Chief Strategy Officer

Job Description

Job Description

Title: Chief Strategy Officer 

Reports to: Executive Director

Salary: $200,000 – $230,800

Job Status: Full-Time, Exempt 

Location: Remote 

ABOUT NAPAWF

Founded in 1996 by 100 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women, NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum) is the only organization dedicated to empowering AAPI women and girls and gender non-conforming folks to impact policy and drive systemic change in the U.S. NAPAWF is building a movement for social, political, and structural change by building a multilingual, multigenerational membership that encompasses the diversity of the AAPI community.

Employing a reproductive justice framework, we use organizing, advocacy, and communications strategies to assert full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities. The organization also stands in solidarity with other women of color facing oppression and marginalization. NAPAWF focuses on three core issues employing an intersectional approach that holistically centers the experiences and stories of AAPI women and girls:

• Reproductive Rights and Health
• Economic Justice
• Immigration and Racial Justice

The Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) is a senior executive responsible for advancing NAPAWF’s strategic plan, advocacy strategy, external influence, and strategic positioning across the AANHPI, policy and social justice system.

The CSO provides executive leadership and strategic direction across NAPAWF’s programmatic portfolio, ensuring that policy, field, digital membership, communications, and coalition work are aligned with organizational strategy and positioned for maximum impact. The CSO manages and supports senior program leaders, establishes cross-departmental priorities, and ensures clear accountability for results.

The CSO serves as a senior external representative of NAPAWF, cultivating strategic relationships with movement partners, policymakers, advocates, community leaders, and other key stakeholders and translating external trends and opportunities into organizational and programmatic strategy.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director, the CSO serves as a member of the executive leadership team and directly supervises the Vice President of Programs and other designated senior leaders. The CSO collaborates with executive and senior leaders to align organizational strategy, programmatic priorities, execution, and external engagement. 

LOCATION

This is a remote position, but will require travel to conferences, meetings, staff engagements, and internal and external events. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

  Advancing Strategy

• Drive internal alignment with NAPAWF’s strategic plan, translating external insights and movement dynamics into programmatic strategies and priorities.
• Partner with the Executive Director and executive leadership team to develop and advance NAPAWF’s long-term programmatic, advocacy, and external engagement strategy.
• Map, track, and monitor trends and opportunities in industries and movements to inform strategic decisions, new initiatives, and engagements. 
• Serve as a senior external representative of NAPAWF with movement partners, coalition leaders, policy organizations, legal advocates, key governmental stakeholders, and AANHPI community stakeholders to maximize NAPAWF’s strategic positioning.
• Strengthen NAPAWF’s visibility and credibility across national and regional networks, including new spaces and new conferences.
• Represent NAPAWF and steward our external representation at conferences, convenings, coalitions, briefings, and field-building spaces.

Strategic Partnerships 

• Identify and steward strategic partnerships that advance mission impact, policy influence, and movement alignment. 
• Support coalition-building and cross-sector collaborations aligned with NAPAWF’s advocacy agenda.
• Ensure that NAPAWF’s participation in coalitions reflects clear organizational strategy, appropriate investment, and defined outcomes.

Policy & Movement Strategy Advisory

• Serve as a senior advisor to the Executive Director on policy trends, industry trends, external risks, advocacy strategy, and movement-level opportunities. 
• Provide guidance on external-facing positioning to ensure alignment with NAPAWF’s values and long-term strategy, in collaboration with the VP of Policy and Research and Communications team. 
• Review public statements, coalition letters, and external communications for strategic alignment in collaboration with Communications.

Management and Internal Alignment

• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction to NAPAWF’s programmatic departments, including Policy and Research, Field, Digital Membership, and Communications, and related programmatic functions.
• Directly supervise and support the Vice President of Programs and other designated senior leaders, establishing clear expectations, priorities, decision-making authority, and accountability for results.
• Partner with the VP Programs to ensure departmental workplans, staffing, resources, and priorities are aligned with NAPAWF’s strategic plan and organizational priorities.
• Ensure that departmental work-plans, priorities, staffing, and resources are aligned with NAPAWF’s strategic plan, in collaboration with the VP of Programs.
• Establish clear cross-departmental priorities and ensure that teams are working from a shared understanding of organizational goals.

Relationship to VP of Programs

• The VP of Programs reports directly to the Chief Strategy Officer. The CSO provides executive leadership, strategic direction, and oversight of NAPAWF’s programmatic portfolio, while the VP of Programs is responsible for translating that direction into effective program execution. 
• The VP of Programs leads the systems, workplans, timelines, project management, and day-to-day coordination necessary to execute programmatic priorities. The CSO establishes strategic direction, organizational priorities, and expectations for results and holds the VP of Programs accountable for effective implementation. 
• The CSO and VP Programs work closely to ensure that strategy and execution remain connected and that programmatic teams have clear priorities, decision-making authority, resources, and accountability. 

  JOB QUALIFICATIONS

• 10+ years of senior-level experience in strategy, advocacy, policy, organizing, movement building, or a related field, with increasing responsibility for organizational leadership.
• Significant experience working on or with Capitol Hill, including a strong understanding of the federal legislative and policymaking process and experience engaging Members of Congress, congressional staff, federal agencies and national advocacy partners.
• Demonstrated experience developing and leading legislative or advocacy campaigns, including setting strategy, building coalitions, navigating competing stakeholder interests, and translating policy objectives into coordinated advocacy action.
• Significant senior leadership and management experience, including direct supervision and development of senior policy, advocacy, program leaders and demonstrated ability to hold senior leaders accountable for results.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute organizational strategy, translating broad strategic goals into clear priorities.
• Strong strategic and political judgment, with the ability to assess complex external environments and determine where and how the organization should engage.
• Experience developing and managing strategic external relationships with policymakers, government officials, movement leaders, advocates, coalition partners, funders, community organizations, and other key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead across multiple departments or functions, establish shared priorities, resolve competing demands, and create effective collaboration while maintaining clear lines of accountability.
• Experience advising senior executives and organizational leadership on strategy, external affairs, political dynamics, organizational positioning, and emerging opportunities or risks.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience working within the AANHPI movement, broader communities of color, or social justice ecosystem.
• Demonstrated experience with digital and field organizing, including developing strategies to build membership, mobilize communities, engage audiences, and translate organizational priorities into meaningful participation and action.
• Strong communications experience, including an understanding of message development, media strategy, narrative development, digital communications, and external positioning, with the ability to work effectively with communications professionals and leaders.

BENEFITS

NAPAWF provides a highly competitive benefits package, including a 401(k) plan and comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their eligible dependents. NAPAWF also covers co-pays, deductibles, prescriptions, and coinsurance for health insurance. Benefits begin on the first day of the month after or coinciding with start date.

NAPAWF also offers full-time employees 15 days of vacation in the first year, 20 days of sick leave, FSA options as well as paid holidays that include the week between December 25 and January 1 of each year.