Chief Relationship Officer

Communities Foundation of Texas•Dallas, TX

12d

About The Position

The Chief Relationship Officer (CRO) is a senior enterprise leader responsible for advancing CFT’s mission by strengthening the foundation’s external relationships and translating those relationships into greater community giving, deeper donor engagement, and expanded impact. Reporting to the President and CEO, the CRO leads the Relationships department, including Donor Relations, Donor Services, and the Center for Business Impact, and ensures these functions operate as an integrated, high-performing team. The CRO is accountable for building strategies, systems, and partnerships that serve donors and fund holders exceptionally well; cultivate prospective donors, professional advisors, businesses, and community partners; and align relationship-driven growth with CFT’s broader strategic priorities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
At least ten years of progressively responsible experience in relationship management, donor engagement, business development, fund development, professional services, philanthropy, or a comparable goal-oriented environment.
Demonstrated success building and managing prospect pipelines, cultivating complex relationships, and converting relationships into significant gifts, business opportunities, organizational growth, or community impact.
Strong understanding of charitable giving vehicles, donor-advised funds, planned giving, complex gifts, philanthropic motivations, and the needs of high-net-worth individuals, families, businesses, and professional advisors.
Proven ability to lead high-performing teams, set clear expectations, build accountability, develop talent, and foster cross-functional collaboration.
Executive presence, sound judgment, and exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to represent CFT credibly with varied internal and external audiences.
High degree of integrity, discretion, emotional intelligence, and judgment in handling confidential information, sensitive donor matters, complex relationships, and strategic priorities.
Comfort using data, Salesforce or other relationship management systems, and reporting tools to track pipeline activity, measure progress, guide decisions, and support accountability.
Willingness and ability to travel moderately and attend occasional evening or community events as needed.
Ability to model CFT’s core competencies of Communication, Collaboration, and Trust, as well as leadership competencies including Leadership, People Management, Developing and Retaining Talent, and Team Building.

Nice To Haves

Graduate degree in business, nonprofit management, philanthropy, public administration, law, finance, or a related field preferred.
Experience with community foundations, public charities, family offices, financial institutions, professional advisory firms, or other mission-driven organizations preferred.
Familiarity with compliance, governance, grantmaking, and operational considerations relevant to community foundations or nonprofit organizations preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead an organization-wide strategy to grow community giving, expand the donor and prospect pipeline, deepen fund holder engagement, and increase gifts, new funds, planned giving commitments, and other charitable opportunities aligned with CFT’s mission.
Build consistent practices for understanding donor goals, family dynamics, philanthropic interests, and long-term charitable intent, including legacy planning, complex gifts, multigenerational giving, and customized giving opportunities.
Strengthen relationships with attorneys, financial advisors, estate planners, accountants, and other trusted advisors so CFT is viewed as a preferred partner for charitable planning and giving solutions.
Lead cultivation strategies for high-net-worth individuals and families, including prospect identification, relationship mapping, tailored engagement plans, and collaboration with legal, finance, investment, and program colleagues.
Connect donors and prospects with timely information about community needs, strategic initiatives, nonprofit partners, funding opportunities, and philanthropic approaches aligned with their interests.
Ensure responsive, consistent, high-quality service to donors and fund holders, with clear standards for stewardship, issue resolution, communication, grantmaking support, and relationship management.
Support the Center for Business Impact in cultivating companies, developing business giving strategies, employee engagement opportunities, corporate philanthropy solutions, and related offerings.
Leverage North Texas Giving Day as a relationship-building platform for donors, prospective fund holders, nonprofit discovery, employee giving campaigns, and business engagement.
Partner with Marketing and Communications to ensure donor, advisor, business, and prospect communications are coordinated, compelling, mission-aligned, and reflective of CFT’s value proposition.
Strengthen the use of Salesforce and related systems to organize relationship data, track pipeline activity, measure progress, support reporting, and guide staff accountability and leadership decision-making.
Lead, coach, and develop the Relationships department by setting clear goals and performance measures, fostering collaboration, strengthening staff capability, and building a culture of service, trust, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Serve on the Executive Leadership Committee, contribute to enterprise-wide strategy, represent donor and partner insights, promote cross-functional alignment, and represent CFT credibly with donors, advisors, businesses, nonprofit and civic leaders, and community partners.