FEATURED OPPORTUNITES
C&C of Honolulu Liquor Commission, Liquor Control Administrator
April 8, 2026
Thank you for your interest in this opportunity. The application period closed on May 25, 2026. Applicants moving forward in the process will be contacted by our team.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Honolulu Liquor Commission is a statutorily established, quasi‑judicial body responsible for regulating liquor licensing, enforcement, and compliance within the City and County of Honolulu. The Commission plays a critical role in public safety, economic development, and community well‑being, overseeing a complex regulatory environment that touches thousands of licensees across Oʻahu and even indirectly impacting the neighbor islands. While administratively attached to the City’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, the Commission operates independently and is self‑funded through liquor license fees, permit fees, and assessments.
As a high‑touch regulatory agency and a significant economic driver for the City, the Liquor Commission operates at the intersection of public policy, law enforcement, business regulation, and customer service. The work is visible, consequential, and conducted under public and political scrutiny. The Commission relies on strong executive leadership to ensure that its licensing enforcement, audit, and administrative functions operate efficiently, transparently, and in compliance with state law and local rules.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
The Liquor Control Administrator serves as the chief executive of the Liquor Commission, reporting directly to the Chair and Commissioners, who are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. This is a CEO‑level leadership role, requiring strategic vision, operational discipline, and the ability to lead through complexity. The Administrator is responsible for the day‑to‑day management of the Commission’s full scope of operations, including licensing, investigations, enforcement, audits, fiscal management, and staff oversight.
The Commission has strong operators in place, but Commissioners are seeking a leader who can elevate team performance, strengthen internal leadership, and drive greater efficiency and accountability across the organization. The next Administrator will be expected to address application backlogs, modernize systems and processes where appropriate, and set a clear tone of professionalism, urgency, and service, while cutting through bureaucracy and moving the organization forward. This role also requires extensive external engagement. The Liquor Control Administrator serves as the public face of the Commission, working closely with licensees, City Council, state legislators, law enforcement agencies, industry stakeholders, and the broader community. Interisland and out-of-state travel are required.
The ideal candidate is a strong yet approachable leader who earns respect through credibility, decisiveness, and integrity. They are comfortable in the public eye and capable of navigating political, regulatory, and enforcement environments. A strong culture builder, this individual inspires staff, drives performance, and holds people accountable, with the confidence to rethink traditional approaches. Government experience is strongly preferred, with Hawaiʻi government experience a plus; direct liquor industry experience is not required. The Commission is open to leaders with demonstrated administrative, investigative, regulatory, or quasi‑judicial experience who bring strong operational instincts, sound judgment, and the ability to lead a complex public organization through its next chapter.
Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, Senior VP-Chief Financial Officer
March 23, 2026
Thank you for your interest – the search is now closed, and the position has been filled.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) has been serving the people of Hawaiʻi for over 100 years, focusing on inspiring generosity, advocating for equity, and fostering connections between the community, donors, nonprofits, and leaders across various sectors. Established as a statewide public foundation, HCF expertly manages more than 1,160 funds and 300 scholarships, stewarding resources from individuals, businesses, and families to address a wide range of community needs. With a dedicated team of over 90 employees statewide, HCF plays a pivotal role in addressing key social issues and driving positive change in Hawaiʻi. By partnering with community organizations, businesses, and government, the foundation strives to create lasting impacts, aiming to enhance the quality of life for all residents through thoughtful investments and collaborative efforts in Hawaiʻi’s future.
HCF is a cornerstone of philanthropy across the Hawaiian Islands, dedicated to improving the lives of the community through strategic giving and community partnerships. With total assets under management of over $1.0 billion and over $100 million in annual grants and contracts, HCF is not only a funding resource but also a leader in convening nonprofit, business, and government entities to drive positive, systemic change.
Through its commitment to innovation and impact, HCF acts as a trusted partner for donors, offering expert philanthropic guidance and connecting them with meaningful opportunities to make a difference. Beyond grantmaking, the organization serves as a knowledge hub, providing valuable insights on pressing social issues, advancing sector-wide best practices, and fostering collaboration to create lasting community change.
As an example, HCF played a pivotal leadership role in the response to the Lahaina fires, acting as a strategic convener and grant-maker to coordinate relief efforts across nonprofits, government agencies, and community organizations. HCF quickly activated the Maui Strong Fund, raising $200 million from over 240,000 donors worldwide. It has strategically distributed $173 million across 372 grants to support immediate relief, interim stability, and long-term recovery efforts, prioritizing housing, financial assistance, food, mental health services, and environmental restoration. By fostering collaboration and ensuring equitable access to aid, HCF not only provided urgent assistance, but also laid the groundwork to invest the balance of the Maui Strong Fund in the long-term sustainability and resilience of the Maui community.
With a focus on fostering systemic change through philanthropy, HCF’s 2024-2026 Strategic Plan aims to elevate community voices, address key societal challenges, and enhance donor engagement. The plan identifies three focus areas for philanthropy: traditional donor-centered giving, giving based on community need, and disaster preparedness and recovery. The plan emphasizes four strategic goals: improving operational efficiency and donor experience, developing internal expertise for equitable community outcomes, strengthening disaster response capabilities, and ensuring a sustainable infrastructure to support these initiatives. HCF acknowledges evolving social and economic trends, aiming to adapt by leveraging trust-based philanthropy, impact investing, and cross-sector collaboration.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
This is a pivotal and exciting time to join Hawaiʻi Community Foundation as Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. As HCF enters the final year of its current three-year strategic plan, the organization is preparing to launch a new strategy with a three-year horizon. During this period of transition and growth, HCF continues to operate at significant scale and complexity, managing substantial financial flows, rigorous reporting requirements, strong investment performance, and increasing demands related to disaster response, impact measurement, and community-centered philanthropy. The CFO will play a critical role in supporting this next phase by ensuring financial strength, operational stability, and managing risk across the organization. The CFO will serve as a trusted strategic partner to the CEO and Board of Directors.
This role presents a unique opportunity to lead finance and administrative functions within a complex mission-driven organization. Immediate priorities include implementing a new accounting and financial reporting system, strengthening internal controls and enterprise risk management, and supporting the continued expansion of HCF’s social impact investing efforts.
As the organization increasingly deploys revolving loans and other forms of catalytic capital alongside traditional grantmaking, the CFO will help ensure the financial infrastructure and oversight required to support these evolving strategies.
The ideal candidate is a strategic finance leader who combines deep technical expertise with humility, empathy, and a genuine commitment to serving Hawaiʻi. HCF seeks a CFO with strong experience in accounting, financial systems, and internal controls, ideally gained within complex organizations. This leader will be both hands-on and highly collaborative, comfortable engaging in operational detail while serving as a strategic advisor to the CEO, Board, and executive leadership team. Success in the role will require calm, steady leadership during moments of urgency, sound judgment in complex situations, strong team leadership, and the ability to communicate clearly and credibly with donors, community partners, and governance leaders. Above all, the CFO must demonstrate the highest levels of integrity, and alignment with HCF’s mission and values.
East-West Center, Chief Advancement Officer
March 2, 2026
Thank you for your interest – the search is now closed, and the position has been filled.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
https://www.eastwestcenter.org
Founded in 1960, the East-West Center is an independent, public nonprofit institution dedicated to strengthening relationships and advancing mutual understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific. The Center fulfills its mission through cooperative study, research, professional development, and sustained dialogue that brings together current and emerging leaders from across the Indo-Pacific region. In fiscal year 2024 alone, the Center supported participants from 66 countries and 48 U.S. states and territories through degree study, leadership exchanges, and professional programs, reinforcing its long-standing role as a trusted convener of ideas and partnerships at both local and international levels.
The East-West Center operates at a unique intersection of public service, international engagement, and education, with a strong global reputation built over more than six decades. In FY2024, the Center’s operating model reflected a diverse mix of public and private support, including a $22 million U.S. Congressional appropriation and more than $13.5 million in private funders and donor support that enable its broad portfolio of education, professional development, research, and outreach activities across the Indo-Pacific. The organization is supported by a deeply engaged international alumni community and an active foundation and association structure that amplifies the Center’s impact well beyond Hawaiʻi and Washington, D.C.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) will join the East-West Center at a pivotal moment as the organization advances its 2023–2027 Foundational Strategy, an institution-wide commitment to developing and equipping diverse Indo-Pacific leaders, convening impactful dialogues, deepening partnerships with the Pacific Islands, fostering environmental solutions, and strengthening good governance across the region. Emerging from a period shaped by uncertainty in federal funding and broader geopolitical shifts, the Center is entering a renewed phase of stability and momentum, with strong advocacy for funding at the federal and state levels. The CAO will play a central leadership role in aligning advancement strategy with these institutional priorities, elevating the Center’s external profile, and helping translate strategic clarity into the resources, partnerships, and organizational capacity required to support East-West Center’s mission.
This is a rare opportunity to build and lead a modern, comprehensive advancement function within a globally respected institution. The CAO will be charged with broadening the Center’s funding base beyond its historic reliance on public support, developing private philanthropy, foundation partnerships, corporate engagement, and international relationships into long-term pillars of financial sustainability. With an alumni network of more than 73,000 individuals worldwide, many of whom are positioned to serve as connectors, advocates, and philanthropic partners across Asia and the Pacific, the Center is exceptionally well placed to expand major and principal giving activity, alumni-driven philanthropy, and international funding relationships.
The CAO will inherit both challenges and opportunities in building organizational capacity. The advancement team is in a period of rebuilding following organizational change, creating a unique platform for a leader who is energized by growth, culture-building, and team development. In the near term, the role will blend strategic leadership with hands-on fundraising, campaign planning, and systems development. Success in the first year will be defined by establishing a clear multi-year advancement strategy, rebuilding and stabilizing staffing and infrastructure, strengthening board and leadership engagement in fundraising, and launching a more proactive and diversified pipeline of major, foundation, and international prospects. The CAO will be empowered to shape structure, systems, and partnerships, and build a high-performing, collaborative advancement organization aligned with the East-West Center’s global mission and future ambitions.
Downtown Honolulu BID, Executive Director
November 2, 2026
Thank you for your interest – the search is now closed, and the position has been filled.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The Downtown Honolulu (DoHo) Business Improvement District (BID) is a nonprofit initiative dedicated to partnering with government and the private sector to develop and implement programs that promote the overall vitality of Downtown Honolulu by strengthening its role as a first-class business area. Governed by a board of landowners, business leaders, and government representatives, the BID is funded through commercial property assessments and aims to deliver supplemental services that enhance the district’s safety, cleanliness, and vibrancy. Its mission centers on creating a welcoming environment for businesses, residents, and visitors through coordinated efforts in security, sanitation, public maintenance, marketing, and community events. By managing Downtown as a unified entity, DoHo BID seeks to attract investment, stimulate economic growth, and foster a thriving urban core.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
Downtown Honolulu is at a defining moment. Long the historic and economic heart of the city, the district is emerging from COVID amid significant transition. Office-to-residential conversions are bringing new residents downtown, new restaurants and businesses are opening, and major local employers continue to anchor the area. At the same time, ongoing challenges related to safety, cleanliness, vacancies, and public space conditions make clear that coordinated, decisive leadership is essential. Landowners, businesses, and civic leaders are aligned in their belief that downtown’s future depends on a more unified and proactive approach, and the Downtown Honolulu Business Improvement District was created to meet this moment.
Dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in downtown Honolulu, and setting a standard for the State of Hawaiʻi, the BID works in close partnership with government and the private sector to create a safe, clean, and welcoming environment in which people can live, work, and play. As a nonprofit entity funded entirely through assessments on commercial properties and fully reinvested back into the district, the BID delivers visible, on-the-ground supplemental services including enhanced security, sanitation and maintenance, marketing and economic development, and policy advocacy. By aligning landowners, businesses, and public partners around a shared strategy, the BID enables collective investment, accountability, and impact, laying the groundwork for renewed confidence, increased activity, and long-term vitality in Downtown Honolulu.
At the center of this effort is the Executive Director, the founding chief executive of the Downtown Honolulu BID. This is a rare ground-floor opportunity for a politically astute, relationship-driven leader with strong financial and operational management. The Executive Director will work closely with the Board, manage service partners, steward resources, and build trust across city, state, commercial and community stakeholders. For the right leader, this role offers the chance to steward a true inflection point, protecting existing assets, supporting new investment, and revitalizing Downtown Honolulu for years to come.
YMCA of Honolulu, President & Chief Executive Officer
September 29, 2025
Thank you for your interest – the search is now closed, and the position has been filled.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION
The YMCA is one of the nation’s largest and most trusted nonprofit movements, advancing youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility in 2,650 YMCAs serving 10,000 communities across the United States. Guided by the mission “to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all,” the Y engages millions of youth and adults annually and is anchored by core values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.
Established in 1869, the YMCA of Honolulu has grown alongside our community to become one of Hawaiʻi’s largest nonprofit organizations, delivering hundreds of programs for keiki, teens, families, and kūpuna that strengthen belonging, well‑being, and resilience. With strong presence across Oʻahu, the YMCA of Honolulu operates ten strategically located branches, including the Altherton Y, Camp H.R. Erdman Y, Central Y Residences, Kaimuki-Waiʻalae Y, Kalihi Y, Leeward Y, Mililani West Oahu Y, Nuʻuanu Y, Waiʻanae Coast Y, and Windward Y. In addition, the YMCA manages child care and afterschool programs in 59 locations through partnerships with local organizations. The Association’s work reflects local needs and values and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors partnering with professional staff to deliver impact across Oʻahu.
The YMCA of Honolulu’s historic Nuʻuanu Branch, long a cornerstone of the Pali corridor, is entering an exciting new chapter, reimagined to serve the evolving needs of the community for generations to come. Driven by transformational support, including a $5 million leadership gift from The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation and a $3 million contribution from the David C. Ai Charitable Trust, early plans envision a dynamic, multi-story facility that integrates affordable housing, modern health and wellness spaces, early learning, and intergenerational programming. Designed to foster partnerships and deepen community impact, the reimagined Nuʻuanu Y will extend its reach far beyond its walls. While planning and community engagement continue to move forward, the current site remains open and active, continuing to serve members with the spirit and values that have defined the Y for decades.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
The President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) of the YMCA of Honolulu is responsible for establishing and implementing the organization’s mission, vision, values, and strategic goals in close partnership with the Board of Directors. As the YMCA’s top executive, the CEO leads with purpose and direction to ensure that the Y remains a trusted, inclusive, and impactful community resource.
This role provides overall leadership for the organization's success and sustainability, including oversight of its strategic direction, financial health, staff development, community partnerships, government relations, philanthropy, and operational excellence. The CEO is also responsible for fostering innovative youth and family programs, growing membership, and expanding participation in both YMCA-led and government-supported services.
Reporting directly to the volunteer Board of Directors, the CEO oversees the senior leadership team and collaborates across departments and with external stakeholders to ensure mission alignment and community responsiveness.
The ideal candidate will be a values-based leader who inspires others to engage with the YMCA’s core values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility, and diversity, and who brings a passion for empowering people and strengthening communities through inclusive and visionary leadership.