Chief Executive Officer

 THE CENTER FOR NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE  

 At the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE) our mission is to accelerate the success of nonprofits through capacity building, connections, and community support to amplify the good work of the sector. We envision a just and equitable community that supports and emboldens nonprofits to ensure that everyone has the resources and opportunities to thrive.  We provide tools, resources and support to our members as they manage challenges often unique to nonprofits – board governance, leadership, fundraising, planning, networking, management and operations.   

 In 2021, CNPE established the School for Fundraising and Engagement offering a diverse array of classes.  The school operates through an equity lens and aims to significantly improve the ability of our community’s nonprofit sector (staff, board members, and volunteers) to access needed funding through a full range of methods and skills.  

 CNPE is committed to being an anti-racist organization. We will act to end racial inequity in all facets of our work, including board governance, membership, consulting, operations, communications, programs, and training. The plan and its goals began in September 2022 and follows through 2024.   

 Since our founding in 1999, CNPE’s service area has grown beyond Metro Louisville to include Southern Indiana and surrounding counties.   Membership is 500 groups and individuals and is on a growth path. 

 THE OPPORTUNITY 

 The successful candidate will be responsible for continuing to elevate CNPE as the exemplar for operational and board governance excellence, and a reliable and trusted voice for the nonprofit community. The individual must develop and leverage relationships and networks across the private, public and corporate sectors to continue growing CNPE’s position as a thought-leader and as the preeminent authority for the local nonprofit community. While having a vision is important, this leader must identify trends and the needs of the community and then translate those needs into executable goals for staff to deliver upon.  As the public face of the organization, the CEO is the steward of the brand, responsible for growing CNPE’s results, impact and enhancing its reputation among all sectors. It is critical that candidates embrace and support CNPE’s equity and anti-racism plan and work.   

In 2020, the Board approved a three-year plan focused on the following pillars: 

• Strengthen nonprofit impact  
• Operate through an equity lens  
• Elevate community leadership and convening 
• Ensure CNPE’s sustainability and viability 

 Leadership and the Board have been focused on driving results toward these pillars.  Gains have been made in the areas of community leadership and convening, with CNPE hosting both primary and general election mayoral candidate forums and convening the nonprofit sector around public safety and workforce issues through the Community Activation Network.  As the strategic plan enters its final year, a focus will be to continue operating through an equity lens as CNPE orients its 2023 ChangeMakers conference around bias, behaviors and belonging, and it works to share and achieve its Anti-Racism Action Plan Goals.  

 The CEO will ensure execution of CNPE’s mission, vision, strategic plan, and the accountability of CNPE to its members and the nonprofit community. In addition, the successful candidate will ensure CNPE’s fiscal operations, fundraising, marketing, human resource, technology and program strategies are implemented effectively across all segments of the organization.  

 The ideal candidate would be a top executive or senior executive leader of a successful nonprofit organization, foundation, or social service agency, or a senior executive from the private sector who has successfully demonstrated experience in and commitment to nonprofit organizations. 

  Preferred Qualifications:  

• Any combination of 10+years of overall nonprofit leadership experience/ or professional business leadership experience preferred; senior leadership experience essential, including leading a team of at least four direct reports 
• Demonstrated nonprofit leadership experience ideal including collaboration with philanthropic community as a leader, organizer, convener 
• Demonstrated ability to grow revenue from foundations, individuals, and corporations and a track record of fundraising success  
• Experience in growing earned revenue 
• Able to monitor and identify community issues, initiatives and significant developments relevant to the nonprofit sector 
• Visionary, strategic leader with an emphasis on execution 
• Successful Board development experience including Board recruitment, development, training, and creating collaborative relationship with Board members  
• Prior success in marketing/branding, donor relations and fundraising strategies unique to the nonprofit sector 
• Solid, hands-on fiscal management skills including budget preparation, forecasting, analysis, decision-making and reporting 
• Financially savvy and politically astute leader with ability to set clear priorities, delegate and guide investment decisions involving people and systems; keen analytic organization and problem-solving skills that support and enable sound decision making 
• Excellent coalition building skills with ability to communicate and work effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders; persuasive negotiator able to achieve consensus among differing opinions 
• Outstanding presentation and communication skills; experience and tendency to be an outgoing spokesperson, relationship builder and fundraiser 

 COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS 

CNPE is prepared to offer a competitive salary in the range of $150,000 - $170,000 commensurate with experience. Benefits include medical insurance, life insurance, generous vacation and sick time, 401(k) contribution, and a diverse offering of voluntary benefits.  

The Center for Nonprofit Excellence is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, age, creed, sexual orientation or any other protected class.