President & CEO

Leadership Opportunity

NEO Philanthropy (NEO) nurtures strong, sustainable, and transformative movements for justice by connecting changemakers and funders, supporting emerging leaders and movements, and driving resources to groups accelerating change.

NEO seeks an inspiring and strategic President and CEO to guide the organization during a period of unprecedented complexity and nuanced needs from movement leaders.

The President and CEO will bring a record of bold, values-driven leadership and articulate a compelling vision for resourcing movement leaders at a pivotal moment. As a passionate ambassador for NEO's mission, they will advance the organization's strategic priorities, steward a broad network of partners, and shape national conversations at the intersection of progressive philanthropy and movement building.

Key responsibilities for the President and CEO will include the following:

Vision and Strategy

• Set a bold vision that elevates NEO's mission to resource movement leaders.
• Through strategic planning processes, intentionally align NEO's programs, operations, and financial resources; implement plans inclusive of annual goals, business plans, timelines, budgets, and communication strategies.
• Strengthen connectivity between movement and philanthropy, with specific attention to organizing and raising visibility of the importance of intermediaries to build capacity for movement leaders.
• Nurture a strong, transparent relationship with the board; seek and support board involvement with NEO's strategic direction; serve as a liaison between board and staff; implement the board's overall organizational goals and direction.
• Ensure consistency with equity practices throughout NEO's programs, partnerships, initiatives, policies, operations, and workplace culture.

Mission-Oriented Leadership

• Ensure that NEO's offerings, including collaborative funds, project partnerships, and other donor services are high-quality, innovative, align with strategic plans, and meet the diverse needs of movement leaders.
• Assess NEO's opportunities for evolution, including but not limited to new initiatives, collaborative funds, and fiscally sponsored projects.
• Provide guidance and partnership to Collaborative Funds to deepen impact and donor engagement.
• Support Project Partnerships with identification and consideration of potential projects, building on strategic networks and deep understanding of the field's needs.
• Explore opportunities to reimagine the NEO Philanthropy Action Fund to position its future.

External Relations

• Invest in strong working relationships and collaborations with a range of key partners, content area experts, supporters, and others to advance movements' interests and to firmly establish NEO as a thought-leader and advisor.
• Cultivate meaningful, reciprocal relationships with current and prospective funders to ensure NEO is representative of and responsive to varied and evolving needs of its donors.
• Serve as principal spokesperson, representing NEO's interests on behalf of movement to philanthropy, intermediaries, program partners, grantees, the media, and various publics.
• Guide external communications strategies that elevate the impact of movement, including credible and authentic thought leadership for partnerships, initiatives, advocacy, and convenings that advance philanthropic resources for movement leaders.
• Establish a cohesive strategy for organization-wide resource development, including stewarding current philanthropic partnerships and identifying new, mission-aligned opportunities; partner with programmatic leadership to ensure continuity across different fundraising efforts.
• Build cohesive narratives about the breadth and depth of NEO's work, translating offerings for different audiences.

Operational and Organizational Excellence

• Ensure NEO has the infrastructure needed to achieve its mission, including the effective administration and integration of human resources, financial management, technology, and legal and regulatory compliance across departments.
• Oversee mission alignment in evaluation of potential growth plans, including business operations, financial sustainability, and advancing organizational equity practices.
• Lead, develop, mentor, and retain an effective team that reflects well-defined roles and responsibilities. Supervise executive leaders and facilitate strong working relationships, clear communications, and effective and timely decision-making processes across departments.
• Promote a sustainable, values-aligned, and collaborative workplace that integrates high performance with work-life balance.
• Provide strategic oversight of financial management, including the integration of departmental leaders' input into budget assumptions, support of long-range budget planning and analysis, responsible stewardship of fiscally-sponsored projects, and grant administration in accordance with funders' requirements.
• Partner with the Board to facilitate governance work by assisting the executive committee with the development of annual board workplans; supplying consistent and accurate reporting on programmatic, operational, and financial effectiveness; and supporting recruitment efforts.
• Ensure compliance with bylaws, state and federal guidance, fiscal sponsorship and grantee agreements, and other contracts and legal agreements.

Experience, Skills, and Qualities

This position will be a challenging and rewarding opportunity that requires a diverse set of skills and experiences. While we understand that no single candidate can possess every qualification listed below, the following are priority areas that align with each of the key responsibilities.

Vision and Strategy

• Strong understanding of the philanthropic landscape, trends, and funder engagement with movement spaces, evidenced by leadership roles in grantmaking, philanthropy-serving or infrastructure organizations and/or movement or power-building organizations.
• Significant track record of executive or senior management experience in philanthropy, intermediaries, movement-support organizations, or related organizations.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to forecast trends, synthesize complex information, and connect ideas to action, such as goals, frameworks, budgets, and measurable outcomes.

Mission-Oriented Leadership

• Experience with NEO's mission of resourcing movement leaders, with a particular emphasis on social justice issues related to immigration, democracy, reproductive justice, racial justice, climate justice, and/or LGBTQ rights.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing racial, gender, and economic equity, with a strong analysis of race, class, power, privilege, ability, and wealth—particularly as they operate within philanthropy. Experience operationalizing that analysis internally and externally.
• Bold, courageous, and trustworthy leadership style. Ease with duality of philanthropy and movement-building, including fundraising while advocating for systemic change.
• Capacity to analyze legal, reputational, and other forms of risk in complex situations and to make informed decisions.
• Experience working with 501(c)(4)s is considered a plus.

External Relations

• Highly relational leader with strong public presence and listening skills; translates trends and needs into compelling narratives for diverse audiences. A bridge-builder, with a compelling voice that can engage both movement and philanthropic leaders.
• Networks in progressive philanthropy with understanding of the role that philanthropy plays in today's political and social arenas.
• Engagement with movement leaders and/or movement infrastructure with understanding of the unique challenges facing leaders today.
• Success with senior-level fundraising efforts, including strategizing and securing support through partnerships, institutions, and/or high-net-worth individuals.
• Comfort serving in representational capacities, such as speaking on panels, committees, and in the media.
• Experience convening and managing diverse coalitions and networks to build alignment, shared purpose, and collective action.

Operational and Organizational Excellence

• Strong supervisory record in matrixed team environments; cultivates a healthy, inclusive, and high-performing team culture.
• Proven ability to lead organizations or teams through complex change, including setting strategic direction and inspiring vision amid uncertainty.
• An effective coach and communicator, with a history of cultivating a culture of transparency, collaboration, and shared accountability; high emotional intelligence with the ability to flex leadership styles to engage staff and foster collaboration across teams.
• Solid knowledge of nonprofit financial management, including budgeting, reporting, accounting, auditing, and financial oversight.
• Prior experience working with or serving on a board of directors, with skill in fostering productive, generative dialogue between boards and executive leadership.

Compensation

The Board is targeting a salary of $400,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include a generous package including health, dental, and vision insurance, a retirement fund with employer matching, and paid time off.

Working Location & Travel

NEO employees are located across the country, with offices located in New York City's Midtown neighborhood. This position is ideally based in the New York City office, but the board will consider primarily remote candidates.

Regular presence in New York City is essential, at least twice a month. This role also involves significant travel to represent