Director of Information Technology – Non-Profit Leadership Organization

A prominent nonprofit dedicated to advancing physician leadership across the US healthcare sector required a transformative Director of Information Technology. With a fully remote model and a tight-knit leadership team, the organization supports tens of thousands of professionals through online learning platforms, affiliated Master’s programs, and customized institutional development programs.

After several years of internal stability and consistent growth (+8% YoY), the organization was preparing for a new digital chapter—modernizing its homegrown technology infrastructure, integrating new tools, and enhancing its reporting and analytics capabilities. They needed a hands-on IT leader with broad technical expertise, strategic planning ability, and proven experience working in mission-led, collaborative environments.

This hire was essential not only for ongoing operations but for laying the foundation of their future digital roadmap, including mobile app development, risk and compliance frameworks, and scalable system architecture. The team faced challenges with applicant volume and screening capacity, and cultural fit was seen as equally important as technical skills.

Client Challenge
The organization had:

An urgent need for a cross-functional IT leader able to manage people, systems, vendors, and planning in one role.

A limited internal HR function unable to effectively sift through 100+ applications.

A desire to find someone comfortable in nonprofit environments, capable of guiding a three-person team, and open to being a long-term part of the organization’s leadership journey.

A requirement for a candidate with a broad but balanced skill set in:

IT risk & security

System architecture & performance monitoring

Data analytics & reporting frameworks

Mobile app/API development

QA and testing process implementation

Strategic budgeting and cost optimization

Our Solution
Executive Coalition partnered directly with the HR Director and hiring stakeholders to map out a refined candidate profile that prioritized:

Leadership maturity with 7–10 years of experience in IT management roles.

Understanding of technology operations within nonprofits or healthcare-related fields.

Demonstrated success in overseeing lean teams and outsourced vendors.

A passion for building resilient systems and leading modernization projects, not just maintaining legacy infrastructure.

Strong interpersonal skills to integrate smoothly into a purpose-driven and remote-first team.

A targeted outbound campaign was launched within 48 hours, tapping into our private leadership talent pool and tailored sourcing from the nonprofit and health tech ecosystem.

Candidate Outcome
Within 12 days, a curated shortlist was presented. The selected candidate stood out due to:

A decade of experience across IT leadership, architecture, and compliance.

Proven record of risk and security framework design.

Experience launching analytics dashboards and leading mobile development initiatives.

Team leadership and vendor oversight history.

Cultural alignment with the mission of empowering healthcare professionals.

The candidate was highly motivated by the chance to lead in a strategic yet hands-on capacity and viewed this opportunity as a natural next step in their leadership career.

Why It Worked
A refined role brief combined with targeted outreach minimized noise and boosted relevance.

We led with mission alignment and real-world impact to attract candidates motivated by more than compensation.

A balanced evaluation process ensured both technical and interpersonal strengths were properly weighted.