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Job Description
THE OPPORTUNITY AT THE MAHASKA COUNTY YMCA
The Mahaska County YMCA offers a distinctive executive leadership opportunity for a CEO who is energized by community partnership, operational integration, and visible civic leadership. This is a rare moment to lead one of Iowa's long-standing YMCAs into its next chapter while the organization transitions from a legacy facility model into a modern, community-anchored campus designed around early childhood education, wellness, recreation, aquatics, and family connection.
The next CEO will inherit both momentum and meaningful work. The YMCA has opened its Green Street facility, experienced substantial membership growth, and, by the time the next CEO is on board, will have opened the new Aquatic Center. With the Green Street facility, Early Childhood Education and Recreation Facility, and Aquatic Center operating as one integrated campus, the Y will be positioned to bring its primary operations under one roof while moving away from active YMCA use of the 3rd Street facility. The role calls for a leader who can integrate people, systems, facilities, culture, revenue, and community expectations into one clear operating model.
What differentiates this opportunity is the scale of community trust behind it. The YMCA is part of a major public and nonprofit partnership with the City of Oskaloosa, the Oskaloosa Community School District, and the Mahaska County community to advance a new Early Childhood Education and Recreation Facility. This work reflects a community that sees the Y not simply as a fitness center, but as civic infrastructure. The next CEO will have the opportunity to steward that trust, strengthen the Y's voice in countywide quality of life efforts, and ensure the facility becomes a hub where children, families, seniors, employers, schools, and partners experience the mission every day.
The CEO will also have the opportunity to help shape the future use and long-term potential of the Bruce and Mary Lou Sedrel Day Camp, a YMCA-owned 10-acre outdoor asset adjacent to Lake Keomah State Park. While the Green Street campus will serve as the Y's primary operational hub, the Sedrel Day Camp offers meaningful potential for expanded youth, family, outdoor education, recreation, and community programming in the years ahead.
This is an excellent opportunity for a strategic operator and relationship builder who can balance near-term execution with long-term positioning. Priorities include strengthening fiscal performance, expanding annual campaign, endowment, grant, and partnership revenue, developing and stabilizing the staff structure, elevating the member experience, growing youth and senior engagement, and ensuring the new Aquatic Center opens with operational discipline, strong safety practices, and a clear plan for sustainable impact.
ABOUT THE MAHASKA COUNTY YMCA
The Mahaska County YMCA has been part of the community fabric since 1866. Its first YMCA building opened in 1903 and was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt. A second facility on 3rd Avenue broke ground in 1968 and was dedicated in 1969. The dedication of the new Green Street YMCA in May 2024 marked a generational milestone, and the opening of the Aquatic Center on Green Street in August 2026 will complete the next major chapter in the Y's physical and programmatic evolution.
As operations shift to the Green Street campus, the YMCA will no longer actively use the 3rd Street facility for YMCA purposes. Following the move to the new Aquatic Center, the aquatics portion of the 3rd Street facility will be decommissioned in an orderly fashion. The remainder of the building is currently, and is expected to continue being, operated by the Oskaloosa Community School District as a Home School support facility. The YMCA is working with OCSD on terms for the continued operation of the facility, building on a strong partnership that also includes the Early Childhood Education and Recreation Facility and the Aquatic Center.
Today, the Mahaska County YMCA serves primarily Mahaska County, including Oskaloosa, University Park, Beacon, New Sharon, Rose Hill, Lake Keomah, Leighton, and surrounding communities, while also drawing participants from Pella, Eddyville, Sigourney, and other nearby areas. The YMCA's service area includes approximately 22,000 county residents, with Oskaloosa serving as the county seat.
The Mahaska County YMCA is a cause-driven organization strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Its impact is especially visible in childcare, where the YMCA is the largest childcare provider in the community and has a strong reputation for early learning and quality care for children from six weeks through preschool, as well as before school, after school, and summer camp programming. The YMCA also provides a free healthy snack program for youth in the community.
The organization is deeply committed to safety. The Mahaska County YMCA is participating in the Praesidium class of 2028, childcare staff participate in ongoing continuing education, aquatic staff participate in monthly trainings, and the Childcare Director and Aquatic Director serve as trainers in their respective program areas.
Our Mission
To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. The Mahaska County YMCA is a cause-driven organization strengthening community through youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility.
Our Cause & Values
To strengthen the foundations of community and instill the values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility.
Our Culture:

• The Y Experience - The Y Experience is built from our mission and encompasses the values and philosophy by which we serve and operate
• Welcoming - We are open to all. We are a place where you can be yourself and find yourself in others.
• Genuine - We value you and embrace your individuality.
• Hopeful - We believe in you and your potential to do good in the world.
• Nurturing - We support you as you become the best-version-of-yourself.
• Determined - Above all else, we are on a relentless quest to make our community stronger, beginning with you

Current Key Strategic Initiatives:

• Improve childcare impact.
• Improve personnel and volunteer engagement.
• Increase youth and senior usage.
• Strengthen annual campaign, endowment, and grant income.
• Integrate primary YMCA operations at the Green Street campus following the opening of the Aquatic Center.
• Explore the long-term potential of the Bruce and Mary Lou Sedrel Day Camp as an outdoor program and community asset.

Membership: 1,606 membership units and 3,273 total members.
Branch Information:

• Green Street YMCA / ECE Facility: Primary campus.
• New Aquatic Center: Opens August 2026.
• 3rd Street Facility: Transitioning out of active YMCA use.
• Bruce and Mary Lou Sedrel Day Camp: 10-acre day camp.
• Service Area: Mahaska County and surrounding communities.

Core Programs:

• Childcare and early learning
• Before school, after school, and summer camp
• Free healthy snack program for youth
• Aquatics, swim lessons, water exercise, and swim team
• Youth and adult sports
• Wellness, personal training, group exercise, senior fitness
• Special events, certifications, and family engagement
• Outdoor day camp and nature-based youth and family programming

Annual Support Campaign:

• Current Year Goal: $155,000
• Prior Year's Total: $153,021
• Current Year's Progress Toward Goal: Approximately $146,000
• Recent Capital Campaign: $33M Green Street campus and Aquatic Center partnership with the City, OCSD, and Mahaska community.

CEO Direct Reports:

• Childcare Director
• Aquatics Director
• Sports / Wellness Director
• Maintenance / Custodial Director
• Membership Coordinator
• School Age / Marketing Director, currently vacant
• Business Director, currently vacant

Board of Directors: 14 members

• The Board includes civic, business, and community leaders who are deeply invested in the YMCA's future.
• Established committees include Childcare (monthly), Endowment (quarterly), Finance (monthly), Fund Development (monthly), Governance (as needed), Membership (monthly), and Site & Facilities (monthly). The Board of Directors meets monthly.

Financial Snapshot:

• Current Annual Budget Size: $2.6 million
• Current Debt: Approximately $85,000 as of the end of April 2026
• Current Endowment: The Mahaska County YMCA Endowment Fund is in its initial stage with approximately $10,000. The YMCA also has an interest in the Lacy Trust of $1.5 million, with approximately $75,000 drawn annually.
• Last Year Operating Net: Three-year pattern of deficit operations, largely tied to aquatic center delays and related facility complexity
• Current Year Budgeted Operating Net: Budgeted operating deficit of $28,685
• Current Year Budgeted Operating Net Before Depreciation: Approximately $103,000
• Current Year Progress: As of March 31, 2026, the YMCA was operating at net of depreciation of approximately $119,000

ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY
Oskaloosa, Iowa offers the kind of quality of life that is increasingly attractive to leaders and families seeking both purpose and pace. As the county seat of Mahaska County, Oskaloosa combines small-town warmth, civic pride, and a strong sense of belonging with the amenities and partnerships that support a vibrant life. It is a place where the next CEO can be highly visible, build authentic relationships quickly, and see the tangible results of community leadership.
The heart of Oskaloosa is its beautiful town square, anchored by a historic bandstand and surrounded by locally owned shops, restaurants, coffee spots, public art, murals, and seasonal flowers. Summer brings music, community events, and gatherings on the square, including concerts and downtown celebrations that create a strong sense of place. The community also offers cultural and creative assets such as the George Daily Auditorium, Oskaloosa Art Center, Nelson Pioneer Farm, the public library, and long-standing community events such as Art on the Square.
Outdoor recreation is woven into daily life. Residents enjoy Lake Keomah State Park, Edmundson Park, golf, fishing, walking and biking trails, sports, and family-friendly recreation. The presence of Bruce Sedrel YMCA Day Camp at Lake Keomah gives the YMCA a direct connection to one of the area's signature outdoor assets.
Oskaloosa also benefits from strong community institutions. William Penn University brings higher education, energy, events, and students to the community. Mahaska Health provides healthcare access for Oskaloosa and southeast Iowa, and local employers such as Musco, Clow Valve, Interpower Corp., and other regional businesses contribute to a diversified local economy. For the next YMCA CEO, this community offers more than a place to live. It offers a place to lead.
Information Sites:
Mahaska County YMCA: www.mahaskaymca.org
City of Oskaloosa: www.oskaloosaiowa.org
Mahaska Chamber and Development Group: www.oacdg.org
Mahaska Health: www.mahaskahealth.org
William Penn University: www.wmpenn.edu
Qualifications
Criteria for Candidates:

• Accredited 4-year college degree and/or equivalent work experience.
• Fiscally sound business management approach with a proven track record of budgetary and fiscal management, preferably with budgets of $2 million or more annually.
• Minimum seven years prior experience in a senior management role with a YMCA or related experience at a comparable organization with direct supervision of multiple levels of staff and employees.
• Ability to develop, strengthen, and sustain community relationships and partnerships.
• Ability to develop innovative programs, review and enhance current programs, and evaluate both economic viability and effectiveness in broadening engagement across the communities served.
• Strategic planning and fundraising experience, including annual campaigns, grants, donor engagement, partnership development, and endowment growth.
• Demonstrated team leadership, delegation, staff development, and accountability skills.
• YMCA Organizational Leader Certification or ability to achieve within 3 years.

Essential Functions
KEY SKILLS AND ABILITIES OF OUR NEXT CEO
The Board believes its new CEO should be an experienced leader who has the background and qualities that will permit them to achieve excellence in the following roles:
Develop and Implement a Strategic Plan: Work effectively with volunteers, community leaders, and key staff, to create and develop a strategic plan that addresses the needs of the communities served by the Y and includes defined organizational strategies, a clear implementation plan with deliverables, and measurable goals. Key competencies: Change Leadership, Communication & Influence, Critical Thinking & Decision Making, Program/Project Management
Improve Operating Performance: Engage the board and appropriate staff to develop an annual tactical plan for identifying and achieving key goals and objectives towards operating with safe, relevant, and sustainable practices. Quickly address issues that may arise, forecast future needs, and manage and direct the Y's operations and activities. Key competencies: Developing Self & Others, Critical Thinking & Decision Making, Innovation
Fiscal Management: Use high-level financial analysis to forecast financial trends, growth, and stability, while consistently leading the organization to balance or surplus operations by growing earned revenue and contributions and controlling costs. Empower and guide staff lead...