Job Description:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Friends of Compass (Compass)
Status: Full-time, exempt employee
Reports to: Board of Directors
Location: Washington, DC area preferred
Deadline: Resume reviews begin immediately. Best considered by February 28, 2022.
Compass seeks an innovative CEO to guide our high-impact nonprofit through a national expansion to meet the enormous demand for our services. The CEO will be an effective advocate of Compass’ nonprofit and corporate clients, and a thought leader for skills-based volunteerism and nonprofit capacity building.
Founded in 2001, Compass connects community-based nonprofits delivering vital services with talented business professionals eager to make a difference. Through skills-based volunteer projects, Compass produces partnerships that have a transformational impact for nonprofits and their communities as well as meaningful community engagement many professionals desire.
Compass’ model matches nonprofit clients with business volunteers recruited from leading corporations, start-ups, consulting and law firms, and MBA alumni networks. Our staff train and curate project teams that align with nonprofit clients’ needs and missions. Volunteer teams deliver strategic consulting skills in high-value areas such as decision support, mergers, board development, as well as strategy for fundraising, marketing, and technology.
Since our founding, 4,341 volunteers have conducted 1,077 projects for 725 nonprofit clients across the country –equivalent to millions of dollars in pro bono consulting fees. The significant number of repeat engagements is a testament to our clients’ and volunteers’ high satisfaction with Compass. Volunteers frequently deepened their engagement as donors and board members of their nonprofit clients. Visit the website to learn more about our program model.
Compass originated in the greater Washington, DC, region. Demand from nonprofits, strong corporate engagement, and robust volunteer interest led to expansion to Philadelphia (2014), Chicago (2016), and the Twin Cities (2021). In 2017, Compass launched the Sorkin Center to build on a successful board matching program with seminars, workshops, and fee-based consulting services. A three-year $1.5 million grant from the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation in 2018 further strengthened Compass’ infrastructure to support continued growth.
Leadership Opportunity
COVID-19 has had a devastating toll on the communities Compass’ nonprofit clients serve. From rising food insecurity, inequitable educational settings, increased domestic violence, and shuttered arts and culture venues, nonprofits continue to turn to Compass for support dealing with emerging challenges. This is true not only in the cities where we currently operate, but in other communities across the country. By expanding into new markets, Compass can support both nonprofits’ needs and meaningful community engagement for business volunteers.
The CEO will build on Compass’ history of success, effective program model, and stellar reputation to significantly scale our impact. The incoming leader will have an opportunity to shape Compass’ growth strategy; scale programs, staffing, and infrastructure; and harness the power of partnership between nonprofits and corporations to transform communities. The Board of Directors recently completed a strategic planning process that clarified the incoming CEO’s key priorities for the coming years. These are:
- Geographic Expansion. Identify a multi-year strategy that meets the demonstrated need and demand for Compass’ services, with clear criteria and roll out plans for new sites.
- Scaling Mechanisms. Optimize staffing, technology, and infrastructure across cities, as well as amend board structures to reflect Compass’ governance requirements and cities’ advisory and fundraising functions.
- Fundraising Effectiveness. Implement a cohesive and bold development plan that supports geographic expansion plans, sustains current programs, and encompasses indirect costs.
Position Overview
The CEO will bring a deep passion for Compass’ mission and be driven by the opportunity to expand our reach so that skills-based volunteering can make a greater impact on community-
based nonprofits and talented business professionals. They will advance Compass’ belief in thriving and equitable communities by continuing to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion across Compass’ culture, structures, policies, and operations.
The CEO will deliver a bold vision and value proposition for Compass while working closely with the board and staff to build the organization’s capacity to scale. The CEO will bring an outstanding record of effective leadership as well as success in fundraising and/or business development. This is a highly visible role that requires the CEO to develop networks that benefit Compass’ mission and reach.
The CEO will have business and finance acumen along with knowledge of how to apply best practices in a small nonprofit setting. They will oversee operating revenue of close to $2 million, a team of nearly 20 across three cities, and report to a 16-person board of directors whose members are spread across the country. Compass is headquartered in Washington, DC, and most employees currently work remotely due to COVID-19.
Additional key responsibilities of the position include:
Strategy, Vision, and Leadership
- Strengthen and expand Compass’ influence and reach as a leader in corporate and community engagement in collaboration with the Board of Directors and staff.
- Refine expansion plans by setting annual goals, budgets, and metrics.
- Work with the Board to facilitate governance, fundraising, and performance evaluation.
- Provide visionary leadership for Compass’ diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.
- Establish collaborations and working relationships with a range of key nonprofit and corporate partners, funders, and other stakeholders.
- Serve as principal spokesperson, representing Compass and its interests to corporate partners, nonprofit clients, volunteers, funders, donors, and various publics.
Organizational Management
- Oversee day-to day operations including finance, fundraising, marketing, communications, and programs.
- Ensure Compass’ structure, policies, and programs advance diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Manage an effective team structure that consistently delivers high-quality programs.
- Support effective decision-making practices and clear communication protocols to align staff across departments and promote cross-functional efforts.
- Assure program quality and consistency with goals; direct processes to evaluate programs to determine effectiveness and constituent satisfaction.
- Guide external communications strategies that elevate the impact of Compass’ mission.
Financial Management and Revenue
- In partnership with the senior management team, set annual financial goals; diversify and grow revenue via charitable contributions, events, and services.
- Direct fundraising strategies that cultivate through campaigns, proposals, events, and sponsorships, including by soliciting long-term corporate partnerships.
- In partnership with the staff and Board, work with funders and donors to ensure grant proposals and reports reflect Compass’ unique value and vision.
- With the finance team, monitor income and expenses, oversee budget preparation, integrate departmental leaders’ input into budgetary assumptions, ensure long-range budget planning and analysis, and provide the board with comprehensive reports.
Experiences, Skills, and Qualities
The Board of Directors encourages applications from a wide range of candidates. The most competitive applicants will likely have many, if not all, of the following attributes:
- A successful record of executive leadership in a nonprofit, association, consulting, small business, corporate, or similar professional setting.
- Effective public communication skills and penchant for public speaking and networking.
- Significant business acumen that can apply to nonprofit administration.
- Deep commitment to racial justice and record of advancing racial equity initiatives.
- Success with senior-level fundraising efforts, including strategizing and securing support through partnerships, foundations, corporations, and/or individuals.
- Prior experience working with or serving on a nonprofit board; understanding of issues affecting the nonprofit sector.
- A strategic mindset and ability to forecast trends and connect ideas with action.
- A significant supervisory record with experience cultivating a positive team culture.
- Consensus-oriented with emotional intelligence, compassion, and active listening skills.
- Facility with change management.
Location & Travel
Compass is headquartered in Washington, DC, with operations in Philadelphia and Chicago. Most staff currently work remotely due to COVID-19 with hybrid working arrangements likely in the future. The CEO should plan to allocate approximately 20 percent of their time to travel for conferences, events, and donor meetings.
Compensation
Starting base salary in the high $100,000s, plus benefits such as performance-based bonuses, health, dental, and vision insurance, a retirement plan, paid time off, and paid parental leave.
Application Process
Compass is conducting this search in partnership with Good Insight, a national executive search firm serving nonprofits and associations. Interested applicants should upload a resume and a detailed cover letter to www.good-insight.org/careers.
Resume reviews begin immediately. For best consideration, please apply by February 28, 2022. Early applications are encouraged due to the pace of the search. Please direct confidential inquiries to Carlyn Madden or Isha Haley at Compass@good-insight.org.
Equal Opportunity Employer
Compass is committed to recruiting and employing individuals without regard to race, color, religion, creed, age, gender, gender identity, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, pregnancy, familial status, ability, veteran status, sexual orientation, size, status with regard to public assistance, or genetic information.
