Hiring Organization Information
Position Information
Organizational Overview
Tavon Learning Center seeks an Executive Director who is passionate about person-centered programming and the impact it creates for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. If you’re ready to lead an organization where quality is paramount, relationships are central, and your leadership can create lasting impact, this is your opportunity.
At Tavon, we’ve built something exceptional: a nature-based learning program that blends outdoor exploration, community engagement, and individualized support in ways few programs can match. Our members grow vegetables in our gardens, ride the light rail to explore their community, hike forest trails, and build skills for greater independence. In doing so, we meet a critical need by providing meaningful opportunities for participants and invaluable respite for families and caregivers.
After nearly two decades of founder-led leadership, Tavon is entering an exciting new chapter. The next Executive Director will honor the organization’s strong culture and high-quality programs while strengthening the people, systems, partnerships, and resources needed for long-term sustainability and thoughtful growth.
This role places you at the center of meaningful work. In partnership with the Board and staff, you will provide strategic leadership, guide a talented and committed team, advance Tavon’s mission, and help shape its future. As the public face of the organization, you will cultivate relationships, secure resources, and champion a community where members thrive, families find support, staff take pride in their work, and peers recognize Tavon as a model of excellence.
What Makes Tavon Special
Tavon fills a critical post-high school gap in services for adults with I/DD by providing opportunities for learning, growth, social connection, and meaningful outdoor experiences. Our low staff-to-member ratios, nature-based environment, and commitment to dignity and person-centered philosophy have earned us a strong reputation in the greater Seattle area disability services community
Tavon’s Programs
Tavon believes adults with disabilities have a fundamental right to continued learning and meaningful participation in inclusive communities. We’ve built something exceptional across our two Issaquah locations: a nature-based learning program that combines outdoor exploration, real-world community experiences, and individualized support in ways no other local program replicates.
The impact on our members is powerful. They have opportunities to build friendships and strengthen interpersonal skills giving them the confidence that comes from genuine connection and belonging. Members develop practical skills for daily life through hands-on, real-world practice, improving their ability to live as independently as possible. Through community experiences, they make additional connections, discover interests, and develop a sense of place and purpose.
Tavon By the Numbers
• Members served: More than 100
• Daily service volume: Approximately 200 service hours
• Waiting list: 70 individuals
• Staff: More than 20 team members
• Annual operating budget: $2.5 million in 2026
• Service revenue: DSHS Medicaid contracts and private-pay services
• Annual fundraising goal: $500,000
Planned Growth
• Facility: New 3,000-square-foot building
• Funding: Fully funded by a foundation donation
• Capacity: An additional 100 hours of service per day
• Timeline: Groundbreaking anticipated in spring 2027
Role Responsibilities
Essential Responsibilities
• Strategy & Organizational Leadership: Partner with the Board and leadership team to set priorities, translate strategy into action, and guide Tavon through a successful leadership transition and thoughtful growth.
• People & Culture: Lead, coach, and develop staff and senior leaders; build clarity, accountability, trust, and an inclusive workplace where employees can do their best work.
• Financial & Operational Stewardship: Oversee the organization’s $2.5 million budget, financial health, compliance, human resources, and core operating systems; ensure resources and infrastructure support high-quality programs.
• Fundraising & Revenue Sustainability: Serve as an active partner in fundraising, steward existing supporters, cultivate new donor and funder relationships, and help diversify revenue for long-term sustainability.
• Programs & Impact: Champion personcentered, high-quality services and work with staff and the Board to evaluate opportunities for program and site growth without losing what makes Tavon distinctive.
• Community & External Relationships: Serve as a visible ambassador for Tavon and build trusted relationships with members, families, donors, community partners, policymakers, and the broader disability services community.
• Board Partnership & Governance: Maintain a transparent, productive partnership with the Board of Directors and provide timely information, recommendations, and organizational insight to support effective governance.
Qualifications
Position Qualifications
• Senior leadership: At least six years of executive or senior leadership experience, preferably in nonprofit social services or another mission-driven organization.
• Commitment to inclusion: A demonstrated dedication to dignity, choice, inclusion, and opportunity for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or other marginalized populations.
• Leadership approach: A commitment to continuous learning, respectful partnership, and person-centered leadership.
• People and culture: Proven ability to develop teams, set clear expectations, navigate difficult conversations, and foster an accountable, supportive workplace.
• Financial stewardship: Experience managing organizational budgets, interpreting financial information, and making sound resource-allocation decisions.
• Stakeholder relationships: Experience building trusted relationships with boards, donors, funders, community partners, families, and other key stakeholders.
• Fundraising and external relations: Experience developing revenue or external partnerships, with the ability to communicate an organization’s impact persuasively.
• Change leadership: Experience guiding an organization through growth, transition, or broader organizational evolution.
• Core capabilities: Strong communication, judgment, collaboration, and relationship-building skills.
Additional Qualifications (preferred but not required)
• Knowledge of Washington State disability services, DSHS, Medicaid-funded services, or related regulatory environments.
• Experience with founder transitions or leading a growing, multi-site organization.
• Experience with a mixed revenue model that includes government contracts, fee-for-service programs, and philanthropy
How to Apply
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 Tavon’s goals, mission, and vision for the future as described in this announcement.