Chief Growth Officer

Water For People is currently recruiting for the position of Chief Growth Officer. The CGO is charged with building a robust, comprehensive and sustainable revenue generation program for the organization to match Water For People’s ambitious goals. The CGO also provides leadership, direction and coaching for the Donor Impact team while also providing strategic support and guidance to Regional and Country Directors on fundraising, marketing, and communications activities across Water For People. As part of Water For People’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the CGO also provides strategic input, ensuring that all relevant activities and decisions benefit from revenue generation insights and consideration. The CGO is the main point of contact from the SLT with the Development Committee of the Board of Directors.

With a primary focus on delivering the revenue plan aligned with our Destination 2030 vision (grow revenue 3X to $75M by 2030), the CGO will lead and implement sustainable strategic idea creation, product/asset development, marketing, and partnerships. The CGO will have the ultimate accountability in developing executable plans to drive revenue growth. Together with other members of the SLT, the CGO will focus on expansion to new donors and increasing giving in three main areas: foundations/corporations, institutions (government, multi- and bi-lateral funders), and individuals. The CGO will also be instrumental in creating future strategic plans with the goal of boosting revenue streams.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES:

• Work with the Donor Impact team and the SLT to execute the current revenue growth plan aligned with the strategic plan tied with Destination 2030 and with our Strategic Partner, IRC; key emphasis will be on growing the number of new prospects/donors and strengthening the portfolio in the long-term into a greater number of key donors/funders
• Ensure performance, strategy, and alignment of the organization's revenue-generating activities
• Monitor the revenue pipeline and leads, adjusting approaches to align with current market trends to create sustainable growth and innovation, analyze opportunities, provide competitive analysis, strategies, and tactics
• Create a strategic and updated three-year growth plan annually with new prospects (inclusive of new foundation/corporate/institutional partners, sponsors, individual donors, and new assets/initiatives)
• Lead the Donor Impact team in measuring productivity and guiding how the members of the Donor Impact team are meeting individual and team annual goals and targets
• Oversee the development and implementation of policies and systems that support donor relationship management, marketing, communications, and growth 
• Be a bold and effective networker to strengthen corporate, foundation, high-wealth individual and commercial relationships; actively participate in donor and marketing strategy and development with the Donor Impact team with opportunities/initiatives valued at > $1M/year.
• Support the team in building strong relationships with current donors keeping them engaged, informed and inspired by Water For People’s work to retain long-term funding relationships
• Keep abreast of developments in marketing, philanthropy and fund development and ensure that team is also current
• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and laws, maintains accountability standards to donors, and follow code of ethical principles and standards of professional conduct for fundraising executives
• Serve as SLT representative on the Development Committee, bringing practical insight and best-practice strategy to the work of the Board in the realm revenue generation
• Serve as a resource to Board members who engage in prospect/donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
• Build upon brand recognition; work across channels to further increase awareness and understanding of the organization and its mission to stakeholders around the globe

SUPERVISORY DUTIES:

The CGO provides leadership and coordination of the Donor Impact Team and has four direct reports: Director of Development, Creative Director, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Director of Donor Engagement. The CGO is responsible for growing and structuring the Donor Impact team as appropriate to drive revenue growth.

BEHAVIORS AND COMPETENCIES

• Connect to Mission – Work to integrate own behaviors with the mission of the organization; connect the organization’s mission with established structure and activities; actively work to improve the capabilities of teams; actions and decisions are taken with the organization in mind
• Manage through Ambiguity – Adapt to people, shifting demands, and changing priorities with ease; create clear picture of the importance and relevance of change; find way to apply innovative ideas to enhance business results
• Demonstrate Cultural Awareness – Establish an inclusive environment; is appreciative, affirming and inclusive of all cultural backgrounds; demonstrate active listening, empathy and effective engagement to increase cultural competence
• Action-oriented – Integrate a variety of information or translate corporate strategy; drive innovation to create competitive edge; introduce substantive improvements to enhance performance throughout a functional area; create something that stands out against the norm to help deliver industry-leading performance
• Sense of Team – Facilitate collaboration; invest in building relationships; advocate ideas and effectively negotiate to achieve mutually successful outcomes; know and consider the capabilities of coworkers in own actions; bring people together across boundaries, leveraging differences to achieve results as a team 
• Build Talent and Team – Build sustainable talent pipeline; look beyond own team, towards building organizational capacity; review employees’ capabilities to assess organization capacity to deliver on strategy; challenge individuals to champion the talent management agenda; benchmark team members capabilities and create individual development plans for each team member
• Impact and Influence – Empower teams to perform; appropriately use the power of the position as well as personal influence to achieve outcomes; persuade others to willingly pursue a course of action against their initial inclination; create a team spirit of excitement and positive motivation; hold the group/team accountable to higher goals based on greater empowerment
• Strategic - Bring a high-level strategic view and an entrepreneurial spirit to foster achievement through a balance of aggressive and measured approaches.
• Visionary - Experienced in developing and managing a fundraising program in a large organization that can establish a new paradigm for Water For People’s individual, foundation and corporate giving. Success directing and achieving departmental goals.

QUALIFICATIONS, KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS:

• High school diploma or GED
• 12+ years of experience preferred in diversified leadership roles that show progressively responsible and relevant experience in fundraising, business development, marketing, communications, and/or revenue growth
• At least 10 years of management experience is desired
• Demonstrated performance in outcomes-based organizations where candidate has successfully developed and operationalized strategies that have taken the organization to the next stage of growth
• Proven track record of growing revenue and results through new product development, marketing, branding, and/or partnerships
• Experience working closely with senior executives and board members
• Significant experience working on cross-functional projects with multiple partners
• Strong analytical skills and data-driven mindset
• Proven experience developing and executing business strategy
• History of decision-making based on business metrics
• Inspirational leadership style and hands-on approach
• Ability to drive innovation, change and growth, and be a detail-oriented implementer who can mobilize small teams to translate strategy into results
• Demonstrated skills in bi- and multi-lateral funding, individual, foundation and corporate funding of multi-million dollar grants
• Possess strong negotiation skills, coupled with a high sense of professionalism, propriety, and confidentiality
• Experience working in international development and familiarity with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Experience collaborating and building partnerships with senior leadership, board members, and other key internal and external stakeholder groups
• Spanish language skills are an advantage
• Advanced computer proficiencies in MS Office 365

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & WORKING CONDITIONS: 

• Ability to travel domestically up to 35% of the time and internationally occasionally to low-income and medium-income countries, where travel is rugged
• This position may be based at Water For People Headquarters in Denver, Colorado with flexibility to work from home on an ad hoc basis; or work 100% remotely (work-from-home) based in any US state except CA, NJ, NY, VT, and WA.

Note: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications associated with the job.