Foundation Chief Executive Officer

Central Health • Austin, TX

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Foundation Chief Executive Officer provides executive leadership and collaborates with the Foundation Board of Directors to set strategic direction for the Central Health Foundation and is accountable for its philanthropic performance, organizational effectiveness, financial sustainability, governance, and community impact. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer of Central Health, the Foundation CEO works in partnership with the Foundation Board, Central Health executive and clinical leadership, donors, and community stakeholders to align the Foundation’s priorities with Central Health’s mission, strategic direction, health-equity goals, and identified community needs. The CEO leads an integrated fundraising enterprise encompassing transformational, principal, and major gifts; annual giving; institutional and grant funding; corporate partnerships; campaigns; and donor stewardship. The position personally advances the Foundation’s most significant philanthropic relationships, including transformational gifts and selected major-gift opportunities requiring executive involvement, while maintaining accountability for overall fundraising performance and sustainable revenue growth. The CEO serves as the Foundation’s principal external representative and ensures that charitable resources are managed with financial integrity, transparency, accountability, and respect for donor intent. The position initially leads approximately three to five executive and senior-level direct reports, including Foundation Strategy, Foundation Operations, Major Gifts, and other functions as the organization develops. The CEO leads through Foundation staff, senior leaders, and Central Health shared-service partners to ensure effective execution across advancement, strategy, operations, grants, communications, and impact functions. Most administrative and support services are provided through shared or purchased service arrangements with Central Health, while donor systems, donor management, and donor reporting remain directly managed within the Foundation. This is a hybrid position. Individuals in this position may work both at an approved off-site location and onsite at a primary location or multiple locations based on business needs.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree (higher degree accepted) in business, nonprofit management, healthcare administration, public administration, public health, communications, finance, or a related field.
• Ten years of progressively responsible leadership experience in philanthropy, advancement, fundraising, nonprofit leadership, healthcare, public service, or a related field.
• Significant leadership responsibility for organizational strategy, fundraising performance, financial stewardship, stakeholder engagement, and team leadership.
• Demonstrated success developing and leading transformational, principal-gift, major-gift, campaign, or other significant philanthropic strategies.
• Experience partnering with governing boards, executive leaders, volunteers, donors, and community stakeholders.
• Experience building and leading teams and establishing accountable organizational systems, programs, or functions.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively within or alongside a complex institution such as a healthcare system, public entity, academic medical center, large nonprofit organization, or similarly accountable organization.
• Executive-level communication and external-relations experience, including the ability to translate complex organizational and community priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities.

Nice To Haves

• Master's Degree (higher degree accepted) in business, nonprofit management, healthcare administration, public administration, public health, communications, finance, or a related field.
• Experience leading a healthcare foundation, philanthropic organization, advancement function, or comparable nonprofit enterprise.
• Experience planning or leading a significant multiyear fundraising campaign.
• Experience establishing, scaling, restructuring, or transforming an organization or fundraising enterprise.
• Experience working with a public hospital district, safety-net healthcare system, governmental organization, or other publicly accountable institution.
• Knowledge of the Central Texas philanthropic, corporate, civic, and nonprofit landscape.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership for the Foundation’s strategy, fundraising, operations, financial stewardship, governance, and community impact.
• Establish and communicate organizational priorities, performance expectations, decision rights, and accountability across Foundation functions.
• Lead an initial executive and senior leadership structure of approximately three to five direct reports, including Foundation Strategy, Foundation Operations, Major Gifts, and other designated functions as the organization develops.
• Ensure the Foundation’s organizational structure, staffing model, systems, and resources remain appropriate for its mission, responsibilities, and scale.
• Build, develop, and lead a high-performing leadership team and workforce capable of advancing the Foundation’s strategic and philanthropic priorities.
• Establish clear reporting relationships, functional accountabilities, decision pathways, and performance expectations across Foundation leadership.
• Foster a culture grounded in integrity, accountability, collaboration, equity, transparency, respect, and service.
• Promote strong coordination among Foundation leaders, Central Health departments, clinical and operational teams, Board members, and external partners.
• Evaluate organizational performance and recommend changes needed to strengthen effectiveness, sustainability, and impact.
• Lead the development, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of the Foundation’s strategic plan in collaboration with the Central Health CEO, Foundation Board, and appropriate organizational stakeholders.
• Ensure Foundation priorities and fundraising strategies align with Central Health’s mission, strategic direction, health-equity goals, and community priorities.
• Translate Central Health priorities into compelling and credible opportunities for philanthropic investment.
• Establish organizational goals and measures that demonstrate fundraising performance, operational effectiveness, financial sustainability, and community impact.
• Evaluate emerging opportunities, risks, dependencies, and external trends and provide timely recommendations to the Central Health CEO, Foundation Board, and other appropriate leadership.
• Ensure Foundation initiatives are supported by clear objectives, credible budgets, implementation readiness, measurable outcomes, and appropriate stewardship commitments.
• Ensure strategy, fundraising priorities, operating capacity, and financial resources remain appropriately aligned as the Foundation develops.
• Serve as the primary executive liaison between Foundation staff leadership, the Foundation Board, and Central Health executive leadership.
• Support the Foundation Board in fulfilling its governance, fiduciary, strategic, fundraising, and community engagement responsibilities.
• Develop and present strategic recommendations, financial information, fundraising results, performance reports, risk updates, and decision materials to the Foundation Board and its committees.
• Ensure effective implementation of Board-approved strategies, policies, priorities, and governance expectations.
• Promote appropriate governance practices, conflict-of-interest management, documentation, transparency, and accountability.
• Support effective Board and committee structures, orientation, education, succession planning, meeting practices, and engagement.
• Partner with Board members to strengthen donor relationships, philanthropic participation, community visibility, and peer-to-peer fundraising.
• Maintain appropriate coordination among the Foundation Board, Central Health CEO, Central Health leadership, and Foundation staff while preserving clearly defined governance and management responsibilities.
• Provide executive leadership and accountability for an integrated fundraising strategy encompassing transformational, principal and major gifts, annual giving, institutional and grant funding, corporate partnerships, campaigns, and donor stewardship.
• Establish fundraising priorities, revenue goals, pipeline expectations, performance measures, and accountability processes across the Foundation.
• Lead strategy for transformational and principal gifts and personally cultivate, solicit, and steward the Foundation’s highest-level donors and prospective partners.
• Participate directly in selected major-gift opportunities where executive involvement is appropriate.
• Maintain overall accountability for Foundation fundraising results while functional fundraising leaders retain responsibility for assigned portfolios, programs, pipelines, and day-to-day execution.
• Engage Foundation Board members, Central Health leaders, clinicians, and community champions in donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and peer-to-peer fundraising.
• Serve as the executive relationship owner for the Foundation’s most significant donor, corporate, philanthropic, and community partnerships.
• Ensure campaign planning and execution include clear funding priorities, compelling cases for support, prospect strategy, pipeline discipline, donor recognition, and stewardship standards.
• Partner with Central Health leaders and clinical teams to identify fundable priorities and translate complex healthcare and community needs into persuasive philanthropic opportunities.
• Ensure fundraising activities honor donor intent and comply with legal, ethical, financial, and organizational requirements.
• Monitor fundraising performance, donor retention, pipeline growth, return on investment, and progress toward revenue goals.
• Maintain executive accountability for the Foundation’s financial integrity, long-term sustainability, resource allocation, and stewardship of charitable assets.
• Develop and present the annual operating budget, fundraising budget, and multiyear financial plan for appropriate review and approval.
• Monitor financial performance, fundraising revenue, operating costs, liquidity, investment activity, and long-term financial sustainability.
• Ensure appropriate financial policies, controls, processes, and reporting are maintained.
• Ensure responsible management of restricted and unrestricted funds, grants, subgrants, investments, expenditures, contracts, and vendor relationships.
• Partner with Foundation Operations, Central Health Finance, and other internal or shared-service partners to ensure accurate financial reporting, audit readiness, and timely resolution of financial or control issues.
• Establish clear service expectations, roles, decision pathways, and escalation processes between Foundation leadership and Central Health shared-service partners.
• Evaluate financial risks and opportunities and provide recommendations to the Foundation Board and Central Health leadership.
• Ensure donor systems, donor management, and donor reporting are appropriately maintained within the Foundation.
• Ensure the Foundation operates in accordance with applicable federal, state, local, governance, and organizational requirements.
• Maintain executive oversight of tax filings, audit readiness, charitable-solicitation requirements, donor restrictions, grant obligations, contracts, records, and governance compliance.
• Ensure appropriate policies are maintained for gift acceptance, restricted funds, grants and subgrants, investments, spending, conflicts of interest, records retention, and financial controls.
• Identify and oversee the management of significant financial, legal, regulatory, operational, cybersecurity, reputational, and community-trust risks.
• Ensure material risks, compliance matters, and control concerns are reported appropriately to the Foundation Board and Central Health leadership.
• Coordinate with Central Health Legal, Compliance, Finance, Internal Audit, Information Technology, Human Resources, Procurement, and other shared-service partners, as applicable.
• Ensure shared-service arrangements and internal Foundation responsibilities are supported by appropriate documentation, accountability, communication, and escalation processes.
• Promote a culture in which ethical conduct, donor intent, transparency, and public accountability are consistently maintained.
• Serve as the Foundation’s chief spokesperson and principal ambassador with donors, philanthropic institutions, community leaders, nonprofit organizations, business leaders, government stakeholders, and civic partners.
• Build and maintain the Foundation’s credibility and reputation as a trusted vehicle for philanthropic investment in Central Health’s mission.
• Represent the Foundation at significant donor meetings, community events, civic forums, philanthropic convenings, and public engagements.
• Develop strategic relationships that expand philanthropic investment, community support, and awareness of Central Health’s mission and impact.
• Facilitate meaningful engagement among donors, community partners, Central Health leaders, clinicians, and program leaders.
• Ensure external messaging, donor communications, and public representation are accurate, consistent, mission-aligned, and appropriately coordinated with Central Health Communications and other partners.
• Monitor the external philanthropic and community environment and identify opportunities to strengthen the Foundation’s visibility, partnerships, and support.
• Recruit, develop, lead, and retain a high-performing Foundation leadership team and workforce.
• Establish clear roles, reporting relationships, performance expectations, and accountability across Foundation functions.
• Ensure effective practices for workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, performance management, leadership development, engagement, and succession planning.
• Mentor Foundation leaders and promote cross-functional collaboration, shared accountability, and professional growth.
• Evaluate leadership capacity, organizational design, and staffing needs as the Foundation’s responsibilities and fundraising activity evolve.
• Ensure Foundation leaders effectively manage employees, vendors, consultants, and shared-service relationships within their areas of responsibility.
• Adjust organizational capacity, leadership responsibilities, and staffing structures as the Foundation progresses beyond its initial development phase.

Benefits

• The travel requirements for this position are estimated to be 20%.
• Regular local and regional travel is required for donor meetings, Board and committee meetings, community events, stakeholder engagement, and Foundation activities.
• Occasional statewide or national travel may be required.
• The position must be available for periodic evening and weekend meetings and events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive