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The San Diego Foundation has entrusted Blair Search Partners (BSP) to fill numerous roles at our organization over the years, including Program Specialist, Fund Manager, Chief Development & Stewardship Officer, Chief Impact and Partnerships Officer, and my own recruitment as The Foundation’s CEO. Having worked with BSP as both a candidate and as their client organization, I continue to be impressed. Their alignment with our mission and values, dedication to both the candidate and client experience, and focus on inclusivity and diversity all make a significant difference.
Most recently we turned to BSP for a critical new position created on our senior leadership team, the Chief Impact & Partnerships Officer. This role was pivotal to the launch of our updated strategic plan, focused on deepening connections with our nonprofit partners and the communities we serve. BSP built a search process around diversity and inclusivity that delivered an exceptional pool of talented candidates. With this new addition to our executive leadership team, we have significantly increased our capacity for thought leadership and serving as agents for social change across our communities. In working with Blair Search Partners, I have experienced their authentic connection to our work, their appreciation for the potential impact of each new hire, and their dedication to finding us the best possible talent.

Blair Search Partners really delivered on their promise to find a ‘WOW’ President & CEO for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara! BSP was wonderfully collaborative and insightful throughout the search process and worked tirelessly to keep us on track. The result was a very disciplined and thoughtful process that led to a very exciting outcome. I would not hesitate to bring BSP in on future searches.

Working with Blair Search Partners was the difference in me attaining a career-advancing opportunity. I had failed in three previous attempts to secure an executive-level position and lacked confidence and skill in the interview process. In just 20 minutes of working with Trevor and his team, they changed my whole perspective on the process, how to present myself, how to answer questions, and to show up in the most genuine way that conveyed my abilities and personality to the employer. Needless to say, I have now advanced my career.

With an abbreviated time frame of four months, Blair Search Partners did an outstanding job of guiding us through the process of hiring an Executive Director. Even during COVID, they kept us apprised of every step, from assessing our organization’s unique needs to the final selection of our new executive director. Our search team was engaged throughout this period, and we are thrilled with our selection.

I have worked with Blair Search Partners both as a candidate and as a client, and I have been very impressed with the outstanding work they do, their attention to detail, and most importantly, how they succeed at reaching the desired outcome. At the end of the day, you want to match the right candidate with the right job, and that requires a lot of listening, and understanding the goals and expectations of the organization, as well as the individual. Blair Search Partners has been a true partner to me and our organization in this critical process.

Contacting Blair Search Partners was the very best decision for Boys & Girls Club of San Marcos. All of the candidates we interviewed were extremely qualified to fill our role of Vice President of Operations. I’ve never had a pool of candidates of such high caliber. The process was quick, easy and enjoyable. The team really listened to what we needed and delivered! Thank you, Blair Search Partners, for helping take our organizations to the next level.”

We are very pleased with the recruiting partnership we have with BSP. They are a true recruiting partner for our university with consultants who are professional, persistent, and efficient. BSP has also taken the time to understand what makes our culture special, and then uses that knowledge to recruit individuals who connect to our mission.

Being in HR, I am very critical of recruitment processes, and I can honestly say that this was the easiest, fastest process that I have ever experienced for an executive level position. The team from BSP was incredibly responsive, kept me up to date every step of the way, and made me feel like they were my advocate and cheerleader. In the offer negotiation process, I really trusted them and felt that they had both mine and the organization’s best interest at heart as they came up with the best possible package. I am now in San Diego working at my dream job and I have the BSP team to thank for taking a chance on a candidate from 3000 miles away and so seamlessly guiding me through the recruitment and interview process.

The team from BSP was professional, friendly, and supportive throughout the recruitment and interview process. I felt that they very clearly understood my skills and personality and did a great job matching me with the ideal job. My role is fulfilling and is providing opportunities for professional and personal growth. They helped me land in the perfect place!

In 2019, we engaged Trevor and his team at Blair Search Partners to help us find a new CEO for the South County Economic Development Council, a nonprofit organization of nearly 500 members. Our CEO of 15 years was retiring, and we needed to conduct a comprehensive and thorough executive search, both locally and nationally, to find the right person to lead our organization into the future. Trevor and his team did a fantastic job, sorting through and analyzing over 400 applications and helping us narrow the search to a dozen highly qualified candidates. After multiple rounds of interviews coordinated by Blair Search Partners, we were able to choose an excellent new CEO who began earlier this year. With Trevor’s help, I am confident we made the right choice, and our new CEO has been an outstanding addition to our organization.
S. Douglas Kerner
South County Economic Development Council

The team at Blair Search Partners were just that – incredible partners in what can be a daunting project. They confidently moved us through the process, providing invaluable support and guidance. They were able to attract and screen hundreds of applicants for our CFO position, putting forth a robust field of candidates for interviews. The team was efficient, communicative, and proactive all the way through, helping us identify and hire the perfect person for the job.

We found an amazing Executive Director thanks to the guidance and help of Blair Search Partners. As a small nonprofit, taking on an executive search on our own was a daunting undertaking, but the Blair team gave us the professional assistance we needed. They helped us every step of the way from developing the job description; advertising the position; reviewing resumes; developing interview questions; and finalizing the hiring. Throughout the process they were patient, kind, flexible, and incredibly helpful. Hiring an ED is an enormous decision for any organization, and I can’t recommend Blair enough to help you through the process.
Eowyn Bates
San Diego Audubon Society

As a public agency that receives funding at the federal, state, and local levels, in addition to private philanthropic investment, our work is complex. We rely on professional services firms that understand both the needs of the communities we serve, and the highly regulated environment in which we operate. Our experience in working with Blair Search Partners has delivered on all fronts. Whether it’s a C-level position or a support role, their methodology and service have been top notch over the 5+ years we have been working with them.

Blair Search Partners was excellent to work with, from start to finish. Alzheimer’s San Diego had two critical leadership roles that needed to be filled, and they provided great candidates to choose from, elevating the caliber of talent and expertise beyond what we would have been able to recruit on our own. They really did work as partners with us to find the candidates that were the best fit for our needs, and we’re thrilled with the final results.

We continue to have incredible success with Blair Search Partners. They have consistently found top talent for key management roles in our organization. We appreciate and value their process, candidate pipeline development, people, and concierge approach. The team at Blair also cares deeply about the community investing their time, energy, and resources to support nonprofits in San Diego County.

The PSIA-AASI Western Region Board of Directors engaged with Blair Search Partners to bring on a new CEO to our business, a non-profit that provides educational and related services to ski and snowboard instructors. The team at BSP was wonderful to work with. Their knowledge, experience and focus on the nonprofit sector was highly appealing to us. They took the time to understand the business and our tangible/intangible needs. In fact, their questions helped our leadership team more closely define what we were seeking in a CEO. The candidates brought forward for our review were spot on, and ultimately, we landed on a wonderful candidate to lead the business. I highly recommend BSP for your executive recruiting needs.

San Diego Youth Services had never used a search firm to hire executives in our past 50+ history. Over the past year, we needed to fill two critical “C” suite positions. The team at BSP was incredible to work with. They were professional, responsive, easy to work with and took the time to learn our culture and what we really needed to fill these positions. As a result, we have hired experienced, talented, quality individuals who are great fits for our organization. I will not hesitate to work with them again!

Trevor has great instinct and a clear vision of how to help organizations grow with the right team. Thanks to him, we hired a quality candidate who would never have been on our radar. The caliber of talent he brought to us and the commitment to find the right fit puts him above and beyond any other shop. Best investment ever made!