Chief External Officer

Celebrating 25 years of impact, iMentor is one of the most innovative college success organizations in the country. iMentor believes that all students deserve an equitable chance to pursue their ambitions. Our program builds authentic mentoring relationships in order to bring greater equity to our students' educational journeys. Through these long-term relationships, first-generation students of color from underserved communities increase their access to the knowledge, experiences, and resources required to succeed in college or their post-secondary pathway of choice, and to pursue their career ambitions.

By partnering with public schools serving primarily first-generation college students and providing every student in the school with a mentor, iMentor supports students' post-secondary journeys with a level of depth and personalization that cannot be matched by traditional advising models. iMentor's students are 37% more likely to enroll in college and are graduating college at double the rates of their peers. Since inception, iMentor has created and supported 40,000 mentoring relationships.

iMentor is seeking an experienced, dynamic, and forward-thinking leader to serve as its new Chief External Officer (CXO). The CXO will be directly responsible for successfully creating, leading, and implementing an integrated fundraising strategy across iMentor's footprint, while building new and maintaining existing relationships to drive iMentor's visibility, impact, strategic partnerships, and financial resources. The CXO is a visionary leader who will set development and communication strategies for the organization, work collaboratively with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) to execute against those strategies, and lead and inspire a high-performing team toward ambitious development and communication goals. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the CXO is a member of iMentor's leadership team and will be based in the New York office, in a hybrid capacity.

In collaboration with the CEO, the CXO will serve as lead external representative to iMentor's community of donors and external stakeholders, expanding its networks to include new donors, and increasing its national recognition in philanthropic circles. This person will maximize iMentor's internal MarComms and third-party firms to amplify iMentor's national visibility through coordinated communications, public relations, marketing, and social media functions.

Overseeing iMentor's National Development and Marketing & Communications teams, the CXO leads an integrated, multifunctional team responsible for external marketing & communications, institutional giving, corporate engagement, individual giving, and board relations. Reporting directly to the CXO is a Managing Director of Marketing and Communications, Senior Director of Institutional Giving, Managing Director of Development, and a National Director of Corporate Partnerships. The incoming Chief External Officer will also partner with the Chief Impact Officer to provide strategic oversight on fundraising related activities in the region. They will serve as integral coaches to the regional leaders as they execute against their fundraising strategies.

This is an ideal opportunity for candidates with a track record of driving and diversifying philanthropic revenue and who have a passion for working with influential donors, to play a leadership role in growing a national organization that's impacting thousands of young people across the country.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Fundraising, Development, and Institutional Advancement

• Lead the organization to meet annual fundraising targets, which grows from $22M to $28M over the next five years.
• Design and execute iMentor's multi-year development strategy to reach revenue targets, refining and refreshing annual goals in close coordination with senior leadership and development team.
• Defines and operationalizes a high-impact national development model that provides cross-organizational support, coaching and accountability to stakeholders.
• In partnership with the CEO, serve as iMentor's lead external representative, managing a diverse portfolio of major donors and prospects, and building a multi-year strategic pipeline of existing, new, and expanded funding streams.
• Integrate a revenue diversification lens into the national development strategy, expanding support from major donors and securing new revenue from federal and local government sources.

Brand Management, Marketing, and Communications

• Lead the national Marketing & Communications team to manage iMentor's 25th anniversary campaign and related events, and leverage iMentor's unique story to elevate our brand.
• Develop the systems and strategies to identify and elevate powerful stories from the iMentor community that can help educate and inspire external stakeholders and people who are new to iMentor's work.
• Develop and oversee the execution of a national strategy for iMentor's branding, public relations, social media, and related external communications at a national level.
• Ensure iMentor regions have the strategies, expertise, and support necessary to grow their impact and their presence in their region.
• Collaborate with leaders to turn iMentor's programmatic and research insights into compelling communications tailored to diverse audiences throughout the country.
• In partnership with CEO, liaise as a lead representative of iMentor in key external engagements and events.

Board Development and Engagement

• Collaborate with CEO and board chair to create and steward iMentor's board development plan, building a pipeline of diverse board candidates; strategically developing board committees to advise iMentor's Chief team and support the organization's growth, impact, and sustainability goals
• Engage and activate board members, ensuring they are effectively oriented and ready to participate in donor cultivation strategies; Together with the CEO, increase the board's overall understanding and capacity to cultivate new donors and to fundraise through
• Actively serve as a key steward and liaison for major donors and board members, managing and facilitating iMentor's board gift strategy and executing key asks.
• Oversee the special events strategy, working in partnership with CEO and the board to promote special events, including iMentor's 25th anniversary, Champions Dinner, etc., building targeted cultivation strategies, and securing honorees, sponsorships, and VIP guests
• In coordination with the CEO, lead the board development committee, attend board meetings, and report on National Development and MarComm activities
• Work with the CEO to deepen understanding of iMentor's work, ensuring board members are engaged and energized by their association with the organization

Organizational Leadership

• Supports effective partnership between the National Development Team, National Marketing & Communications Team, and regional teams to ensure streamlined collaboration, communication, and planning.
• In partnership with Chief Impact Officer, coaches regional Executive Directors and development leaders to develop and execute annual fundraising plans in synchronization with the overall organizational strategic plan, using data and evidence to measure results against desired impact.
• In collaboration with the leadership team, promote and build a culture of philanthropy across the organization, building staff capacity to support development and communications efforts that expand iMentor's impact.

• Passion and commitment to the mission and vision of iMentor
• At least 10 years of professional experience driving significant philanthropic revenue generation (e.g. $10M+) revenue generation; experience in either the private or nonprofit sector is valued, while cross-sector experience would be ideal
• Experience managing significant major donors, foundations, and corporate partnerships, and building multi-year pipelines toward strategic revenue goals; experience with federal and government grants is a plus
• Demonstrated success in thinking creatively and strategically about revenue diversification and ability to effectively develop and implement plans in support of revenue growth, particularly in the area of major gifts and or government funding
  
• Experience leading diverse cross functional teams to meet ambitious goals while also serving as a key organizational leader as part of the executive leadership team
• Ability to consult, advise, communicate and work collaboratively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong writing skills; excellent attention to detail
• Ability to refine and tweak systems and tools for development operations, including databases, reporting, and donor research tools that support revenue growth and diversification
• Collaborative, decisive, motivating, and engaging style
• High standards of excellence combined with a supportive and growth-oriented management style
• Culturally competent regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. Able to have difficult and effective conversations about race and equity while meeting someone where they are
• Aligned in thought and action with iMentor's values

The salary range for this opportunity is $200K – $260K commensurate with experience. In addition to compensation, iMentor also provides a suite of competitive benefits including:

• Up to 100% employer funded comprehensive medical and dental coverage
• 18 days paid annual vacation (increasing annually to 21, 23, 25), 13 paid holidays + your birthday + one floating holiday, iMentor is closed between Christmas and New Year's Day, plus 6-7 sick days annually
• 401K match up to 4%
• Significant opportunities for professional development and growth including a $250 personal professional development budget in your first year, increasing to $500 in each subsequent year
• Flexible Home/Office/School working arrangement
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Dependent care and health care flexible spending plans
• 1 hour of wellness time off per week for wellness activities of your choosing
• 9 weeks of paid parental leave

Location: This role is based in New York and is hybrid in nature with the expectation to be in the office twice a week.

iMentor's Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion iMentor believes that people of all backgrounds deserve equal access to educational opportunities. Recognizing that our country's history of racism and systemic oppression continues to drive educational disparities for students of color, we give special focus to addressing the economic and racial divides that impact the communities we serve. iMentor is committed to the collective work and intentional investment necessary to consistently move in the direction of educational equity and inclusion. Learn more at www.iMentor.org.

​​iMentor is an Equal Opportunity Employer On-Ramps is deeply committed to equity. We believe social change happens when people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and identities come together with a common purpose. We're partnering with the team at iMentor to build a diverse team. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply.

On-Ramps is committed to the inclusion of all qualified individuals in the hiring process, including but not limited to those with disabilities. If you require reasonable accommodation(s) to participate in the application or interview process, please contact info@on-ramps.com.