CEO (remote, United States)
Kacey Long
Chief Executive Officer
Reports to: Board of Directors Location: Remote, United States, Aligned with Eastern Time Zone Status: Full-Time Salary: $95,000-$110,000 Travel: Domestic and international travel required, approximately monthly (occasionally up to a week at a time)
ABOUT THE ASSIST
The Athlete Survivors’ Assist (formerly The Army of Survivors, and known as “The Assist”) is the only national organization led by athlete survivors of sexual violence in sport. Founded in 2018 by survivors of abuse within USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, The Assist has grown into a leading survivor-led voice for accountability, trauma-informed practice, and policy change, testifying before Congress, presenting to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the United Nations, and partnering with organizations including Sport & Rights Alliance and Safe Sport International.
Our mission is to bring awareness, accountability, and transparency to sexual violence against athletes at all levels. We pursue that mission through survivor-centered advocacy, trauma-informed education and training, technical assistance for sports institutions, and policy reform, always grounded in the strength and leadership of athlete survivors themselves.
The Assist is a small, fully remote team. As the organization enters its next chapter, diversifying its funding base beyond founding grant support and deepening its national and international impact, we are seeking a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who can lead with strategic clarity, fundraising strength, and a genuinely collaborative, trauma-informed leadership style.
POSITION SUMMARY
The CEO is the chief executive of The Assist and reports directly to the Board of Directors. The CEO is responsible for the organization’s overall leadership, strategy, financial health, and operations, including management of an approximately $1 million annual budget, and serves as its primary fundraiser and external voice. The CEO partners closely with a small, remote staff and the Board to sustain and grow The Assist’s programs, revenue, and international influence, while ensuring every aspect of the organization’s work reflects a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Trauma-Informed and Survivor-Centered Leadership
● Lead the development and execution of The Assist’s strategic plan in partnership with the Board and staff, translating mission into clear, measurable goals.
● Anticipate trends across the survivor advocacy, sports safety, and philanthropic landscape to keep the organization positioned as a national leader in athlete safety.
● Champion a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach in every aspect of leadership and governance, and internally with staff and externally with survivors, partners, and the public.
● Ensure programs, communications, and decisions protect and elevate the voices and leadership of athlete survivors.
● Lead the organization through this leadership transition and its next stage of growth with steadiness, transparency, humility, and a collaborative approach.
● Demonstrate accountability, humility, and a growth mindset, remaining open to feedback, learning from challenges, and continually seeking ways to strengthen their leadership,
the organization, and its impact.
Fundraising & Revenue Growth
● Serve as the organization’s chief fundraiser, diversifying and growing revenue across individual and major donors, corporate partnerships, foundation and government grants, and fee-for-service training, consulting, and technical assistance.
● Build sustainable, diversified funding as the organization’s founding grant support evolves including growing the fee-for-service and technical assistance lines of business.
● Cultivate and steward relationships with funders, donors, and partners to maintain confidence, deepen engagement, and secure long-term support.
● Travel domestically and internationally as needed for technical assistance engagements, conferences, funder meetings, and advocacy opportunities — expect travel approximately once a month, sometimes for up to a week.
Financial Management
● Oversee the organization’s approximately $1 million annual budget, including budgeting, cash flow, forecasting, and financial reporting, in partnership with the Board and financial team.
● Ensure sound, transparent stewardship of restricted and unrestricted funds, including compliance with the requirements of federal and international grants.
● Make disciplined, strategic resource-allocation decisions appropriate to a lean, growing nonprofit, balancing mission impact, organizational sustainability, and long-term financial health.
Team Leadership & Culture
● Lead, mentor, and support a small, fully remote staff, fostering a collaborative, trauma-informed, and sustainable team culture.
● Lead with a hands-on, “doer” style suited to a lean organization. Comfortable delegating and equally comfortable stepping in to get things done alongside the team.
● Lead effectively in an asynchronous, distributed work environment, navigating time zones and creating clear, flexible ways of working that support collaboration and accountability.
● Communicate openly and consistently to keep a distributed team informed, motivated, and connected.
Relationship Building & External Representation
● Serve as a credible, visible spokesperson and thought leader for The Assist with donors, media, sports institutions, coalition partners, and policymakers.
● Build and maintain strategic partnerships — such as U.S. Center for SafeSport, USOPC, and allied advocacy and survivor-serving organizations — that extend The Assist’s reach and influence.
● Navigate policy advocacy and education landscapes effectively, building relationships with policymakers, institutions, and other stakeholders to advance The Assist’s mission.
● Identify and cultivate opportunities for strategic collaboration and resource development with organizations whose missions and priorities align with The Assist’s work.
Operational Excellence
● Ensure the organization’s systems, policies, and infrastructure support ethical efficient, well-run programs and remote operations.
● Balance process and agility appropriate to this nonprofit’s capacity and pace.
● Foster a trauma-informed organizational structure that prioritizes ethical decision-making, transparency, accountability, and the courage to address difficult issues thoughtfully
Board Partnership & Governance
● Partner transparently with the Board of Directors on governance, strategy, and organizational health, providing regular, candid updates on risks and opportunities.
● Support the Board in evaluating organizational needs and long-term sustainability.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
● Bachelor’s degree.
● 8+ years of senior nonprofit leadership experience, including executive-level responsibility for strategy, fundraising, and operations.
● Experience working with survivors of trauma and/or the circumstances and impacts of trauma.
● Demonstrated success growing and diversifying revenue like individual giving, corporate partnerships, grants, and/or fee-for-service/earned revenue.
● Grant writing and grant management experience, including federal and international grants.
● Experience with financial oversight and budgeting for an organization of comparable scale.
● Track record supervising and developing staff, ideally within an efficient/lean or fully remote team.
● Strong strategic planning skills, with the ability to balance immediate needs against longer-term growth.
● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including public-facing communication and public speaking.
● High integrity, sound judgment, and a transparent, collaborative leadership style.
● Comfort operating as a hands-on contributor in a lean, resource-conscious organization.
● Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally on a regular basis (approximately monthly).
● Ability to work flexibly within the Eastern time zone based on team, staff and partnerschedules.
Preferred
● Advanced degree – experience working within complex systems
● Experience in the sports industry or working with sports organizations.
● Experience leading a nonprofit through growth, transition, or organizational change.
● Experience with government relations, policy, or advocacy work.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Beyond experience, our Board and staff identified the following as the qualities most predictiven of success in this role:
● A relationship-builder and strategic thinker who is also operationally strong, highly organized, and detail-oriented.
● Approachable, personable, and genuinely survivor-oriented in style and substance.
● Decisive without being authoritarian. Confident sharing power and inviting input from staff and the Board.
● Comfortable with ambiguity and wearing many hats within a small, growing organization.
● Curious and open-minded, with strong personal boundaries and a demonstrated history of high-integrity leadership.
Selection Process
We aim to make our hiring process thoughtful, transparent, and respectful of candidates’ time.
The anticipated process includes:
1. Application Review — Resume and cover letter reviewed by the search team.
2. Initial Screening Call — A brief conversation to learn more about your experience, interest in The Assist, and alignment with the role.
3. Leadership Interview(s) — Conversation(s) with members of The Assist’s current leadership team and staff.
4. Final Interview & Presentation — A concluding conversation with members of The Assist’s Board of Directors, which will include a brief work-product presentation related to the role. This exercise is designed to take approximately 1–2 hours to prepare, and candidates will be compensated for this time. Depending on the candidate pool and scheduling, the process may include 2–3 conversations following the initial screening call. Candidates will receive more information about each stage as they advance.
The Assist is an equal opportunity employer. We believe our team is stronger with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities. The Assist encourages women, people of color, LGBTQIA individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and other individuals who are members of stigmatized and oppressed identities to apply. The Assist is an organization by and for athlete survivors and we encourage those with lived experiences to apply.