Executive Director Full-time

When you join Sunrise Senior Living, you will be able to use your unique skills to empower residents to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. Not only will you build meaningful relationships with residents, their families, and team members alike, you will also gain joy in serving others and deep fulfillment in your work. Explore how you can follow your passions and shed light on meaningful ways to serve, grow, and shine together.

Sunrise Senior Living was again certified as a Great Place to Work® by Activated Insights. This is the 9th time Sunrise has received this top culture and workplace designation, highlighting the special place Sunrise is to be a part of.

COMMUNITY NAME: Sunrise of Cary Job ID: 2026-241785 JOB OVERVIEW:

The Executive Director is responsible for overall leadership, management, and success of the community. Responsibilities include but are not limited to financial management, hiring, supervising, training, team member relations and recognition, communication, family services, resident well-being, quality assurance, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, a key component of this position is the ownership of the Sales and Marketing process to ensure maximization of revenue and our market position. At Sunrise, we pride ourselves as pioneers of the senior living industry in setting standards of excellence; we strive to provide care and services to seniors better than anyone. The Executive Director creates, in alignment with our mission and values, a positive atmosphere in the community for residents, family and friends, and all team members.

RESPONSIBILITIES & QUALIFICATIONS:

Essential Duties

As a part of the Sunrise team, supporting our Mission, Principles of Service and Core Values is a fundamental part of this job. Our foundational belief is the sacred value of human life. The unique responsibilities for this role include but are not limited to the essential functions listed as follows:

Inspiring Others

• Motivate individuals toward higher levels of performance that are aligned with the organization’s vision and values.
• Communicate a clear, customer focused vision, based upon a Resident Centered Model of care.
• Model a strong belief in mission, vision, and purpose.
• Articulate clearly, in words and behavior, the Sunrise Shared Values, Principles of Service, the Sunrise Team Credo and the Leaders Serve Hallmarks.

Guiding Team Success

• Build, motivate, and guide a cohesive team to complete team goals using appropriate methods and a flexible interpersonal style.
• Provide clear direction and structure for the team in order to support their success.
• Manage the talent selection process effectively by utilizing Sunrise best practices and resources.
• Embrace workforce diversity.
• Establish stretch but realistic team goals and motivates the team to work together to achieve them.
• Share important and relevant information with the team.
• Ensure consistent and timely orientation and ongoing training is delivered to team members.
• Focus on building team engagement by providing team building opportunities, addressing team member concerns, and guiding the team in conflict resolution.
• Promote the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as a resource for team members.
• Research and resolve Hotline Call Reports timely and effectively.

Coaching and Developing Others

• Provide feedback, instruction, and development guidance to help others excel in their current or future job responsibilities and plans and support the development of individual skills and abilities.
• Convey performance expectations and provide timely feedback to ensure performance standards are met.
• Hold effective one on one meetings with direct reports.
• Provide feedback and counsel on a continuous basis.
• Support team members’ career growth by having regular development-focused conversations.
• Utilize and promote Sunrise’s development programs as appropriate to prepare high-potential team members for future roles.
• Build a qualified, internal pipeline for community roles and strive to promote internal team members to key leadership positions.

Creating a Culture of Trust

• Foster a work environment that encourages people to act with integrity and treat each other and their ideas with respect, create and protect a high-trust environment by setting an example, advocate for others in the face of challenges, remove barriers to trust, and reward others for demonstrating behaviors that cultivate trust.
• Demonstrate personal integrity and set an example by being honest, keeping commitments, and behaving consistently.
• Establish and sustain trusting relationships by accurately perceiving and interpreting own and others’ emotions.
• Listen and respond with empathy.
• Treat people with dignity, respect, and fairness.
• Create an environment that results in team members sharing positive feedback related to trust on annual engagement surveys.
• Encourage disclosure and facilitate an open exchange of ideas.
• Advocate for both team members and residents.
• Provide frequent and consistent communication with team, residents, and the community.

Leading Change

• Drive organizational and cultural changes needed to achieve strategic objectives, catalyze new approaches to improve results by transforming organizational culture, systems, or products/services, and help others overcome resistance to change.
• Identify change opportunities that lead to improved customer service, efficiencies, cost reduction, and team member engagement.
• Create momentum by explaining the purpose of change, taking action, and encouraging others to take action to improve organizational culture, processes, or products/services.
• Facilitate transition for team members by helping them overcome resistance, seeking their ideas and feedback, and demonstrating sensitivity to concerns.

Customer Focus

• Ensure that the internal or external customer’s perspective is a driving force behind strategic priorities, business decisions, organizational processes, and individual activities, craft and implement service practices that meet customers’ and own organization’s needs, and promote and operationalize customer service as a value.
• Achieve outstanding customer engagement and team member engagement survey results, realizing that this is key to achieving customer engagement.
• Lead the development and regular review of the engagement improvement plan.
• Resolve customer concerns effectively through consistent use of the problem resolution program.
• Hold consistent and effective Resident Council meetings.
• Achieve customer referrals on a regular, recurring basis and strive to be above the company average.
• Ensure that the leadership team interacts with residents.
• Maintain a commitment to say “YES” and the courage to say “NO” only when absolutely needed.
• Strive for minimal loss of residents to competitors, with a declining trend that is below company average.

Quality Assurance and Regulatory Compliance

• Strive for excellent quality care and service delivery and institute and ensure corrective action in a timely manner.
• Review customer and secret shopper surveys and act accordingly by instituting appropriate corrective actions in a timely manner.
• Develop a thorough working knowledge of state/provincial regulations and Sunrise policies and procedures dictated for residents and ensures compliance.
• Act as the Community Privacy Representative.
• Ensure all resident administrative files are well maintained, current, and in compliance with state/provincial regulations.
• Follow up on issues identified in the regional team site visit report.
• Follow up on mock survey process.
• Ensure community is in compliance with national/provincial regulations pertaining to occupational health and safety.
• Provide leadership and promotion of the Sunrise Safety and Risk Management policies.
• Review all incident reports and ensures corrective actions are in place in a timely manner.
• Practice safety procedures at all times including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), fire extinguishers, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and Lockout Tagout procedures.

Family Services

• Maintain monthly proactive communication with resident’s family members or responsible parties via calls, care plan meetings, letters from the Executive Director, etc.
• Oversee the planning of an in-house family event monthly.
• Encourage family involvement via Volunteer Programs.
• Make self available to residents and their families.
• Ensure implementation and maintenance of a family support program.
• Ensure Family Service Meetings are happening regularly according to Sunrise policy.
• Ensure Sunrise Wellness and Resident Care systems are implemented and followed.

Business Development and Top Line Growth

• Demonstrate the ability to identify and build relationships within the local area that drives business into the community, as well as effectively price the product, thereby maximizing top-line revenue growth and achieving appropriate market position.
• Spend one hour weekly with the Director of Sales (DOS), coaching as the DOS makes database contact calls.
• Ensure that the DOS is using selling skills terminology in lead management and customer relations database and achieving benchmark sales effectiveness metrics, new leads, IPP’s/SPP’s, and sales.
• Spend five minutes per day, performing post call reviews of DOS’s in-person presentations.
• Hold DOS accountable for the community’s daily contact goal.
• Ensure the community has an effective external business development strategy in place, with clear accountabilities assigned and the ability to articulate results and adjust plan accordingly to maximize referral leads and move-ins.
• Hold DOS and other community leaders accountable for a predetermined number of quality visits and establishes appropriate referral sources, resulting in move-ins from referrals approaching company best practice standards.

Driving for Results

• Set high goals for personal and group accomplishment, use measurement methods to monitor progress toward goals, and work tenaciously to meet or exceed goals while deriving satisfaction from that achievement and continuous improvement.
• Meet Net Operating Income (NOI) expectations.
• Meet occupancy expectations.
• Manages the Profit and Loss (P&L).
• Achieve and execute consistent labor/labour schedules seven days a week.
• Achieve great resident retention through a focus on service.
• Participate in local business councils.
• Instill in team members a “whole community approach”.
• Drive ownership to the department leaders.

Business Acumen

• Use one’s knowledge of economic, financial, market, and industry trends to understand and improve individual, work group, and/or organizational results and use one’s understanding of major business functions, industry trends, and own organization’s position to contribute to effective business strategies and/or tactics.
• Meet the financial targets with the goal to maximize the capital partners return.
• Think abstractly and make things work when there is no absolute instruction and is able to adapt to business needs.
• Possess functional knowledge of all operating programs including memory care, clinical, dining, and social programs.
• Make accurate forecasts.
• Overcome competitive obstacles.
• Understand market dynamics:
  • What is our niche?
  • What do we do better or worse than our competition?
  • New service opportunities.
  • Demographics – culture, income, ethnicity, size.
  • Labor/labour availability – overcome obstacles.

Financial Management

• Strive to improve profitability year over year in line with owner expectations.
• Prepare and adhere to the community budget.
• Ensure budgeted revenue is achieved or exceeded by maximizing occupancy and room rate.
• Review monthly financial statements and implement plans of action for deficiencies.
• Utilize revenue management tools to effectively manage pricing to benchmarks including service level and other program margins and utilization.
• Manage collections process effectively.
• Manage variable and other productive labor/labour to benchmarks, adjusting timely to occupancy and service level changes.
• Manage key, non-labor/non-labour operating costs in line with budgeted levels.
• Process and submit monthly expenses and budget data timely per Sunrise policies and internal business controls.

Operational Decision Making

• Secure and compare information from multiple sources to identify business issues and commits to an action after weighing alternative solutions against important decision criteria.
• Comply with all regulations and principles.
• Think past today (proactive).
• Learn from bad decisions.
• Encourage and reward for prudent risk taking.
• Maintain compliance in assigned required training and all training required by state/province or other regulating authorities as applicable to this role to ensure that Sunrise standards are always met.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Core Competencies

• Ability to handle multiple priorities effectively
• Ability to delegate assignments to the appropriate individuals
• Excellent written and verbal skills for effective communication and the ability to facilitate small group presentations
• Proficient in organizational and time management skills
• Demonstrates good judgment and problem solving and decision-making skills

Experience and Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed throughout this job description are representative of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required.

• College degree preferred; degree and management experience may be required per state/provincial requirements
• Administrator’s License / certification may be required per state/provincial requirements
• Prior General Manager/Administrator experience focused on growing both top and bottom lines; required length determined by type of community
• Previous management experience including hiring, coaching, performance management, daily operations supervision, and leading a team through change
• Previous sales experience preferred, including building customer relationships, and resolving customer concerns.
• Passion for working with seniors
• Demonstration of success in managing operating expenses
• Demonstration of proficiency in computer skills, Microsoft Office and Sunrise applications with the ability to learn new applications
• As applicable, all Sunrise team members who drive a Sunrise vehicle must review and sign the Driver job description and understand the key essential duties for safety
• Ability to work weekends, evenings, and flexible hours to be available for our customers at peak service delivery days and times

ABOUT SUNRISE:

Ready to take the next step and make a bigger impact than you ever imagined? As part of our team, you will help brighten the future for everyone at Sunrise and beyond. That is why we make it a priority to celebrate the unique ways you bring moments of togetherness and joy to everyone you serve. And when combined with the support, benefits, and growth opportunities we offer, the result is a career that PositivelyShines with everything you need to reach your goals – at work and in your life.

We also offer benefits and other compensation that include:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, and Disability Plans
• Retirement Savings Plans
• Employee Assistant Program / Discount Program
• Paid time off (PTO), sick time, and holiday pay
• myFlexPay offered to get paid within hours of a shift
• Tuition Reimbursement
• In addition to base compensation, Sunrise may offer discretionary and/or non-discretionary bonuses. The eligibility to receive such a bonus will depend on the employee’s position, plan/program offered by Sunrise at the time, and required performance pursuant to the plan/program.
• Some benefits have eligibility requirements

Apply today to learn why Sunrise Senior Living is a certified Great Place to Work®

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

Sunrise considers the health and safety of its residents, family members, and team members among its highest priorities. Employment with Sunrise is contingent upon successful completion of required pre-employment screenings and health evaluations in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Covid 19 and Influenza vaccination may be required if mandated by applicable federal, state, and local laws and authorities.

COMPENSATION DISCLAIMER:

Selected candidates will be offered competitive compensation based on geographic location of community/office, skills, experience, qualifications, and certifications/licenses (where applicable).