Location
US: Remote
Reporting
The Executive Director will report to the Board of Directors.
Description
Catapult Design is seeking a visionary and exceptional leader to guide our organization into its next chapter. At this pivotal moment, the Executive Director will help us evolve and redefine our approach to meet today’s challenges while bolstering the meaningful social impact we are known for.
The Executive Director provides visionary, strategic, and operational leadership to ensure Catapult’s continued growth, creative excellence, and global impact. The Executive Director oversees all aspects of business development, operations, strategic planning, and governance, while serving as a visible spokesperson and thought leader for the social impact design industry.
The ideal candidate has proven experience running a business as an Executive Director, including full responsibility for the P&L and balance sheet. They bring a solid background in understanding how to apply human-centered processes to design projects at the global, national, and community levels, and exceptional communication and people leadership skills.
The Executive Director ensures Catapult thrives as a financially strong, mission-driven organization that reflects the diverse communities it serves and advances design for social good.
Core Competencies
Strategic Leadership & Vision
- Lead Catapult’s long-term strategic direction, ensuring mission alignment, financial sustainability, and equitable impact.
- Identify emerging opportunities in design, AI, and sustainability to expand Catapult’s influence.
- Foster a culture of creativity, inclusion, and collaboration across teams and partnerships.
- Collaborate closely and productively with the Board of Directors to ensure effective governance, strategic planning, organizational initiatives, compliance, and fiduciary responsibility.
- Successfully navigate ambiguity and changing conditions, finding new and innovative ways for Catapult to fulfill its mission.
Business Development & Partnerships
- Drive Catapult’s global business development strategy across philanthropic, public, and private sectors.
- Cultivate global partnerships and funding relationships that strengthen impact and revenue diversification.
- Oversee proposal development, contracting, and client engagement to ensure high-quality project delivery.
Operations, Finance & Organizational Management
- Oversee operations, financial performance, and program delivery with transparency and accountability.
- Manage budgets, cash flow, and long-term financial planning.
- Build, manage, and support a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-aligned team.
- Strengthen internal systems and processes to support organizational growth and efficiency.
- Provide timely, data-driven reporting on financial, operational, and impact performance.
Communications
- Serve as a public ambassador for Catapult and the global design-for-impact community.
- Represent Catapult externally through thought leadership, media, and industry convenings.
- Create and deliver compelling presentations to a wide range of audiences.
- Collaborate successfully with a wide range of stakeholders specifically communities engaged with project work, global partners, prospective funders, internal team and Board.
Qualifications
- Minimum of 5 years of proven experience running a business as an Executive Director, including full responsibility for the P&L and balance sheet.
- Minimum of 5 years of business development, fundraising, grant writing and partnership management experience.
- Minimum of 10 years of professional experience, including at least 8 years in design, innovation, or creative industries, with experience at the global, national, and community levels.
- Strong understanding of design for social impact, equity, and sustainability.
- Ability to toggle between high-level strategic leadership and detailed project work if necessary.
- Demonstrated success in financial management, operations, and team leadership.
- International development experience and global perspective.
- Experience with Board governance and nonprofit or hybrid organizational structures.
- Exceptional ability to collaborate with a broad set of stakeholders and build positive working relationships.
- Experience with AI, emerging technologies, or digital transformation.
- Tech-savvy with ability to quickly adapt to new technologies and ways of working
- Excellent oral and written communication skills, especially strong presentation skills for engaging stakeholders and fostering team collaboration.
- Recognized or emerging spokesperson for the social impact design industry, with credibility across design and innovation communities.
- Proficiency in a language other than English such as French or Spanish preferred.
Compensation and Benefits
The base salary for this position is $120,000 – 150,000 per year commensurate with experience and geographic location. Additional compensation opportunities include discretionary bonuses and performance-based increases as the organization grows.
In addition to a base salary, this role includes the following benefits:
- Medical, dental, and vision group plans
- 401K with employer match
- Paid parental leave
- Paid time off for holidays, vacations, sickness, and training
- Monthly health & wellness stipend
- Annual learning stipend
- Company-issued laptop
Apply Now!
Please contact careers@catapultdesign.org with your CV, cover letter, and portfolio link, if applicable.
Notes
Catapult Design is an equal opportunity employer. Pursuant to applicable law, we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We are committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all aspects of our work.
Final candidates will be required to undergo a background check as a condition of employment, which will be conducted in compliance with all applicable laws.
U.S. work authorization is required for this role. We do not offer visa sponsorship at this time.
No outside recruiter solicitations, please.
About Catapult Design
Catapult Design is an award-winning design and innovation firm advancing social and environmental impact through human-centered design. A recipient of the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian National Design Award, Catapult partners with foundations, private sector companies, governments, and mission-driven organizations to design equitable products, services, and systems that improve lives around the world — from women’s health innovation and climate resilience to inclusive technology and community development.
How We Work
We co-create solutions that deliver social impact using a design-led and inclusive, collaborative approach. We work side by side with stakeholders, combining structured approaches with open and adaptive thinking. Our work is complex and multidimensional, and we often navigate uncharted territory with our community of participants. We bring our innovation and problem-solving skills to bear in partnership with local experts and partners in order to deliver meaningful and measurable outcomes.
Our Core Values
The following values express the importance we place on our employees and our work, and they are integral to our hiring practices, performance reviews, and promotions.
- Humility: We prioritize community needs and put in the work to identify and understand them.
- Collaboration: We collaborate with experts, end-users, funders, and implementers to develop solutions capable of change.
- Integrity: We are not afraid to provide constructive feedback and to be transparent and informative with the process in order to arrive at a better solution while ensuring a great customer experience.
- Initiative: We seek out entrepreneurial team members who have demonstrated an ability to pursue their passion. The challenges we are tasked with typically have not been solved in decades – our team members go the extra mile to initiate and own activities because they’re motivated to solve them.
- Discipline: We don’t apply band-aids to wounds that require stitches. We make the conscious effort to impose a meaningful order to our activity in order to produce our intended result.
