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Experience Senior Living

Senior living developer and operator

Executive Director

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$200k - $225k+ 401(k) match
Mid, Senior
Bachelor's
Shoreline, WA, USA
In Person
Business & Strategy

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree in business administration, healthcare administration, or a related subject is required.
  • Required certification for Residential Care Facilities based on state regulations.
  • Experience opening a new development senior living community is required.
  • Three to five years of experience in operations management with demonstrated success meeting financial and sales goals.
  • A solid understanding of local, state, and federal regulations as they pertain to the community.
  • Demonstrated success operating or maintaining a quality, customer-service workforce.
  • Willingness to understand, implement, and maintain a hospitality environment for residents, families, and team members.
  • A solid understanding of facilities management.
  • Experience recruiting, onboarding, orienting, training, and retaining team members.
  • Performance management and leadership skills, including communicating performance expectations, coaching and documenting performance strengths and challenges, providing direction and guidance, listening, holding ongoing performance conversations, implementing disciplinary processes when necessary, completing performance reviews, and providing support and feedback to team members.
  • Basic knowledge of computer systems and software platforms used by the company.
  • Ability to become licensed or certified as an assisted-living administrator within the prescribed timeframe in states requiring it.
  • An acceptable driving record under company motor vehicle policy.
  • Ability to influence others' actions and opinions and exercise judgment in leading them toward objectives.
  • Ability to solve problems with judgment and realistic understanding, use reason in sensitive or contentious situations, and determine when to act independently or involve others.
  • Ability to define realistic, specific goals and objectives and identify tasks and deliverables needed to meet them.
  • Ability to communicate information clearly and with the necessary level of detail, including under stressful conditions.
  • Ability to handle routine operations consistently with established solutions, policies, and procedures.
  • Ability to think creatively and independently, and to generate innovative solutions and programs.
  • Ability to define goals, tasks, and deliverables, assign resources, and set priorities.
  • Ability to research and identify possibilities to support decisions.
  • Ability to identify, obtain, and effectively allocate resources to achieve goals.
  • Ability to build and maintain productive, work-focused relationships with team members, residents, families, referral partners, the executive team, and the community.
  • Ability to work with people in a way that supports company culture, builds high-morale teams, and achieves results in a team setting.
  • Ability to serve as a role model by being punctual and maintaining a neat, clean, professional appearance.
  • Ability to work varied schedules, including weekends, evenings, overnights, and holidays.
Responsibilities
  • Provide executive leadership during pre-opening, partnering with development, construction, marketing, and corporate teams to ensure operational readiness, regulatory compliance, and a successful community launch.
  • Lead and support pre-opening sales and marketing, including local relationship-building, referral network development, and achievement of initial occupancy goals.
  • Recruit, onboard, and develop the foundational leadership team, establishing culture, service standards, and operational systems before opening.
  • Oversee pre-opening budgets, policies, and procedures to align with brand standards and support the transition from development to full operations.
  • Lead day-to-day operations with full profit-and-loss responsibility.
  • Ensure compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations and company policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines.
  • Create a safe environment for residents, families, and team members and ensure adherence to residents' rights.
  • Focus on resident, family, and team-member satisfaction.
  • Analyze data and root causes and develop action plans as needed.
  • Develop and implement strategies for labor, occupancy growth, revenue growth, expense control, and service quality.
  • Lead morning stand-up meetings and ensure minutes are taken for absent participants.
  • Lead and support sales and operational strategies and educate team members about participating in the sales process.
  • Partner with the Director of Sales on quarterly SWOT analyses and regular sales and marketing discussions; support sales efforts through tours, follow-ups, outreach, home visits, and referral-partner relationships.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Health and Wellness to understand resident care needs and ensure comprehensive care plans, appropriate care-level assessments, and support for residents' independence and abilities; meet with residents, families, and team members about care concerns.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Memory Care to address challenging situations, develop solutions, and support dementia training for new and existing team members.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Life Enrichment to maintain a varied activity calendar covering the whole person, with activities seven days a week, including evenings.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Culinary on varied menus, alternate resident meal choices, and regular food tastings.
  • Coordinate with the Director of Maintenance on building concerns, preventative maintenance, timely room turns, required drills, and capital expenditure projects.
  • Ensure the monthly Employee Appreciation program is implemented and maintained.
  • Ensure employee performance reviews are completed and administered on time.
  • Recruit, hire, orient, train, supervise, and evaluate team members.
  • Contribute to the annual operating budget and capital requirements; support leaders in using budget reports and managing department budgets; approve expenses, explain monthly variances, and manage expenses as needed.
  • Build high-performing teams, maintain morale, and support company culture.
  • Work in different community positions and fill in as needed.
  • Create and implement a Manager on Duty system ensuring leadership coverage seven days a week, and ensure assigned leaders are trained for the role.
  • Participate in local community activities and events and build and maintain networks and resources for resident, employee, and volunteer referrals.
  • Drive a company vehicle to transport people to social and other destinations as needed.
  • Perform other duties as needed or assigned.

About the company

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Experience Senior Living

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Experience Senior Living is a developer and operator of senior-living communities. Its communities may provide independent living, assisted living, and memory care along with dining, activities, and resident services. Development and central teams create and support properties while community staff deliver daily operations and care. Work includes caregiving, nursing, culinary, sales, activities, maintenance, development, and corporate disciplines. The scope is Experience Senior Living and its own community portfolio. Its workforce connects frontline delivery with the specialist, operational, technical, and business teams that support the organization.

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Company Stage

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Total Funding

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The Gallery at Fort Collins opened June 11, 2026, adding 144 residences in Colorado.
  • Clarion sold Sancerre Atlee Station on June 1, 2026, validating ESL operations.
  • Experience Senior Living expanded in 2026 through Sarasota, White Marsh, and Richmond Beach projects.

What critics are saying

  • ESL depends on long-dated 2027-2028 openings like Sarasota and Richmond Beach for growth.
  • Sancerre White Marsh and Richmond Beach stay exposed until 2028 lease-up.
  • No major external capital raise or standalone liquidity disclosure leaves NexCore funding dependence visible.

What makes Experience Senior Living unique

  • NexCore-owned ESL pairs development, ownership, and operations across Gallery, Reserve, and Sancerre brands.
  • The Gallery at Fort Collins opened June 11, 2026 with 24/7 nursing care.
  • Experience Senior Living manages Clarion-backed Sancerre Atlee Station after its October 2024 occupancy surge.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Disability Insurance
  • Life Insurance
  • 401(k) Retirement Plan
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Paid Holidays
  • Paid Vacation
  • Flexible Work Hours

Company News

Financial News
Oct 6th, 2025
Clarion Partners Acquires Sancerre Atlee Station

Clarion Partners has acquired Sancerre at Atlee Station from NexCore Group and Experience Senior Living (ESL), forming a strategic partnership with ESL to manage the community. Located in Mechanicsville, VA, Sancerre Atlee Station offers modern senior living with hospitality-driven environments. Opened in September 2023, it reached 90% occupancy by October 2024. Clarion's Head of Healthcare, Julie Robinson, expressed excitement about the partnership and the community's strong market fundamentals.

Portland Tribune
Oct 6th, 2025
Clarion Partners announces acquisition of Sancerre at Atlee Station and partnership with Experience Senior Living

As part of the transaction, Clarion has created a strategic partnership with Experience Senior Living which will continue to manage and operate the community, ensuring continuity for residents, families, and team members.

PR Newswire
Apr 25th, 2024
Experience Senior Living Welcomes Lisa Thompson As Senior Vice President Of Operations

Joining Experience Senior Living is an exciting opportunity to continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of seniors and their families

PR Newswire
Apr 2nd, 2024
A Place For Mom Honors Experience Senior Living With Eight Best Of Senior Living 2024 Awards

We are truly honored to receive the Best of Senior Living Provider 2024 award from A Place for Mom, alongside the recognition of seven of our active senior living communities. This achievement reflects our unwavering commitment to providing exceptional care and support to our residents

PR Newswire
Dec 12th, 2023
Experience Senior Living Announces The Commencement Of Construction On The Gallery At Fort Collins

"The Gallery at Ft. Collins will be a vibrant senior living community that will seamlessly blend art and music with the rich culture of the Fort Collins community, providing the perfect backdrop for our residents to enjoy life.". .