New Search! Chief Development Officer with Sandy Hook Promise

Please note that this position has been filled. 

Pillar Search & HR Consulting is proud to partner with Sandy Hook Promise in the search for their new Chief Development Officer (CDO). The Chief Development Officer will set strategy for and execute fundraising strategies across giving channels including individual major giving, corporate, foundations, events and government funding, driving efforts to grow all giving channels nationally and develop strategies to expand into new giving channels (planned giving, DAFs, etc.)  while maintaining and strengthening relationships with all existing supporters. A member of the executive leadership team, they will have a vital role in driving Sandy Hook Promise’s mission and ensure support for the organization’s strategic growth to expand program reach and effectiveness.

ABOUT SANDY HOOK PROMISE:

Sandy Hook Promise is a nonpartisan organization that was founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. Sandy Hook Promise is dedicated to preventing gun violence and creating a culture of inclusivity, safety, respect, and kindness in schools and communities across the United States.

Sandy Hook Promise Foundation is a 501(c)(3) that offers a range of evidence-informed programs and initiatives designed to empower youth, educators, and community members to recognize the signs preceding violence and to take steps to prevent it. Their programs include educational resources for schools, youth leadership programs, and community-based campaigns to raise awareness of the impacts of gun violence.

Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) that champions a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization.

Through its work, Sandy Hook Promise aims to build a movement of individuals and organizations committed to promoting gun safety, mental health awareness, and social and emotional learning. The organization has received widespread support from educators, parents, and lawmakers, as well as celebrities and public figures, and continues to play a vital role in the national conversation around gun violence prevention.

Learn more about Sandy Hook Promise here.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

Sandy Hook Promise seeks an innovative, mission-driven Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead and expand our national fundraising efforts. This visionary leader will develop and execute a long-term strategy to significantly enhance our gift contributions and drive the organization’s growth. The CDO will lead and manage a development team, cultivate transformational, high-level gifts, and strengthen constituent relationships by increasing awareness and building constituent support for the organization’s 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) work. The CDO will also identify, cultivate, and actively manage a donor portfolio through prospecting, qualifying, and cultivating high-level donors and collaborate with leadership to achieve fundraising goals and organization vision.

This role requires a strategic, visionary leader with a track record of success in major gift development and experience leading fundraising for national nonprofit organizations that, like Sandy Hook Promise, have been in significant growth mode across multiple revenue channels. They will possess the ability to effectively operationalize and implement such strategies into actionable plans and tangible results, collaborating with other departments and senior leaders across the organization. The CDO will be a player-coach responsible for motivating and developing a cohesive team while building and maintaining strong relationships with donors and focusing their energies toward radically increasing giving across all channels, including individual major giving, foundations, events, corporations, and government funding.

The ideal CDO will be a visionary and strategic leader with a proven track record of ensuring support for a best-in-class national nonprofit organization, both building on the current strong foundation of philanthropic support through the stewardship of existing supporters and the identification of new funding sources across the country to ensure continuous growth of support for the mission and vision of Sandy Hook Promise across both the C3 and C4.

REPORTING STRUCTURE:

This position will report to the Co-Founder and Co-CEO and will manage 5 direct reports and a total team of 8 fundraising professionals and additional fundraising consultants.

RESPONSIBILITY OVERVIEW:

  • Thoughtfully navigate the philanthropic landscape to identify and cultivate strategic partnerships that enhance and expand our fundraising efforts.
  • Develop and implement a bold, comprehensive fundraising strategy that aligns with the organization’s strategic growth plan and budgetary goals for the C3 and C4
  • Oversee and manage the organization’s fundraising programs, including major gifts, annual giving, foundation relations, corporate giving, government funding, and special events.
  • Serve as the leader of the development team, fostering a collaborative and goal-oriented culture amongst staff. Enhance the team’s effectiveness and productivity by providing coaching and mentorship, motivating team members with energy, passion, and clear expectations.
  • Position Sandy Hook Promise for long-term success by doubling major gifts revenue over the next 3-5 years, while expanding corporate and government contributions to surpass the $10 million threshold.
  • A forward-thinking innovator who will creatively expand the donor base nationwide, leveraging all giving channels to maximize impact and expanding into new channels (planned giving, DAFs, etc.). Work closely with the Marketing Department to leverage and upgrade SHP’s grassroots base through the donor cultivation cycle.
  • Personally manage a portfolio of high net worth, strategic key supporters, including the cultivation of six- and seven-figure gifts.
  • Leverage and deepen the relationships between the Development department and the Programs, Policy, Marketing, Finance, and Operations Departments to drive fundraising strategies that will support overall organizational goals and growth initiatives.
  • Oversees the development of a suite of donor communications materials, including strong cases for support and pitch materials to attract and engage a broader donor audience, customizing messaging and case for support for both our program and policy work. Additionally, ensure best-in-class donor gratitude, recognition, and stewardship of SHP donors.
  • Foster and leverage relationships of SHP’s leadership, including the Board of Directors, CEOs, advisory boards, senior leadership team, partners, and current donors to meet fundraising goals and grow our prospects and strategic connections.
  • Collaborate with executive and senior leadership to align the development team’s goals to support the organization’s strategic plan, building a long-term vision, with clear plans on how to operationalize the work, that fosters a creative vision that supports both C3 and C4 initiatives. Proactively identify and create new funding opportunities by deeply understanding organizational needs. Leverage data and technology to enhance systems, processes, and structures within the development department, while still maintaining a personal touch and donor-centric mindset.
  • Champion the SHP’s commitment to fostering REDI (Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) within the organization and with its partners.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Experience in an executive leadership fundraising role with a national nonprofit (c-suite preferred)
  • Proven track record expanding the donor base for national nonprofits that do not have a built-in donor base
  • Direct experience and expertise with individual and major giving including a track record of securing 7-figure gifts. Ideally, the CDO candidate will have a generalist background with additional experience with foundation, corporate, government, and annual/sustaining, as well as experience securing funding for both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) giving.
  • The ideal CDO candidate will have, at minimum, fifteen years or more of progressive experience in nonprofit development, including ten years at the senior level of the organization and leading a team of experienced development professionals.
  • Track record of growing a nonprofit at the national level. The CDO will have a forward-thinking vision for fundraising that expands all fundraising channels across the country.
  • Demonstrated experience creating a compelling and ambitious vision and strategy and delivering a plan against that vision.
  • Recent experience directly managing, cultivating, and stewarding a pool of high-level donors is essential in this role.
  • A proven results-driven approach to scaling and achieving fundraising goals over the near- and long-term and a comprehensive understanding of various fundraising channels, including individual major gifts, corporate giving, foundations, government grants, planned giving, donor-advised funds (DAFs), special events, grassroots support, matching campaigns, and capital campaigns.
  • A balanced approach to leadership, with the ability to operate strategically and tactically, partnering with executive leadership and the board while managing both team members and a pool of donors.
  • Strong analytical and data-driven skills with a proven ability to drive development decisions and achieve strategic objectives using metrics while combining this with a donor-first mentality.
  • Skilled in comprehending, synthesizing, and articulating complex information into a compelling case for support that motivates prospective donors to contribute.
  • Possesses exceptional communication skills and the ability to collaborate with highly talented team members, donors, and other stakeholders to achieve fundraising efforts.
  • An inspiring leader with experience managing a high-performing team with a mix of experienced development professionals and new developing talent and has built synergy and a unified vision.  The CDO of Development will have a servant leadership mentality, focus on the continuous learning and growth of team members, be open and receptive to thought partnership, new ideas, and feedback.
  • The ideal candidate will be resourceful, adaptable, and has achieved results in past roles through persistence and a “hustle” mentality.
  • Stands as an agent for change with a deep understanding of and passion for gun violence prevention and related social justice movements.
  • Exemplifies the values and mission of SHP, inspiring and motivating others, including staff and supporters, building on SHP’s mission and vision for the future, and think entrepreneurially to inject new ideas and energy.
  • In addition to experience with 501(c)(3) organizations, experience with 501(c)(4) organizations strongly preferred.
  • Strong technical skills, including with donor management systems. Sandy Hook Promise currently uses Salesforce.

LOCATION:

Remote withing the U.S. with travel for in-person meetings/trainings as needed.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

The salary range for this position is $195,000 – $205,000 annually.

SHP offers a competitive benefits package, including:

  • Unlimited PTO
  • Paid holidays
  • 10 days sick leave
  • Paid parental leave
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Employer paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability
  • 401k match
  • Employer Paid Employee Assistance Program.

Sandy Hook Promise operates within a distributed workforce, allowing for location flexibility across the country for most positions. They provide remote office support for all staff, which includes a laptop, home office reimbursement, monthly Wi-Fi reimbursement up to $40, and monthly cell phone reimbursement up to $50.

Equal Opportunity Employment

SHP is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. They strive to be an employer of choice where a diverse mix of talented people want to come and do their best work. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. They are focused on promoting diversity, multiculturalism, and inclusion and believe deeply in having a workforce comprised of people of all beliefs and backgrounds who seek to prevent gun violence and stop the tragic loss of life. Members of all under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

TO APPLY: 

To apply or nominate a candidate, Please submit your resume and cover letter to jobs@pillarsearch.com. Those applying are asked to submit both a resume and cover letter.

Please note that, due to the high volume of resumes received for this role, Pillar is unable to have informational calls about the role. Only those candidates selected to move forward will be scheduled for introductory calls as part of our recruiting process.

Phone calls are not accepted.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting:A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s Founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success! Emma Concepcion Joins UTEC as Chief People Officer

UTEC and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce that, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, Emma Concepcion has joined UTEC as their new Chief People Officer.

Reporting to UTEC’s CEO, Emma will be responsible for leading UTEC’s people and talent strategies, managing and mitigating organizational risks, and continuing the development of their human resource-related strategies, policies, and procedures. She will be a strategic advisor to senior leadership on a variety of issues, including employee relations, leadership development, organizational culture, and talent management, and will be play a key leadership role in supporting UTEC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of management and embodying UTEC’s DEI vision in their work and workplace culture.

Emma joins UTEC from Bay Cove Human Services, where she was their Vice President of Human Resources and earlier was the organization’s Director of Human Resources. As a member of the Bay Cove leadership team, she established the workforce development team, was Co-Chair of the DEI committee, designed and implemented HR initiatives, enhanced staff retention and engagement, and aligned HR strategies with organizational objectives. While Emma was Bay Cove’s Vice President of Human Resources, the organization achieved recognition as one of Boston’s Top Places to Work for five consecutive years. Prior to her tenure in Human Resources at Bay Cove, Emma spent a decade as their Director of Housing. In addition to her human resources and human services expertise, Emma also has extensive mediation experience, as she spent several years participating in court mediation and mediation training as a member of the Harvard University Mediation Program, handling cases related to civil, housing, and harassment prevention orders.

About UTEC: UTEC is a nationally recognized program for justice-involved young adults. The program starts behind the walls of correctional facilities and intensive street outreach/gang peacemaking and transitions into an intensive program in the community post-release. The nature of their educational services, wraparound supports and counseling, social enterprise/workforce development, organizing/policy work, training institute, and innovative partnerships creates a variety of impacts in the lives of the individuals and communities they serve.

Last year, UTEC served over 600 young adults including a range of outreach activities, and approximately 150 young adults intensively through their comprehensive program. During this fiscal year, 75% of young adults at UTEC avoided arrest. With over 20 years of experience, UTEC is a catalyst, innovating in the way they serve young adults (ages 17-25) who are criminally and/or gang involved in Massachusetts’ Merrimack Valley. Learn more about UTEC at https://utecinc.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Maridel Perdomo Joins Families First as the Senior Director of Programs!

Families First and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are excited to announce, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, that Maridel Perdomo has joined Families First as the Senior Director of Programs.

This is an exciting time for Families First, as they are seeing incredible outcomes from their programs and are in the process of expanding across the state. With the launch of a 5-year business plan, the organization looks toward significant growth in the coming years.

Reporting to Family First’s Executive Director, Sue Covitz, Maridel will be responsible for the oversight and implementation of Families First’s regional programming in Greater Boston and Western MA. Through this work, she will prioritize Families First’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging by engaging parents and the Families First team to inform regional and programmatic growth as the organization expands.

In addition, she will oversee Families First’s alumni services, support the evaluation and quality strategy, and support the program curricula and training strategy. She will serve on the leadership team to advance organizational goals and cross-departmental priorities and will execute and monitor expansion plans as a part of the 5-year business plan.

Maridel joins Families First from Schools for Children, where she was the Director of Extended Learning Programs. There, she was responsible for multi-site programs for 200 students and leading 30 staff members. Prior roles have included Site Director of YMCA at Gardner Pilot Academy, Preschool Director at Pine Village Preschool, and roles as Job Developer and Youth Program Director with Centro Latino. Maridel earned her master’s degree in public administration from Framingham State University, her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Salem State University, and also holds a degree in Human Resource Administration from Cecilio Acosta University in Caracas, Venezuela. Recently, Maridel served on the Board of Trustees of Watertown’s New Rep Theatre, where she was a member of the Diversity Committee and was involved in fundraising, budgeting, and the annual planning process.

About Families First: Families First’s mission is to partner with parents to amplify their power so they can positively impact the lives of children and communities through their groundbreaking programs. Their model includes parenting education and support, parent leadership, family engagement, and alumni services.

For more than 35 years, Families First has been a leader in providing parenting education across the Greater Boston area. The organization was founded in 1988 with the goal of helping parents navigate the diverse challenges of raising children by providing research-based parenting education services.

Today, Families First provides Massachusetts’s most comprehensive model for early childhood parenting education, family engagement, and parent leadership: The Power of ParentingTM program and The Ripple Program TM.

As a result of Families First’s high-impact, multi-tiered program model, parents will support the development of their children’s social-emotional and cognitive skills, embrace their role as the most important force in their children’s learning and well-being, and gain new skills and resources to support and advocate for their children as they grow. Learn more about this amazing organization at www.families-first.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Sher Omerovic Named JVS’ New Chief Program Officer!

JVS Boston and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce, following an extensive and competitive candidate search, the appointment of Sher Omerovic to the position of Chief Program Officer.

This is a well-deserved promotion from Sher’s most recent role with JVS as Senior Vice President of Programs. Sher joined JVS in 2016.

Reporting to JVS’ CEO, Kira Khazatsky, Sher will lead the core of JVS’ work – the development, quality, and delivery of JVS’s services. Sher will provide strategic leadership to the programmatic Vice President team to ensure alignment with the organization’s mission and goals, and support and develop the programmatic VP team to achieve programmatic outcomes. She will collaborate with other principal executives to ensure long-term strategic planning and board management align with the organization’s mission and goals.

Sher brings extensive program, workforce development and leadership experience to the Chief Program Officer role. Prior to JVS, she worked at the Fish Family Foundation, where she developed and implemented a statewide citizenship initiative partnering with multiple community organizations, immigration attorneys, and volunteers to organize large-scale citizenship events across the commonwealth, and held roles in immigration and employment with Catholic Charities of Boston and in grants with United Way. Sher earned her master’s degree in nonprofit project management from Northeastern University and her bachelor’s degree in international relations and modern languages from Beloit College.

About JVS Boston: For 80 years, JVS has helped tens of thousands of individuals with barriers to economic success secure financial independence through training, education, and employment services.  As the largest provider of adult education and workforce development services in the region, JVS is a nationally recognized leader in workforce development, and is a key part of the poverty alleviation strategy for the greater-Boston area.  In order to reach people in need of assistance on their pathway to meaningful employment and financial independence, JVS targets most of its services to low-income individuals who are unemployed or underemployed and to low-wage workers in need of career advancement services.  Many have multiple support needs ranging from limited English proficiency and lack of education to disabilities, criminal records, lack of childcare and transportation.  JVS operates on annual budget of more than $15 million, of which is derived equally from public and private sources. For more information, please visit www.jvs-boston.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Michelle Bleau Has Been Named Director of Housing Development With ONE Neighborhood Builders

ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) and Pillar Search and HR Consulting are excited to share that, following an extensive search, Michelle Bleau has been named Director of Housing Development.  In this role, she will lead housing development activities, supervising a team of project managers who advance projects through pre-development, construction, and into leasing. Michelle will represent ONE|NB and its interests externally, collaborating with consultants, project partners, financing entities, and others to successfully build high-quality housing. 

Michelle originally joined ONE|NB in 2022 as Project Manager for Real Estate Development. Michelle’s work in that role focused on deal sourcing, acquisition, design, community and partnership engagement, permitting & approvals, financing, consultant procurement, and construction.

Prior to joining ONE|NB, Michelle worked for a private development firm headquartered in Boston, where she was responsible for managing and overseeing the daily operations and correspondences associated with acquisitions, predevelopment, permitting, design, development, marketing, leasing, and sales of large scale multifamily and condominium projects in the Greater Boston area. Throughout her project work, Michelle collaborated with many nonprofit organizations and community development corporations, helping to source and allocate funding for community benefits, as well as forming partnerships to create affordable and mixed-income housing.

Michelle attended Roger Williams University and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She attended Boston University, Commercial Real Estate Certificate Program, NAIOP of Massachusetts, Continuing Education in Commercial Real Estate Program, and Freedom Trail Realty, MA Salesperson Licensing Program. 

ABOUT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDERS: ONE Neighborhood Builders (ONE|NB) is a nonprofit community development leader in Rhode Island that is expanding its work to the broader Greater Providence area while maintaining its deep roots in its historic home of Olneyville. ONE|NB’s mission is to develop affordable housing and engage neighbors to cultivate healthy, vibrant, and safe communities. Since its founding in 1988, then as Olneyville Housing Corporation, ONE|NB has developed 466 affordable apartments; 130 for-sale homes for low- to moderate-income homebuyers; and nearly 34,000 square feet of commercial and community space—totaling more than $135 million of investments. ONE|NB is the convening entity of Central Providence Opportunities: A Health Equity Zone, which brings together residents, more than five dozen community-based organizations, health professionals, local businesses, elected officials, and others to address root causes of health disparities and to improve neighborhood conditions. As the convener, ONE|NB is the backbone organization of this collective-impact initiative to increase economic mobility for residents in Central Providence. ONE|NB also created the first free community wireless network in Rhode Island, providing high-speed broadband to nearly 3000 unique users in the Olneyville neighborhood. For more information about ONE|NB, please visit their website.  

ABOUT PILLAR SEARCH & HR CONSULTING: A woman-owned business and Certified Diversity Recruiter based in Boston, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. For more information about Pillar, please visit our website

Search Success: Bree Arsenault Joins the Maine Community Foundation as Vice President of Philanthropy!

Maine Community Foundation and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are pleased to announce the appointment of Bree Arsenault to the position of Vice President of Philanthropy. Bree joined the organization in June, 2023.

She will lead the foundation’s development department in all new fund and donor acquisitions to drive the organization’s mission to build a better Maine.

Bree joins Maine Community Foundation from the Clinton Foundation, where she was the Senior Director, Development & Philanthropy. Previously, Bree was with Teach for America and The Kennedy Center. Bree is a resident of Maine. She earned her M.B.A. from the University of Cincinnati and her bachelor’s degree in music and chemistry from Middlebury College. She has held a variety of volunteer roles, including on the Board of Directors of 1% for the Plant.

About Maine Community Foundation: The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and strong investments. To learn more about the foundation, please visit https://www.mainecf.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston (with roots in Maine!), Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.

Search Success: Becka Yturregui Joins Maine Community Foundation as Vice President of Donor Engagement!

Maine Community Foundation and Pillar Search & HR Consulting are proud to announce the appointment of Becka Yturregui to the position of Vice President of Donor Engagement. Becka joined the organization on May 8, 2023.

Becka will be a great addition to their management team, carrying forward MaineCF’s mission and vision forward with energy and passion. Becka’s background includes donor cultivation and stewardship, community relations, and institutional communications. A skilled strategist and relationship-builder, she brings extensive experience in helping organizations tell their stories and in building deep, impactful relationships in their communities.

Most recently, Becka served as the Vice President of Donor Relations and Philanthropic Impact at CJP – Combined Jewish Philanthropies.

Becka grew up in Maine and is a graduate of Simmons College. She will be based in the Maine Community Foundation’s Portland office.

About Maine Community Foundation: The Maine Community Foundation brings people and resources together to build a better Maine through strategic giving, community leadership, personalized service, local expertise and strong investments. To learn more about the foundation, please visit https://www.mainecf.org.

About Pillar Search & HR Consulting: A woman-owned business based in Boston (with roots in Maine!), Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides executive search/recruiting and human resources consulting expertise to nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, working with senior leaders and the boards of directors to hire and develop the very best talent across all functional areas of the organization. Pillar’s founder, Cindy Joyce, is a Certified Diversity Recruiter. For more information about Pillar, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.