Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Life Unlimited, Inc.

North Kansas City, Missouri  

The Moran Company is pleased to partner with Life Unlimited, Inc. (LU) to recruit the organization's next Chief Executive Officer.

Position Summary

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) provides visionary, strategic, and operational leadership for Life Unlimited in alignment with the organization’s mission, values, strategic plan, and commitment to excellence. The CEO ensures the organization operates as a high-performing, innovative, financially sustainable, and mission-driven nonprofit organization supporting people with disabilities as they experience life with unlimited possibilities.

The CEO leads through a strong executive and leadership structure by empowering, developing, and delegating responsibility to senior leaders across the organization.
The CEO serves as the primary leader and ambassador of the organization and works collaboratively with the Board of Directors and the Executive Leadership team.

The Ideal Candidate

LU is seeking candidates with a compelling combination of experience and skills that will meet the challenges and opportunities inherent in this position. The ideal candidate possesses:

• Transparent and collaborative leadership qualities: The ability to partner effectively with an engaged Board of Directors, inspire an internal executive team, champion high-quality services, and foster a culture of safety and inclusion where staff and residents feel valued, supported, and encouraged to thrive.
• Organizational management skills: Superior management abilities demonstrated in a large organization with budget management, profit and loss accountability, and planning and delegating required to manage a 500-employee organization.
• Visionary and innovative leadership: The ability to craft a vision and communicate the strategic future so as to inspire staff, board, and stakeholders to work toward that future.
• Revenue growth management experience: Experience developing diverse revenue streams outside of public funding for services and experience in Medicaid reimbursement systems.
• Operating discipline and organization infrastructure: A leader who builds the systems, processes, and management framework that let the organization scale well, and who understands that infrastructure precedes growth rather than following it.

Organizational Overview
 
Life Unlimited (LU) is the largest service provider for adults with disabilities in the Kansas City metro area, with the mission to support people with disabilities as they experience life with unlimited possibilities. LU’s vision is to become the premier provider of supports and services for people with disabilities, signifying quality, innovation, and person-centered principles. LU is accredited by CARF International in six program areas and has been accredited since 1991. In 2025 LU was recognized by Ingram’s Magazine as one of the “best companies to work for.”

In 2025 LU announced a major, innovative housing project called “The Trails Neighborhood.” With federal, state and community funding, 30 homes housing over 130 people will be built in a planned neighborhood. A capital campaign is underway.

Life Unlimited currently serves over 1,000 adults with disabilities throughout Kansas City and Northwest Missouri with the support of 540 employees and an operating budget of $50 million. The LU program divisions are:

Community Living (Currently 177 individuals) - LU provides housing and supports to adults in a variety of residential settings (now 72 locations) throughout the Kansas City area. Services focus on community integration.

Community Support Options (CSO) (Currently 57 individuals) - The CSO program provides support to attain and maintain independent living. CSO is comprised of 3 types of services: individualized skill development, community integration, and personal assistant services.

Community Therapeutic Recreation Program (Currently 500+ individuals) - The program offers hundreds of activity opportunities that promote physical well-being, social skills development, and community integration.

Employment Services (Currently 65 individuals) - LU provides individualized employment services to adults with disabilities, including job skills training, placement, and coaching.

My Day (Currently 190 individuals) – In LU’s day program, called “My Day,” dedicated support staff work with adults as they make their goals and dreams a reality.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Services (Currently 53 individuals) - Board-certified specialists are available onsite to provide assessments and recommended interventions for those living with intellectual and developmental disabilities who qualify based on behavior excesses or deficits.

Consumer Directed Services (CDS) (Currently 36 individuals) - CDS allows individuals to choose, train, and manage their own personal care attendants, often including family members or friends, to assist with daily living activities, household chores, and personal hygiene based on their schedules and needs.

In-Home Services (Currently 91 individuals) - LU provides staff who visit for a few hours a day to assist with household chores, daily living activities, or nursing care based on individual needs.

CEO Essential Job Functions & Key Responsibilities – 5 Areas

1. Exceptional Services

The CEO ensures Life Unlimited delivers innovative, person-centered, high-quality services that improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and exceed regulatory and stakeholder expectations.

Key Responsibilities

• Champion a culture focused on dignity, inclusion, quality outcomes, and meaningful life experiences for individuals supported.
• Ensure all services meet or exceed external standards and lead the development of innovative programs.
• Promote innovation, continuous quality improvement, and data-driven decision-making, and utilize measurable outcomes and metrics plus stakeholder feedback to evaluate effectiveness.
• Foster strategic partnerships that strengthen services and improve community integration opportunities for individuals supported.

2. Exceptional Workforce

The CEO develops and sustains a mission-driven, accountable, collaborative, and high-performing workplace culture that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional employees.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead through a strong executive and leadership structure by empowering, developing, and delegating responsibility to senior leaders across the organization.
• Inspire and model a positive, inclusive, and values-driven organizational culture.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, and retain high-performing leaders and teams.
• Develop organizational structures, staffing models, and operational systems that support growth and effectiveness.

3. Growth & Innovation

The CEO drives strategic growth, innovation, business development, and organizational advancement to strengthen LU’s impact and long-term sustainability and position Life Unlimited as a leader in innovation and disability services.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of strategic plans, business plans, and organizational goals.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for growth, innovation, partnerships, mergers, housing developments, social enterprises, and service expansion.
• Utilize technology, data systems, and operational analytics to improve outcomes and efficiency.
• Support organizational advancement through fund development, marketing, public relations, and strategic communications.

4. Financial Strength

The CEO serves as the primary steward of the organization’s financial and physical resources while ensuring long-term sustainability and responsible growth.

Key Responsibilities

• Ensure the financial health, operational stability, efficiency, and sustainability of the organization.
• Manage the development of and oversee organizational budgets, financial strategies, forecasting, and operational performance metrics.
• Ensure sound fiscal management, financial stewardship, and responsible allocation of resources so that resources are utilized ethically, effectively, and in compliance with applicable standards.
• Lead efforts to diversify funding sources to contribute to long-term sustainability.

5. Advocacy & Community Engagement

The CEO serves as the organization’s chief advocate and ambassador, advancing disability rights, strengthening community partnerships and stakeholder relationships, and increasing awareness and support for LU’s mission.

Key Responsibilities

• Advocate for individuals with disabilities and support initiatives that improve quality of life, access, inclusion, housing, employment, healthcare, and community opportunities.
• Promote legislative advocacy efforts at local, state, and national levels.
• Represent Life Unlimited publicly with professionalism, integrity, and mission-centered leadership engaging media, public officials, industry organizations, and community stakeholders.
• Support fundraising, donor engagement, and community awareness efforts.

Required Qualifications

• Seven or more years of increasingly responsible executive leadership experience is required. Ten or more years leading an organization of similar size, complexity, and scope is preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Passion for advancing opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities.
• Proven success in organizational leadership, operational growth, financial stewardship, and strategic planning.
• Demonstrated experience building high-performing cultures and leadership teams.
• Proven ability to lead organizational growth, innovation, and change management initiatives.
• Experience with budgeting, financial analysis, and operational oversight.
• Strong understanding of nonprofit leadership and regulatory compliance.