Chief Relationship Officer

Second Helpings Inc•Indianapolis, IN

38m•$115,000

About The Position

The Chief Relationship Officer (CRO) will provide visionary, enterprise-level strategic leadership and executive oversight for Second Helpings’ fundraising, donor stewardship, communications and marketing, community engagement, and volunteer management. The CRO is responsible for designing and executing an integrated, data-informed revenue and engagement strategy that ensures long-term sustainability, deepens community investment, and strengthens the organization’s brand and visibility. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Reporting directly to the CEO, the Chief Relationship Officer (CRO) serves as a key member of the executive leadership team and an active participant in making strategic decisions affecting Second Helpings. The CRO has primary responsibility for ensuring the effectiveness of Second Helpings’ fundraising, marketing, public relations and outreach, and volunteer engagement with a strong emphasis on stewardship, awareness, and relationship cultivation. The CRO is the chief architect of relationship strategy working to align revenue generation, communications, brand positioning, and community engagement to advance mission impact. The CRO assists the CEO and Board of Directors in establishing the organizational goals and strategies for the advancement of Second Helpings fund development, communications, marketing, and volunteer engagement. They oversee staff implementation of action plans and work in collaboration with the Chair of the Development Committee, event chairs, and other related committees/task forces to meet organization objectives. The CRO partners closely with the CEO and Board to build a high-performing fundraising culture, strengthen board engagement in philanthropy, and ensure accountability to ambitious revenue goals.

Requirements

At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in fundraising/development with demonstrated success in achieving fundraising goals, including direct solicitation of major gifts.
Bachelor’s degree required. CFRE, Masters in Philanthropic Studies, Nonprofit Management, or equivalent preferred.
Prior senior-level management and supervisory experience required.
Proven ability to participate on a senior leadership team for overall organizational vision, strategy and success.
Ability to work collaboratively with others and easily form positive relationships.
Excellent written and verbal presentation skills.
Strong computer skills; able to understand and analyze data and use Salesforce and Microsoft Office effectively. Ability to use database information as a management and analytical tool; ability to keep clear, systematic electronic records to make data-driven, informed decisions.
Ability to inspire, motivate and empower personnel to achieve the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic goals.
Must be detail oriented and possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written or oral instruction.
Executive presence, emotional intelligence, and political savvy required to build trust with high-level donors, corporate partners, and board members.
Demonstrated ability to lead inclusive teams and engage diverse communities.
High degree of adaptability and resilience in a dynamic, evolving philanthropic environment.
Work schedule includes weekend and evening events.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading integrated development and communications functions preferred.
Demonstrated success managing multimillion-dollar revenue portfolios and building scalable fundraising infrastructure preferred.
CFRE, Masters in Philanthropic Studies, Nonprofit Management, or equivalent preferred.

Responsibilities

Develops and leads a diversified revenue strategy, including major gifts, mid-level giving, institutional giving, corporate partnerships, planned giving, digital fundraising, peer-to-peer, and emerging philanthropic vehicles.
Cultivates, solicits, retains, and stewards individuals, corporate donors, and foundations to secure sustainable and growing income.
Maintains a list of top prospects and assigns staff and board to relationship-building steps. Prepares staff and board to make cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship visits.
Oversees the planning and execution of fundraising, donor cultivation, and volunteer events, including working with Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Chief Programs Officer (CPO) to review risk and ensure all relevant compliance.
Directs donor communication including recognizing and reporting back to donors.
Works to scale number of donors and size of individual gifts, including annual fund, event revenue, special and major gift campaigns, and planned giving.
Works with programs and operations teams to develop opportunities for special donor investments and meet the organization’s needs for new equipment and other capital investments.
Represents the organization to donors, visitors, volunteers, and the public.
Implements fundraising strategies to meet the immediate and long-range needs of the organization.
Personally manages a portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects.
Ensures strong donor experience across all touchpoints, integrating storytelling, impact reporting, and digital engagement strategies.
Oversees direct mail and electronic fundraising programs and development of fundraising and marketing materials and annual reports.
Oversees grant application and reporting and identifies new grant opportunities.
Oversees recordkeeping for contributors and ensures that donations are appropriately recognized.
Uses data to guide strategy, forecast revenue, and drive performance accountability.
Builds, mentors, and retains a high-performing, diverse, and experienced team; establishes clear performance metrics and fosters accountability and collaboration.
Develops staff succession plans and ensures adequate cross-training so that operations are not disrupted by staff absences or turnover.
Promotes a culture of philanthropy among staff, board, and volunteers and within the Development team.
Prioritizes and practices the highest standards of professional ethics and donor stewardship.
Promotes a culture of service and works with team to understand intricacies of mission, including periodic hands-on participation.
Supervises and evaluates development, communications, and volunteer management staff.
Provides coaching and individual development of team members that help ensure successful performance, standards, and expectations, and facilitates their professional growth.
Follows best practices to ensure proper collaboration with programs staff to maximize the engagement of individuals and organizations to build the agency's supporter and volunteer base.
Monitors department expenses. Oversees and approves expenditures in alignment with annual budget and promotes efficiency and use of volunteers and in-kind donations to maximize the impact of available funds.
Oversees recordkeeping for individual and group volunteer hours and ensures coordination between the volunteer database and the donor database.
Guides volunteer strategies to meet the immediate and long-range needs of the organization.
Works with and provides direction to volunteers involved in development and fundraising.
Oversees wide variety of communications and outreach to donors, volunteers, and the community.
Ensures brand consistency and clarity of messaging across all communications channels, including digital, print, social media, media relations, and public presentations.
Collaborates with the CEO, executive leadership team, and staff to implement the organization's strategic plan.
Identifies emerging opportunities and trends in the nonprofit sector and develops strategies to capitalize on them.
Supports innovation and continuous improvement initiatives across the organization and encourages relevant risk-taking to ensure ultimate service of the mission and the community.
Serves as a key member of the agency's policy team, providing counsel to the CEO on a wide range of issues affecting the organization’s long-term success and collaborating with others to promote a culture of service, teamwork, and excellence.
Prepares annual development strategies, tactics, and measurements to meet organizational objectives. Creates and implements a long-range development plan in collaboration with the CEO, Board, and staff.
Prepares annual volunteer strategies, tactics, and measurements to meet organizational objectives. Creates and implements a long-range plan focused on increasing individual and group volunteer engagement.
Identifies and tracks key evaluation measures and goals including donor activity and trends to evaluate development program effectiveness.
Identifies and tracks key evaluation measures and goals for the volunteer program including number of hours served, volunteers retained, number of volunteer groups, and overall volunteer satisfaction.
Enable and promote direct reports’ engagement on various organizational initiatives and ensures space for professional development.
Represent the organization to the public and serve as a backup to the Chief Executive Officer.
Leverage organizational relationships and strategic partnerships to elevate Second Helpings’ visibility, influence, and community impact.
Advise the CEO and Board on philanthropic market trends, donor behavior shifts, and revenue risk mitigation strategies.