Chief Advancement Officer

JOB TITLE: Chief Advancement Officer 

REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: Yes

FLSA STATUS: Salary, Exempt

LOCATION: Nashville, Tennessee

About Us

For over 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee has served young people in the Middle TN region. Our work supports our belief that every child has the ability to succeed and thrive in life. BBBSMT makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (Bigs) and youth (Littles). Through our commitment to quality, innovation, and the passion we have for our work, we develop and sustain positive, life-changing relationships that have a direct and lasting impact on the lives of our youth and the adults who mentor them.

Our Mission is to create and support 1:1 mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. As noted by our Vision, we are driven by a future in which all youth achieve their full potential.

WE CELEBRATE DIFFERENCES

We show each other dignity through our partnerships, decisions, and language. We intentionally engage, represent, and partner with our diverse communities. We demonstrate our values by learning together with staff, board, volunteers, youth, families, and investors to think and act with sensitivity and intentionality. Driven by the voice of our stakeholders, our agency develops responsive, respectful programming and builds strategic and thoughtful alliances. We want people of all backgrounds to see themselves represented and included in our work, so we actively seek to diversify our team and bring more voices to the table.

WE PRIORITIZE THE WELL-BEING AND PROFESSIONAL GROWTH OF OUR TEAM

Each of our team members brings unique perspectives and skills, and we are committed to building a culture where voices are heard, differences are celebrated, and everyone has the opportunity to do meaningful work. At BBBSMT, you will be inspired by talented, passionate colleagues who will motivate you to do and be your best. We see our team as more than just employees – we know and respect them as people. We are honored to have been selected as one of the Nonprofit Time’s Best Nonprofits to Work For in 2024.

About the Role

The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) reports directly to the CEO and serves as a key member of the Big

Tennessee Executive Leadership Team, leading the planning and implementation of a comprehensive

marketing, volunteer, and investment program to advance the organization’s mission and vision. The

CAO oversees fundraising, business development, marketing and communications, and volunteer

recruitment and engagement. The role of this dynamic and highly collaborative leader is critical to the

organization’s ability to meet its strategic goals and priorities.

In partnership with the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors, this position is responsible

for attracting philanthropic and volunteer support for programmatic and operational priorities,

sustaining and forging new relationships to build BBBSMT’s visibility, impact, and resources.

Each employee at BBBSMT helps extend the agency's mission in particular ways, as outlined in the position description. The essential functions of the position include but are not limited to the following:

Day to day: 

Leadership and Management

• The Executive Team (ET) is the CAO’s first team. The CAO will relentlessly collaborate and partner with their ET colleagues to ensure that the organization’s collective goals and objectives are achieved.
• Mobilize the Advancement team by sharing ambitious, inspiring, and compelling approaches to greater organizational impact and sustainability by meeting or exceeding their goals.
•  Foster a collaborative and results-oriented culture within the Executive and Advancement teams that embraces teamwork, transparency, seamless communication, continuous improvement, and mentorship.
• Through proactive and adaptable leadership, continuously evaluate progress toward established goals, shifting and evolving as needed to be successful
• Be responsible for hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and talent development of direct reports, and support these leaders in doing the same for those who report to them.
• Promote ongoing learning and development across the department by identifying areas for growth and collaborating with the Vice President of Employee Experience to develop appropriate learning and development strategies.
• Through active listening and clear, respectful communication, demonstrate a commitment to working collectively to achieve results together.

Investment Strategy and Execution

• Lead the building, implementation, and adoption of systems and practices that support intra- and inter-departmental collaboration, integration, communication, and relationship building to meet/exceed annual fundraising goals.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive investment plan including major, annual, and planned giving.
• Lead stewardship strategies to maximize donor participation and long-term retention.
• Partner closely with the CEO, Chief Impact Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and VP of Finance to strategically align impact models, services, and innovation opportunities with funding opportunities.
• Support the CEO and Board of Directors in cultivating and soliciting investment from individuals, corporations, foundations, and others.
• Instill a culture of philanthropy throughout BBBSMT, ensuring all staff understand their role in the organization’s philanthropic success.
• Cultivate and steward critical relationships with corporate partners, foundation and individual investors, and other strategic revenue partnerships, to reach organizational growth and sustainability goals.
• Develop and manage the Advancement department budget, ensuring strategic investments and responsible fiscal controls and stewardship are maintained.
• Monitor, analyze, and report out fundraising data and key performance indicators to assess progress toward fundraising goals.

Volunteer Recruitment and Engagement

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive volunteer recruitment and engagement program.
• Provide strategic thinking and leadership in visioning and growing the recruitment of volunteers.
• Demonstrate accountability for the organization's volunteer recruitment performance by continually assessing progress toward recruitment goals and targets and proactively identifying and addressing challenges within the agency’s recruitment strategy and flow.
• Leverage external partnerships to expand new volunteer recruitment initiatives.

Communications and Marketing

• Represent BBBSMT in external-facing work with donors, partners, and other stakeholder communities and partner with the CEO and other organizational leaders to serve as a passionate advocate for BBBSMT’s mission.
• Guide vision and messaging for external communications, including public relations and marketing to increase knowledge and awareness of BBBSMT, its mission, activities, and the value of its work.
• Create and execute strategy to leverage marketing as a tool in resource development: volunteers, revenue, and relationships.
• Monitor, analyze, and report key performance metrics to assess the impact of communication and marketing efforts.

This Job May Be For You…

We are seeking an engaged leader who is:

• A critical thinker who can demonstrate complex problem-solving skills
• Experienced and accomplished in fundraising and donor development best practices
• Skilled in leading people and processes, including coaching and motivating teams to successfully reach and/or exceed goals
• An excellent communicator demonstrating energy and the ability to build long-term relationships and represent the organization to diverse, external audiences
• Flexible, self-aware, culturally competent with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and a high degree of professional integrity
• Open to adapting and changing, bringing innovative ideas to help further the organization’s mission

Qualifications

• Passion for and understanding of the agency’s mission.
• A Bachelor’s degree is required, and training that would provide the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful performance of the essential job duties.
• At least 15 years of professional experience in development/marketing/sales/management; nonprofit preferred.

Benefits

• 20 days of paid time off
• 16 paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Years
• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Agency Paid Text Care Concierge Medicine, providing our team and family members free 24/7 text communication and care with medical providers
• Domestic Partner Benefits
• Agency Paid Life Insurance
• Agency Paid Short and Long Term Disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Immediate enrollment in our 403B - We match 50% of employee contributions up to 6%, staff are vested after 12 months of employment
• Training & development programs
• Opportunities for advancement
• Flexible work schedule, hybrid work environment
• Professional resume, LinkedIn profile, and headshot

Americans with Disabilities Act

Employee must be able to perform all essential job functions, with or without reasonable accommodation.

To see more of the impact we are making:

If this sounds like the position and organization for you, please submit a cover letter and resume to careers@mentorakid.org with “Your Name – CAO” in the subject line.

No phone calls, please. Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

BBBSMT values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages all genders, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply. BBBSMT is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.