Chief Advancement Officer
hace 2 días
Houston
SUMMARY: Kids’ Meals is searching for a highly experienced Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) to serve as the senior executive responsible for leading Kids’ Meals’ comprehensive advancement program, including all philanthropy, donor stewardship, special events, communications, public relations, marketing and strategic partnerships. Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the CAO will develop and execute an integrated advancement strategy that increases philanthropic revenue, strengthens organizational visibility, deepens community engagement, and advances the mission of ending childhood hunger. This position will directly supervise the Advancement team of five full-time employees, as well as independent contractors for grant writing, foundation development, public relations, graphic design, and other positions as deemed appropriate. This position also works closely with the Finance team. ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW: As the only program of its kind in the nation, the mission of Kids’ Meals is to end childhood hunger by delivering free, healthy meals to the doorsteps of the Greater Houston Area’s hungriest preschool-aged children, and through collaboration, providing their families with resources to help end the cycle of poverty. What began in 2006 as two delivery vans has grown into a fleet of 24, sharing nutritional food to more than 12,000 preschoolers daily, while connecting families in 56 zip codes through referrals to over 70 wrap-around service partners to break the cycle of poverty. It takes just $2 to make a deliver a meal to a child. Meals are made by more than 40,000 volunteers annually. The use of volunteers saves the organization more than $3 million annually in labor costs. We focus on children aged five and under living food insecure because they do not have access to the National School Lunch Program and because the most formative time for a child’s brain is during the first five years. Kids’ Meals just completed highly successful $38 million capital campaign for its new ExxonMobil Campus in Spring Branch. The 2026 operating budget is $8.2 million, which is met annually through a highly diversified revenue model that includes well-established sources of support from foundations, corporations, individuals, special events, government, and places of worship. Kids’ Meals and key employees are proud to be an award-winning organization with multiple awards including the BBB Charity of Excellence, Houston Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, Most Admired CEO, Top CFO, Women Who Mean Business and IABC Bronze Quill. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: Duties include, but are not limited to, the following: • Works closely with the CEO and Board of Directors to raise the annual operating budget and projects that involve special campaigns outside of operations., • Develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive annual advancement plan that integrates fundraising, communications, public relations, donor stewardship, events, and board engagement activities to achieve organizational revenue and visibility goals., • Effectively communicate department strategy, progress, needs, and income projections to CEO, the Board, and the executive leadership team and collaborate to reach desired outcomes., • Serve as a member of the executive leadership team, contributing to organizational strategy, growth planning, risk management, and long-term sustainability initiatives, while also establishing/reporting monthly Key Performance Indicators (KPI)., • Partner with CEO and Board of Directors to strengthen board engagement, support fundraising accountability, build a culture of philanthropy, and maximize board participation in donor cultivation and solicitation activities., • Manage all development staff while overseeing a comprehensive donor giving program, major donor program, corporate partnerships, and foundation requests to raise the operating budget., • Manage all communications staff while leading the development of an integrated communications strategy that strengthens organizational visibility, supports fundraising goals, deepens stakeholder engagement, and advances Kids’ Meals position as a leading voice in ending childhood hunger., • In partnership with the CEO and communications team, provide strategic oversight of all public relations activities, including media relations, thought leadership opportunities, spokesperson preparation, and reputational management., • Build, mentor, and retain a high-performing advancement team by establishing clear goals, fostering accountability, supporting professional development, and creating a collaborative culture., • Oversee database business practices, development systems, and infrastructure to support fundraising operations., • Oversee the preparation of event budgets, event planning, and production., • Successfully steward relationships with past, current, and new donors while cultivating relationships., • Create a robust donor prospecting pipeline strategy that leverages internal and external tools to expand the organization’s prospects., • Serve as a primary liaison with various individual donors and foundations., • Serve as a visible ambassador for Kids’ Meals, representing the organization with donors, foundations, corporate partners, community leaders, elected officials, and media outlets., • Oversee development of all organizational collaterals including annual report, website, brochures, flyers, social media and oversee any outside organization using the Kids’ Meals logo/brand., • Other duties as assigned. COMPETENCIES: • Ability to develop long-term advancement strategies that align fundraising, communications, and organizational priorities., • Strong team orientation with excellent interpersonal skills., • Ability to manage several projects simultaneously through self-motivation, high energy, flexibility, and excellent organizational skills., • Strong work ethic and attention to detail., • Experience navigating complex stakeholder environments and building productive relationships across diverse constituencies., • Excellent verbal and written communication skills., • Ability to think creatively against demanding deadlines with acute attention to detail., • Leadership abilities that foster learning and excellence among team members., • Supervisory skills to manage professional staff, including hiring, orientating, training, organizing workflow, monitoring, and evaluating performance, and coaching and counseling when necessary., • Experience planning and implementing employee professional development., • Demonstrated ability to identify workload needs and evaluate staff to assign tasks as appropriate., • Ability to interact diplomatically with, and provide smooth interface among, persons from a variety of social, cultural, and economic to create and increase positive interactions with Kids’ Meals. REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: The ideal candidate for this position will possess the following: • Bachelor’s degree and ten years of professional fund development experience required, with five of these years in senior nonprofit management., • Demonstrated success major gift fundraising experience required., • Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) helpful but not required., • Strong proficiency in all programs of Microsoft Office 365; Blackbaud (Raiser’s Edge & Financial Edge NXT) experience preferred., • Familiarity with endowments and planned gifts is a plus., • Proven track record of success in fundraising. KIDS’ MEALS CORE VALUES: At Kids’ Meals we feel strongly that our Core Values are an integral part of our mission and of an individual’s personal ethics or ideals that ultimately guide them when making decisions, leading/empowering others, building internal and external relationships, effectively communicating, and solving problems. Therefore, they are an integral part of our Company’s job descriptions essential functions and core competencies. Our Core Values are: • We strive to succeed., • We include everyone., • We do the right thing., • We deliver hope and find the joy., • We watch out for each other. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: • Supervises the five (5) individuals on the Development and Communications team. PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT: • Must be able to lift up to 25 pounds (for event materials and room setup)., • Frequent movement required during events and presentations., • Must be able to remain in a stationary position during administrative tasks., • Occasional evening or weekend hours required for events and campaigns. Kids’ Meals is proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer and considers qualified applicants without regard to race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected factor under federal, state, or local law. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package, which includes 100% coverage of employees’ premiums and a robust paid time-off package. The salary range for this position is $165,000-$180,000 annual base and year-end bonus. TO APPLY: • Candidates who meet the qualification may use this link to apply. You may also send resumes to hr@kidsmealsinc.org.