Need: Finding the “right fit” to succeed long-serving Executive Director
Service: Focused leadership search within ID/DD field
Manahan, an Intermediate Care Facility for adults with developmental disabilities, provides residential, respite, and community programs including a waiver home. When the Executive Director with decades of service to the agency announced his intention to retire, Manahan engaged The Yunker Group to help search for an experienced, compassionate successor.
Seta Tchobanian, Board and Search Committee Chair and an HR professional herself, said, “The search went very smoothly. It was very different from searches and search firms I’ve been involved with in my own career – from the perspective that The Yunker Group is much more specific and detailed in their process and everything it includes. For us, that was important because we were on a short time frame, and we were looking to replace someone who basically started the organization and had been there 40 years. Those things meant we really needed someone who could handle the search, but also someone who really understands the nuances of nonprofits and took time to learn the specifics of what our organization is about. The Yunker Group team exemplifies all the qualities I look for in a partner.”
Search Committee member and Director of Nursing Brittany Rysz said, “I am extremely satisfied with the search and with our chosen candidate. I believe The Yunker Group team did a good job of providing us with a diverse set of candidates to choose from – people who had similar backgrounds but also different experiences and strengths. But ultimately, we only needed one person, and they found that for us. Without their involvement, we would not have been able to move as quickly with the search.
Brittany and Seta echoed similar praise for the The Yunker Group as “professional, detail-oriented, and highly responsive.” “Jim has a very high sense of urgency, and that’s critical for me because that’s my personality,” shared Seta. Having only been in her role as Board Chair for a short time, Seta says she trusted Jim’s counsel: “He was very open and honest and would tell me ‘No, not important’ or ‘Yes, important, but it’ll be ok.’ So, that was very valuable to me.”
Successful candidate, Steve Maenle, summarized the process as “challenging enough to merit the type of position being sought but also friendly and approachable enough as to engage folks that have that human services personality. I think one of The Yunker Group’s strengths is their connections within the I/DD field in Ohio and to know that they focus on nonprofits exclusively – because I think that’s such a different world than recruiting for industry and business.”
“I think that Jim has to walk a fine line between helping candidates thrive without giving anyone a particular advantage, and it seems to me that he walks that line very skillfully,” Steve added.
Seta concluded, “The Yunker Group came highly recommended, and their footprint and services were a good fit for what we needed. Their knowledge of the Midwest region was a valuable asset as well as their knowledge of similar organizations and agencies in the state. That meant that they had valuable connections and networking capabilities.”