Talent

Building the Nonprofit Talent
You Need to Thrive

Finding and keeping top nonprofit talent has never been more challenging. Orr Group helps organizations attract, recruit, and retain the leaders and staff they need to achieve their mission.

We conduct nonprofit executive searches, manage recruiting, perform HR assessments, provide outsourced HR leadership, deliver training and coaching, and support organizational design. By embedding experienced professionals within your team, we offer practical solutions and data-driven strategies that build a mission-aligned culture where people thrive.

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Our Talent Services

Recruitment and Hiring Support

Attracting top nonprofit talent requires a thoughtful and well-managed process. Orr Group leads organizations through the full cycle of nonprofit executive search and recruiting — from marketing the role to candidate prospecting, screening, and placement. Our approach ensures that every search identifies the right candidates who are aligned with your mission and culture.

  • Full-Service Recruitment
  • Hiring Support Recruitment
  • Recruitment Prospect Research

Interim HR Leadership and Management

When your HR capacity is stretched, Orr Group provides embedded professionals who serve as part of your HR team, often in a leadership role. We oversee employee relations, performance management, compliance, and other critical functions, while also offering outsourced HR leadership and finance services. This support allows your organization to maintain continuity and stability during transitions.

  • Interim HR Leadership
  • Outsourced Finance Services
  • Outplacement Services

Compensation Assessments and Organizational Design

We provide strategic counsel and benchmarking to help you build competitive compensation and benefits programs that support equity and retention. Our work also includes guiding organizational design decisions so that your staffing structure aligns with your goals and resources.

  • Compensation Assessments
  • HR and Staffing Assessments
  • Organizational Design

DEI, Culture Building, Training and Coaching

Orr Group partners with you to strengthen your workplace culture and advance your DEI priorities. We deliver practical guidance, training, and implementation support, helping your team foster inclusion, improve collaboration, and build leadership capacity across the organization.

  • DEI and Culture Building
  • Training and Coaching
  • Custom Culture Programs
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Nonprofit Talent Success Stories

APIA Scholars

When APIA Scholars needed to strengthen team alignment and build HR capacity, they turned to Orr Group. Together, we started with a leadership and all-staff retreat that reconnected the team to its core values and reset internal dynamics.

From there, we conducted a full HR assessment and compliance audit, introduced new people-focused initiatives like APIA Scholars’ first 360-performance review, and provided interim HR leadership to manage employee relations and implement change.

By the end of the engagement, we had recruited a full-time AVP of People & Culture to carry the work forward. Today, APIA Scholars has a stronger HR function, renewed staff engagement, and a sustainable framework to support its growing impact.

Read the full case study →

Trees for the Future

As Trees for the Future prepared for its next phase of growth, the organization created a new CEO position to oversee staff, programs, and operations. To ensure a smooth transition, TREES partnered with Orr Group to lead a comprehensive CEO search.

Over four months, we managed every step of the process — from marketing and candidate outreach to interviews, selection, reference checks, and onboarding. Working closely with the Executive Search Committee, we identified seven strong candidates and successfully placed a CEO who could guide the organization into its future.

With new leadership in place, Trees for the Future is positioned to continue its mission of advancing sustainable land use, strengthening food systems, and creating thriving communities worldwide.

Read the full case study →
“ Orr Group felt like an extension of our team. They took the time to understand our mission and staff, which allowed us to focus on priority talent and HR projects aligned with our real-time needs. Their team helped us prioritize initiatives, identify areas of opportunity for organizational growth, and was flexible and accessible as new challenges emerged. I always felt like I had a strong team at the ready, and their expertise in HR and talent services is unmatched. I would confidently recommend Orr Group as a trusted partner.”
“Orr Group felt like an extension of our team. They took the time to understand our mission and staff, which allowed us to focus on priority talent and HR projects aligned with our real-time needs. Their team helped us prioritize initiatives, identify areas of opportunity for organizational growth, and was flexible and accessible as new challenges emerged. I always felt like I had a strong team at the ready, and their expertise in HR and talent services is unmatched. I would confidently recommend Orr Group as a trusted partner.”

Michelle Cohenour, Chief Operating Officer, APIA Scholars

“ Our search committee interviewed several executive search firms. Orr Group was different. At every stage they executed their plan in an efficient and productive manner. We found them to be an indispensable partner and would not hesitate to hire them again and recommend them to any nonprofit looking for experienced executive leadership.”
“Our search committee interviewed several executive search firms. Orr Group was different. At every stage they executed their plan in an efficient and productive manner. We found them to be an indispensable partner and would not hesitate to hire them again and recommend them to any nonprofit looking for experienced executive leadership.”

Shannon Hawkins, Board Member, Trees for the Future

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Nonprofit Executive Search FAQs

What does a nonprofit executive search and recruitment consultant do?

A nonprofit talent consultant helps organizations manage their most important asset—their people. They go beyond headhunting to build the infrastructure that helps staff thrive. Their services might include:

 

  • Stakeholder alignment: Before posting a job, they facilitate conversations with the board and current leadership to build consensus on what the organization actually needs to guide the recruitment process.
  • Proactive sourcing: The top executive search consultants use their industry networks to actively recruit active and passive candidates who fit the role.
  • Rigorous vetting: They conduct in-depth behavioral interviews, evaluate track records, and perform comprehensive reference checks to ensure candidates possess both the technical skills and the emotional intelligence required to fit a nonprofit’s cuture.
  • Offer negotiation: They act as a neutral mediator during the final stages, structuring compensation packages and navigating sensitive contract discussions to close the deal smoothly.

What are the benefits of using a consultant for executive search?

Working with a specialized executive search consultant helps your nonprofit avoid costly pitfalls and engage the best talent. Key benefits include:

 

  • Access to talent: Typically, top candidates are already employed and therefore not looking at job postings. Consultants have deep networks and the time to proactively recruit passive candidates.
  • Objectivity: Office politics and unconscious bias can sway internal hiring committees. A consultant provides a structured, objective scorecard system to ensure you hire the best person for the role.
  • Risk management: A consultant ensures your recruitment practices are legally sound, protecting the organization from lawsuits.
  • Speed: Hiring a senior leader may take your board months. Consultants can often cut this time in half by dedicating full-time resources to the search.

Why is Orr Group the best choice for nonprofit executive search services?

Unlike traditional search firms that operate on a transactional model, our experts at Orr Group integrate into your team, functioning as interim HR leaders or internal recruiters. This hands-on approach helps us deeply understand your culture and operational gaps before striving to fill them. Because Orr Group is, at its core, a fundraising consultancy, we know exactly what technical skills and personality traits define a successful executive and can find the best fit accordingly.

How can we get started with Orr Group?

Ready to supercharge your talent workflows? Contact us here, and one of our experts will be in touch to discuss your talent management needs.

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