Job Description
Job Title: Vice President, External Relations
Department: Philanthropic Services
Reports to: Chief Philanthropy Officer
FLSA Status: EXEMPT
Who We Are:
We are a lading charitable organization operating in the U.K. and North America – as CAF in the U.K., CAF America, and CAF Canada. Working at the center of the giving world, we partner with corporate and individual donors to enable them to give with greater impact and provide strategic support to enable social purpose organizations to do more of their life-changing work.
For over 30 years, CAF America has been a leader in enabling cross-border giving to validated organizations and charitable projects across the world. We enable our donors to make strategic, cost-effective, and tax-advantaged gifts through our vetted network of more than 1.9 million charitable organizations in 135 countries, all while reducing the risk, reputation exposure, and administrative burden associated with cross-border giving.
Summary:
Our dynamic organization seeks a Vice President, External Relations to join our leadership to manage the team and all aspects of CAF America’s community, future and current client communications and business development. The individual will oversee the operational leadership and outcomes for our business development & client experience, client communications, product marketing work- from operational planning, people management, implementation and assessment - to advance our mission and strategic direction. The individual will provide collaborative leadership and communications expertise to other entities of CAF Group (CAF in the UK, Canada, and our International Network) as requested, strengthening our collective position and ambitions to be a resource for philanthropists and social purpose leaders locally and globally. The successful candidate will be a strong collaborator, results-oriented with the ability to work in complex, ambiguous environments, coordinating, and leading a strong team.
Reporting to the Chief Philanthropy Officer and working closely with the leadership team and their direct reports, the successful candidate will be a forward-thinking strategic partner with strong business acumen who will embrace our mission to accelerate social change and ensure our growth is strong and sustainable. The individual will implement a strategy including, but not limited to, product value proposition, business development, client communications, client experience, global network, thought leadership and speaker council.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Strategic External Affairs Leadership
- Collaborate with the CEO, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Chief Marketing Officer (UK)and leadership team to operationalize the organization’s strategic goals and priorities related to the umbrella of responsibilities under external relations based on data, cultural awareness, and organizational objectives.
- Develop and implement approaches to enhance the organization’s reputation and visibility in the philanthropic and global social purpose sectors, ensuring we are known by those who may benefit from our products and services.
- Lead on orchestrating public-facing initiatives and communications.
- Monitor public perception of the space and organization, managing reputational risks and adjusting messaging and strategies as needed.
- Oversee the creation of audience-centric high-quality written content, including but not limited to product and service materials, reports, conference sessions, press releases, speeches, social media posts.
- Oversee the stewardship of the organization’s brand, ensuring it reflects the organization’s values and resonates with target audiences, not least of which is new business leads.
- Ensure that all communications materials effectively – visually and through content clarity—tell the client’s story and our role in it, highlight impact, and engage stakeholders in the WHY of CAF America.
- Collaborate with your team leads to produce bespoke donor and prospect-facing materials.
- Manage development process of multiple publications and events tailored to our unique audience segments simultaneously.
- Oversee the operational strategy and execution of digital communications tools and delivery, including website evolution, social media, and email campaigns.
- Manage the organization’s digital presence, including webinars, website, and social media channels, ensuring they are clarifying, current, and align with organizational messaging, whether hosted on our own platforms or in collaboration/partnership.
- Ensure that all communications are consistent on brand/plan, have clear proactive distribution plans, and tracking impact/measurement for learning and evolving.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Positioning
- Work closely with each externally facing team (Corporate Client Services, Private Client Services, Grant Services, International Network, Business Development and Client Experience, CEO office) teams to identify new opportunities for understanding, listening, and evolution of our products/services and ways of communicating.
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with external stakeholders in international philanthropic and social purpose communities.
- Support the development of the “speakers council,” internally empowering yourself and others to be ready to represent the organization at public events, conferences, and meetings, acting as a spokesperson when necessary.
- Support in the coordination and ownership for CAF America events and organizational participation at major global convenings, webinars, conference sponsorship panels.
- Execute strategies to raise awareness about the organization’s mission, purpose, and achievements through traditional and non traditional opportunities.
- Collaborate with colleagues in the UK to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with journalists, media outlets, and influencers to promote the organization’s work and advocate for its mission.
- Oversee general crisis communications plan and lead response on urgent issues in the North American market when necessary.
- Working in partnership with the People & Culture team and our Internal Communications Manager, design and execute internal communications strategies to keep employees engaged and aligned with the team’s work and create aligned advocates across the organization.
- Develop regular and routines for updates to staff, board members, and other internal stakeholders to ensure transparency, alignment and collaboration across initiatives and content produced by your team.
- Manage 3-5 team leads, while also overseeing and inspiring individual contributors, consultants, front-line managers and teammates across the organization, Group and our community.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of professionals, provide regular performance feedback, set objectives, and support professional development opportunities for team members.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence within the team, across the organization and within our space as CAF America works through and with partnerships.
- Track the effectiveness of external relations priorities and projects and adjust approaches as necessary to meet organizational objectives and respond nimbly to outcomes and learnings.
- Participate in critical elements of institutional decision-making and provide strategic operational planning at the executive level.
- Contribute to CAF America’s ongoing evolution and growth.
- Cultivate a high-performing team by prioritizing collective success, team development, clear expectation setting, and regular performance assessment.
- Develop a long-term vision and key performance indicators for your departments to ensure that work aligns with and facilitates impact against the mission.
- Participate in and actively contribute to internal Learning & Development opportunities, including people manager training sessions, amplifying your leaders and their team’s work throughout the organization.
Bachelor’s Degree required or equivalent combination of education and experience.
A minimum of 10 years of relevant professional experience working in strategic communications, campaign work (philanthropic or political), network building and management, international fundraising; 6-8 years of management responsibility – people, programs, and process.
Ability to manage complex stakeholder relationships and external engagement working with social entrepreneurs, private companies, foundations, philanthropists, international NGOs, and government.
Understanding of media relations and experience managing media coverage and organizational reputation.
Expertise in digital communications and social media platforms, including strategy development and content creation.
Experience overseeing production of creative content, including writing creative briefs and managing various types of content including videos, infographics, social media content, etc.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including writing, editing, and storytelling skills, with the ability to create compelling content for diverse audiences.
Strong aptitude for forging partnership opportunities and nurturing existing ones.
Demonstrated resourcefulness in setting priorities, driving change management, and proposing new ways of achieving desired outcomes.
Exceptional ability to manage teams, serve as a leader and collaborate in a multi-faceted organization and sector.
Strong organizational and project management skills, with a proven ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously, including knowing when and how to engage tech for good.
Embrace everyday challenges and ambiguity as opportunities to lean-in and take action, bring clarity and alignment.
Demonstrate curiosity and commitment to asking questions, learning, and adapting.
Commit to adding value to your team, the organization, and the philanthropic space by using both your experience and data informed decisions on behalf of our clients and organizational aims.
Lead in identifying opportunities for process improvement and service/practice strengthening towards evolving and strengthening our impact on social change.
Passion for using comprehensive strategic communications campaigns and tactics to address today’s biggest social and global issues.
Ability to embrace ambiguity and pivot to pursue new opportunities.
Thrives in a virtual first culture. Willingness and ability to travel on occasion.
Culture carrier- embracing CAF’s core values/way of working – Act with Integrity, Move Forward Together and Shape the Change
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily, with or without accommodation. If you require accommodation to perform these essential functions, please contact the Human Resources Department. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Your health and wellness are important to us. CAF America offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes 100% paid premium for Employee Medical, Dental and Vision insurance along with a Health Savings Account (HSA), Life Insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Short- and Long-Term Disability, 401k program with up to 15% match, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and robust Time Off programs.
Salary Range - $140,000 - $150,000