-versus-buy decisions protect long-term mission delivery, and a clear succession roadmap strengthens board confidence and
organizational resilience.
CEO / ED interview
Board interview
Organizational structure review
Assessment of 3 to 5 critical leadership positions
Internal successor identification
Emergency & long-term succession review
Build vs. buy talent recommendations
Succession Readiness
Report by role
Actionable succession
roadmap presentable to
your board
Red / Yellow / Green readiness rating for each critical position
Internal candidates identified with development timelines
Build-vs-buy recommendation for each leadership gap
Ongoing support in the
Talent Advisory
Partnership
Most charities and
nonprofits cannot identify which departures would be most disruptive. Institutional knowledge, funder relationships, and technical expertise can walk out the door with little warning. Without a risk map, boards and CEOs are managing talent vulnerability blindly.
Not all roles carry equal organizational risk, and
knowing which ones do is essential. Proactive risk mapping enables targeted mitigation before a crisis occurs. A 90-day action plan turns assessment findings into immediate protective action, and the process demonstrates responsible governance to funders, regulators, and
other stakeholders.
Assessment of 5 to 8
critical organizational roles
Scoring against 10 risk dimensions
External talent availability analysis
Internal successor identification
Visual Critical Talent Risk Map by role
90-day risk mitigation
action plan
Visual Risk Map your board
can act on immediately
High / Medium / Low risk rating for each assessed role
Prioritized 90-day mitigation plan with specific actions
Roles requiring immediate succession investment identified
Board-ready documentation, feeding into the Talent
Advisory Partnership
Know which departures could put your mission at risk.
Define what success looks like before you hire.
Most organizations
search for a new executive
using a job description written years ago. Outdated role definitions attract the wrong candidates. Boards and leadership teams often have unspoken and differing expectations of the role. A poor executive hire is one of the most costly and disruptive risks
a charity or nonprofit
faces.
A Success Profile defines
what the person must accomplish, not just what they must have done. It aligns the board, CEO, and stakeholders on expectations before the search begins, enabling a more focused, efficient, and defensible search process.
CEO & key stakeholder interviews
Review organizational
strategy & current role definition
Develop 3-year outcomes & strategic mandate
Critical competencies and characteristics mapping
Culture, stakeholder, and technical requirements
Must-have vs. teachable capability distinction
Ideal candidate profile developed; internal
candidates identified
Board-approved
executive success profile
ready to anchor the search
Full alignment on role expectations across CEO, board, and stakeholders
A clear 3-year success mandate for the incoming executive
Viable internal candidates identified before external search
Search brief that attracts the right candidates from the
first conversation
Prepare an effective job description, and culture description, and identify key success factors and essential qualities to succeed in the role.
Use sector-specific databases and our personalized networks to proactively source qualified candidates and market your role.
Screen and interview qualified applicants.
Present qualified candidates to clients. Final steps and interviews handled by the client.
Repeat steps throughout the year for all the roles identified as a hiring priority.
Experiencing growth and preparing to hire multiple roles in the year? Growth is exciting, but it can also be a lot to handle on your own. One way to manage the work is to spread the yearly hiring budget over 12 months. We can help you structure a subscription-based recruitment support model.
Do you want access to qualified leadership talent for your organization? Check out our talent board and register for our alerts to be notified of qualified candidates before we introduce them to our broader network.
Know who could lead your organization tomorrow.
Contact us to get Cause Leadership working for you on your next executive search.