Career Center

BoardSource is a globally-recognized nonprofit focused on strengthening nonprofit leadership at the highest level — the board of directors. With more than three decades of experience, BoardSource is at the forefront of nonprofit board leadership, research, and support. BoardSource provides leaders with an extensive range of tools, resources, and research data to increase board effectiveness and strengthen organizational impact and to serve as the national voice for inspired and effective board leadership.

For the last several years, BoardSource has been on a journey of transformation. While BoardSource used to be an organization primarily focused on meeting the technical support needs of individual boards, it has been shifting to become to a more complex and impactful organization that marries technical support for boards with a strong leadership voice advocating for necessary change in social sector board leadership, particularly to center equity and shift power toward the communities served by nonprofits. During this time of change, a carefully planned CEO transition occurred with Monika Kalra Varma stepping into the role as President & CEO last year.

BoardSource now seeks nominations and applications for the newly created position of Chief Program & Strategy Officer (CPSO). This inaugural CPSO will be an experienced leader who can serve as a key thought partner and strategic advisor to the President & CEO and her senior leadership team in a role that supports an integrated approach to strategy setting across the organization.

As a member of the senior leadership team, the CPSO will advise on programmatic strategy and help implement a shift in BoardSource’s work towards embedding listening and learning practices across the organization to better meet the multifaceted needs of the nonprofit sector. The CPSO will bring an approach that emphasizes humility to help BoardSource amplify the collective wisdom of the sector. The CPSO will lead efforts to align strategies across all program areas with an emphasis on BoardSource’s vision to create a just world where all can thrive.

The CPSO will lead and directly manage a dedicated program team and will inspire and motivate staff at all levels, providing direction, vision, and clarity on priorities. The ideal candidate brings deep knowledge of and passion for advancing racial equity, experience directing an organization-wide shift in programmatic strategy, and a belief that boards can be a positive force for change in our sector. BoardSource explicitly seeks a CPSO with extensive experience working with/for community-driven organizations and is excited to bring forward a new vision for how nonprofit governance can be transformed.

They will report directly to the President & CEO.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

BoardSource envisions a world where every social sector organization has the leadership it needs to fulfill its mission and advance the public good. This vision is grounded in community—and an understanding that if they are working towards a more just social sector, they must center those who are most impacted by injustice in all aspects of their work. To achieve this, BoardSource will go beyond working for community and shift towards working in community. – because those closest to the systemic challenges they are trying to solve have the most grounded perspectives and innovative solutions needed for change.

While this transition is ongoing and their thinking is evolving, they have identified four key drivers that will ground BoardSource as they work to realize their new vision:

• Humility: An organizational culture of humility will enable BoardSource to more deeply understand barriers to effective governance and identify innovative best practices emerging at the community level.
• Listening: Developing organization-wide mechanisms for gathering data, gleaning best practices, hearing diverse perspectives, and receiving feedback will maximize their listening and learning capabilities.
• Learning: A culture of continuous learning, which seeks new information to evolve and shift thinking, will support BoardSource in being the leading hub of learning on how boards are functioning across the sector.
• Expertise: Expertise rooted in humility, listening, and learning will enable BoardSource's knowledge to be co-created and far-reaching. Their resources will capture the complexity of their continuously evolving field and will deliver solutions to support leaders in real time.

The lens through which they will carry out this work is racial equity— and an understanding that boards are one of the most powerful levers for change, equality, and justice. In this moment of great challenge and possibility, they know that their work to support and empower boards is critical— and they feel that call to action every day in their interactions with nonprofit leaders on the front lines of change.

OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE CHIEF PROGRAM & STRATEGY OFFICER

The inaugural CPSO will have the opportunity to build on a well-established and impactful brand to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit boards. Partnering closely with the President & CEO and her senior leadership team, the CPSO will get to lead in the following ways:

Program Leadership, Strategy, and Oversight

• Support the President & CEO and senior leadership team in achieving strategic priorities, with a focus on shifting the approach to BoardSource’s work toward listening and learning.
• Lead BoardSource's programmatic strategy toward their big picture vision, translate strategy into different modalities of high impact programming and manage program team's implementation of tangible plans.
• Identify opportunities around programmatic growth and development to ensure BoardSource is well-positioned to achieve its strategic direction.
• Promote BoardSource’s visibility and impact, representing the organization with a unified voice and presence and leading the member engagement and communications team.
• Serve as an external representative for BoardSource’s work to help boards be a positive force for change in advancing racial equity.

Leadership and Team Management

• Serve as an active member of the senior leadership team, playing a critical role in ensuring that BoardSource continues to build a strong, diverse, and inclusive culture across the organization.
• Operate as a positive advocate for change, modeling and fostering a culture where staff are well-informed and invested in BoardSource’s evolving work.
• Develop and manage the program aspects of the annual budget. Monitor revenue and expenses for all program areas and work on necessary budget adjustments.
• Provide leadership, guidance, and innovation to ensure quality and continuous improvement of programs and activities.
• Provide managerial oversight, guidance, and direction to the Associate Vice President of Education, Director of Governance Networks & Innovation, and Director of Member Engagement & Marketing.

POSITION QUALIFICATIONS

BoardSource’s CPSO will be passionate about the essential role the nonprofit sector plays in supporting and strengthening society, and believe deeply in the critical importance of inspired, effective, and engaged board leadership. They will have a deep understanding of the breadth and complexity of the nonprofit sector and demonstrated experience as an executive leader, preferably within community-driven social justice-oriented organizations. Ideally, they will have the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• 10+ years of professional work experience in nonprofit organizations, including at least 3 years leading programmatic strategy as part of a senior leadership team.
• Experienced in the design, implementation and refinement of programs that serve to strengthen the health and impact of nonprofit organizations.
• Experienced with delivering content in a variety of ways, utilizing different education modalities, and seeking creative ways to develop and deliver trainings, resources, and tools.
• Expert understanding of diversity, inclusion, and equity with a deep connection to social justice, grassroots, or advocacy organizations.
• Proven track record of multi-functional leadership and success in leading change to increase organizational impact.
• Substantial senior-management-level experience guiding an organization through development, implementation, and successful execution of organizational change initiatives resulting from reinvention, significant change, or transition.
• Current or prior experience serving on a nonprofit board or experience working with a board as a nonprofit executive.

LOCATION, TRAVEL, COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

BoardSource is located in Washington, D.C., and staff are expected to be in the office at least once a week, with senior leadership team members regularly coming in twice a week. The physical requirements for this role are customary to an office setting – seated or standing at a desk, using standard office equipment and technology. Reasonable accommodations will gladly be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. This role requires up to 25% travel.

BoardSource offers competitive wages and excellent benefits, including high-quality health insurance with dental and vision coverage, life insurance, a retirement plan with employer match, and other work/life benefits. This will be a full-time, exempt position. The salary range for this position is between $170,000 – $210,000.

TO APPLY

More information about BoardSource may be found at: boardsource.org

This search is being led by Emily Wexler and Rachel Burgoyne of NPAG. Candidates may submit their cover letter, outlining their interest and qualifications, along with their resume via NPAG’s website.

Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, & Equity

In the leadership BoardSource provides to nonprofit organizations across the social sector, we work to spark new awareness about why a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is essential within nonprofit organizations, as well as provide practical support and guidance about how to create positive change. This work flows from our belief that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is essential to realizing our vision of a world where every social sector organization has the leadership it needs to fulfill its mission and advance the public good.

Given this commitment and effort, we work to ensure that our own team is diverse and inclusive, and that the entire team – regardless of background or identity – feels empowered to bring their authentic selves to work. Our work is enriched by the lived experiences of our team members, and there is no replacement for lived experience when working on issues of diversity, inclusion, and equity. We are eager to welcome future team members who share our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity; we also strongly encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds to apply.