Faith in Public Life - Chief Strategy Officer

NOTE: THIS POSITION HAS BEEN FILLED AND WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

About the Position

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Faith in Public Life (FPL) is seeking a dynamic, dedicated, and nimble new Chief Strategy Officer to its executive leadership team. 

This individual will be a phenomenal leader of teams who thrives in an environment where mission-driven work is key.  They will relish the opportunity to mentor and guide leaders of different departments to greater success.  They will also have the ability to not only keep an eye on the vision of the organization, but also have a direct role in setting that vision for the years to come.

FPL welcomes and embraces people of all faith backgrounds and is actively committed to representing a diversity of beliefs both internally and externally with its partners and peer organizations.

The CSO leads the Engagement Team, comprising staff from communications, organizing, policy and fundraising. They serve as the connective tissue between departments, their strategies and the resources that support them. This includes translating the strategy for people across functions, driving organizational change in forging new working relationships and synergies across the organization, and establishing systems that lead to greater transparency and accountability for all who are carrying out the company’s programmatic and fundraising strategies.

Faith in Public Life (FPL) and Faith in Public Life Action (FPLAF), our sister organization, are national faith-based organizations that resource, train, and empower multi-faith leaders across the country to promote the moral imperative for a just and equitable society. Since its founding in 2006, FPL has engaged faith leaders as trusted messengers to shore up our democracy, acting as peacekeepers during elections, providing accurate information to voters, and advocating for free and fair elections at the state and national level. With communications expertise, FPL also equips faith leaders to shape public discourse with faith and values-based messaging to impact narratives around critical social issues by amplifying shared values of equity and inclusion that promote the dignity of all people.We envision a country in which each person experiences a spiritual connection to one another and a sense of belonging to community, living in confidence that our human rights are held sacred, allowing each person to thrive.

FPL/A has been incredibly successful over the last five years and has experienced significant growth. This growth has challenged Faith in Public Life’s efforts to maintain  the integrity of our strategy, cross-departmental collaboration, and collaborative relationships between staff and teams. FPL/A is committed to investing in building its infrastructure, systems, and human capacity to ensure the organization can carry out its strategic priorities, live into its commitment to equity, and develop and nurture a talented team while being responsive and impactful.

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Duties Include

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Lead the Engagement Team in the implementation and evaluation of the strategic plan.

• Work closely with the CEO to ensure high-level impact, long-term strategy, and organizational effectiveness.

• Serve as the principal futurist for FPL, scouting the horizon for opportunities where FPL is uniquely positioned to lead, and elevating these to the CEO.

• Translate the programmatic strategy for people across functions and teams

• Guide implementation of our programmatic and fundraising strategies towards alignment while resolving any conflict that arises

• Working closely with the Operations team, support Engagement Team leaders in drafting and monitoring annual budgets

• Ensure that FPL’s DEIA commitment and organizational values are consistently applied across all programming

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Provide mentorship and supervision to the Engagement Team’s department leaders.

• Supervise and mentor department leads to aid them in the day-to-day management and facilitation of cross departmental strategy 

• Support department leads in hiring and expanding the Engagement Team in line with the approved FPL organizational chart

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Drive organizational change in forging new ways of working across our engagement strategy. 

• Refine and implement our systems to establish, review and evaluate organizational programs, ensuring the process is collaborative and transparent.

• In close partnership with the HR team, establish systems that lead to greater transparency and accountability for all who are carrying out FPL’s programmatic strategy.

Boards of Directors Support

• Staff the Governance Committee of the FPL and FPLA boards, ensuring that the committee sets and meets annual goals around board recruitment and board development

• Working with the Executive Assistant and Board Liaison, ensure the Governance Committee chair is prepared to facilitate meetings of the Governance Committee and that all materials are available for the meeting

• Prepare reports and materials regarding FPL programming and participate in meetings of the Boards of Directors

Serve as a member of the Executive Team

• Attend regular meetings of the executive team and advise the CEO in matters of programming, staffing, and external affairs. 

• Model and incorporate organizational values, policies and culture within the Engagement Team

• Support the Engagement Team in understanding and adopting organizational changes

Skills and Qualifications

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• Experience: You have 10+ years of working experience in the progressive and/or faith based organizing movements.  You have managed teams, built systems, and garnered support for your work with peer organizations. Additionally, you have managed, built, and/or supported high level impactful coalitions.

• Ownership and resilience: You care deeply about getting results. You gather information, seek input, and drive work forward to the finish line. You think 3 (or 30) steps ahead to develop solutions, anticipate problems, and course-correct when needed. You hold a high bar even when things are hectic and bounce back from setbacks by turning each hurdle into a learning opportunity.

• Inclusive leadership: You approach leadership with a mindset of “power with” rather than “power over.” You recognize the value of divergent perspectives and regularly include others in planning and decision-making. You build equity and inclusion into goals and plans for staff development, retention, strategy, and culture. As the lead on the Engagement Team, you will sometimes make difficult decisions in the best interest of the organization. When needed, you’re able to weigh complex factors and communicate tough decisions with clarity and empathy.

• Coaching and modeling: You make it your mission to develop others. You delegate skillfully and take the time to offer useful and actionable feedback. Because you lead by example (with our values as your north star), you inspire and motivate others to take action and meet goals. You hold the team accountable in ways that grow the people and our impact, and you make sure people feel appreciated.

• Strategist’s mind: You quickly grasp the subtleties of complex issues and identify patterns in challenges. You don’t stop at diagnosing problems, though; you come up with insightful, pragmatic, equitable, and sustainable ways to produce positive change.

• Initiative and ingenuity: You leverage resources creatively to solve problems and dive right in to take a concept from idea to implementation. You often consult with others, but you can also propose solutions in the best interest of Faith in Public Life's mission and get things rolling without much guidance. 

• Interpersonal Dynamics: You have excellent interpersonal and communications skills (oral and written), including editing and writing; experience presenting to large groups as a subject matter expert and facilitating in- person and virtual group discussions

• Mission-Driven:  You have a deep commitment to FPL/A's mission and working with faith leaders and faith messaging in the pursuit of social justice and a keen personal understanding of how faith leads them to action and sustains their ability to do the hard work to make the world a better place.

To Apply

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• Click below or email us at jobs@jmmstrategygroup.com with the subject line "FPL CSO POSITION"

• Send your resume and a cover letter in one document in pdf format

• No calls, please

JMM Strategy Group and Faith in Public Life strongly encourage women, people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community to apply. We do not tolerate discrimination on any level and are actively working to ensure that all people have access to the jobs and positions they are qualified to succeed in.