Chief Advancement Officer – Nashville, Tennessee

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. Big Brothers Big Sisters 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 one-to-one 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.

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.

Essential Functions:

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 Vice President 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 members 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.

About You

The Chief Advancement Officer is a key member of our Executive Leadership Team who plays an integral role in the success of our agency. 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.
• A strong verbal and written communicator who can effectively engage and collaborate with a diverse group of individuals, both internal and external.
• Skilled in leading people and processes, including coaching and motivating teams to successfully reach and/or exceed goals.
• An excellent interpersonal communicator demonstrating energy, enthusiasm, and the ability to build long-term relationships and represent the organization to external audiences.
• Flexible, self-aware, culturally competent with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and demonstrates a high degree of professional integrity.
• Open to adapting and changing, bringing innovative ideas to help further the organization’s mission.
• Organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and outcomes.

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.

Additional Information

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle TN works hard to provide competitive benefits to our team. Our comprehensive benefits package includes:

• 20 days of paid time off.
• 16 paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Years.
• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision) – a generous portion is paid by BBBSMT.
• Company Paid Text Care Concierge Medicine, providing our team and family members free 24/7 text communication and care with medical providers.
• Domestic Partner Benefits.
• Company Paid Life Insurance.
• Company Paid Short and Long Term Disability.
• Employee Assistance Program.
• Immediate enrollment in our 403B – We match 50% of employee contributions up to 6% and staff are vested after 12 months of employment.
• Opportunities for advancement - we promote from within!
• Monthly cell phone stipend.
• Flexible work schedule with a 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.

Job Responsibilities

The above statements reflect the general duties, responsibilities, and competencies necessary to perform the job’s essential duties and responsibilities. They should not be regarded as a detailed description of all the work requirements of the position. BBBSMT may change the specific job duties with or without prior notice based on the organization’s needs.

If this sounds like the position and organization for you, please submit a cover letter and resume to with “Your Name – Chief Advancement Officer” 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.