Vice President, Brand - Washington D.C., United States - The Center for Disaster Philanthropy

    The Center for Disaster Philanthropy
    The Center for Disaster Philanthropy Washington D.C., United States

    1 month ago

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    Full time
    Description
    VP, Brand &
    Storytelling

    Position Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt

    Location: Flexible (Remote); Must be eligible to work in the
    U.S.

    Salary: Starting at $203,500 - $242,000

    Closing Date: May 31, 2024

    Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The position
    will remain open until we have a sufficient pool of diverse
    candidates who meet the job requirements, at which point we may
    pause the review of new applications before the stated deadline.
    Please understand you may not be contacted for several weeks after
    you apply.

    Ideal Start Date: 4-6 weeks after offer
    About the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

    CDP began in 2010 with the goal of pioneering the practice of
    strategic disaster philanthropy. Since then, it has grown in its
    ambition, envisioning a world where the impact of disasters is
    minimized through thoughtful, equitable and responsive recovery for
    all. CDP has a $33 million budget and a team of more than 20 staff
    members working remotely across the U.S.

    CDP is a trusted partner, expert and authoritative resource
    helping hundreds of individuals, foundations and corporations boost
    the impact of philanthropic giving in response to disaster and
    humanitarian crises by supporting equitable recovery and addressing
    root causes of vulnerabilities worldwide.

    In 2022, CDP awarded $28.2 million through 117 grants to 99
    grantee partners worldwide; demonstrated thought leadership through
    15 webinars, 21 external commentaries, 113 blog posts, 43 featured
    speaking engagements and other events; and served 40 philanthropic
    partners through consulting efforts.

  • In 2020, CDP was a featured nonprofit for the
    14th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.
  • CDP has earned Charity Navigator's Four-Star Charity rating,
    Candid's Platinum Transparency seal and is fully accredited by the
    Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance

    As an organization grounded in racial and intersectional
    equity, our team members are deeply committed to strengthening
    communities most vulnerable to disasters because of systemic
    inequities. We are guided by our values of integrity, boldness and
    innovation, humility, and empathy in pursuit of our
    mission.
    Bottom line: We aspire to walk the talk of anti-racism and to
    treat each other and our partners in ways that inspire trust,
    creativity, learning and care.
    Be a part of our fast-growing team that offers countless ways to
    help communities thrive. Join us
    Responsibilities & Duties

    Over the last few years of CDP's 13-year history, growth has
    been exponential. CDP has granted over $123 million to more than
    676 nonprofits. CDP's positioning and increased visibility bring a
    need for an enterprise leader to further amplify CDP's impact by
    increasing our visibility, reputation and excellence as a trusted
    expert in philanthropy.

    The VP of brand & storytelling (VP) will lead a team
    responsible for developing and executing CDP's marketing, brand
    positioning and impact storytelling strategies, which are pivotal
    components of CDP's goals and growth, as outlined in its current
    five-year strategic
    plan.

    Reporting to the CEO and serving as an integral member of the
    executive team, the new VP will play a critical role in positioning
    CDP as an authoritative expert among individual, institutional and
    corporate donors, philanthropy-serving organizations, and those
    working within the disaster response and humanitarian sectors.

    The successful candidate will display the following
    traits:

    You will thrive in a creative environment, providing vision and
    thinking strategically to achieve the overarching organizational
    goals around brand and storytelling. You can make sense of complex
    issues, synthesize material and focus on the story behind our
    efforts to advance CDP's mission and strategic goals.

    You are a servant leader who fosters an open, collaborative and
    highly equitable environment for team leadership and
    decision-making. You allow diverse opinions and staff from diverse
    backgrounds and roles to be heard and included.

    As an executive team member, you communicate effectively with
    other team members and stakeholders, conveying your ideas and
    proposals in a way that is easy to understand and inspires action.
    You also need to be able to listen to others and respond to their
    questions and concerns.

    Primary responsibilities
    include:

    The VP will lead CDP's efforts to craft and deliver a narrative
    that promotes our values, mission and vision and is harmonized
    internally and externally across stakeholders and partners. You
    will be key in building CDP's brand and increasing our visibility,
    influence and recognition as best in class.

    Working closely with the CEO, the VP will engage with the other
    teams to ensure alignment of efforts across all aspects of the
    organization, nimbly meeting stakeholder/client needs and
    maximizing CDP's positioning and impact.

    Influence amplification

  • Elevate CDP's influence, brand positioning and thought
    leadership among existing and new target audiences on issues that
    advance our mission through well-developed and executed marketing
    and communications efforts grounded in CDP and our partners'
    expertise, experiences and impact.
  • Explore external engagement efforts across the organization,
    including new opportunities and leading strategies to maximize the
    visibility of CDP's messaging in our key influence areas across
    mediums and fora.
  • Further leverage CDP leadership's voice and expertise to
    amplify the organization, positioning it as a thought leader in the
    industry that serves a niche need for philanthropy.
  • Work collaboratively with the executive team to build and
    execute a medium-term strategy to advance key areas of influence
    and positioning in the sector.
  • Recognize opportunities and oversee resource allocation.
  • Identify challenges, risks, and emerging issues the
    organization faces in advancing the narrative of our mission and
    proposing mitigation measures.
  • Use data-driven insights to identify untapped markets and
    opportunities and tailor marketing campaigns and messaging to
    attract and engage new supporters, clients and partners.

    Storytelling and brand enhancement
  • Strengthen brand awareness and ensure targeted, consistent
    messaging and voice across internal and external communications
    channels regarding CDP's mission, values, positioning, services and
    related work.
  • Lead the development and implementation of a brand engagement
    strategy that guides CDP leadership and staff in cultivating
    meaningful relationships with external audiences, including media
    and other key influencers.
  • Lead top-of-funnel brand raising for funding opportunities in
    collaboration with other teams, specifically development.
  • Elevate CDP impact storytelling in creative, engaging and
    compelling ways across all content and communications platforms in
    ways that respect the communities and organizations that we
    support.
  • Train leadership and staff on the essential narratives and
    stories of CDP.
  • Ensure effective messaging and narratives tailored to target
    audiences to achieve strategic goals and boost engagement.
  • Develop crisis communication strategies and protocols to
    protect and enhance the CDP's reputation in times of crisis or
    controversy.
  • Monitor key metrics to measure brand perception and adjust
    strategies accordingly.

    Marketing & communications
  • Provide high-level strategic support, thought partnership and
    counsel to team members on marketing and communications
    strategies
  • Represent CDP with key influencers and stakeholders in pursuit
    of its mission and positioning.
  • Leverage in-depth subject matter expertise, professional
    networks, data and thoughtful analyses to support the marketing and
    communications team in delivering a cohesive brand strategy.
  • Guide the team and other stakeholders in promising marketing,
    communication, and branding practices.
  • Support – from a MarComm perspective – all of CDP's events
    portfolio, including webinars, convenings, speaking engagements and
    conference participation.

    Revenue growth
  • Optimize fundraising efforts by effectively communicating our
    impact and value proposition to current and potential donors,
    clients and partners.
  • Drive revenue generation through market research and strategic
    marketing initiatives in collaboration with the senior director of
    development.
  • In collaboration with the development team, capitalize on
    communications synergies to support donor stewardship through
    message coordination across varied channels.

    Departmental and team
    leadership
  • Provide strategic leadership and collaborate with team members
    to foster a culture of learning, respect and trust, harnessing the
    group's diverse experience and collective wisdom.
  • Support the team through mentoring or coaching to ensure timely
    and successful completion of work plans and assist professional
    development.
  • Manage the departmental budget and ensure the team is
    adequately resourced to deliver against strategic and operational
    goals and operates within appropriate operational and financial
    boundaries.
  • Define KPIs to determine the effectiveness of marcomms
    campaigns and report the results to leadership, staff and
    board.
  • Cultivate and craft internal and employee culture through
    engagement in brand stories in collaboration with the executive
    team.

    Supervisory and other duties
  • Supervise four department staff.
  • Participate on the executive team in service to the
    organization and as a representative of the work under your
    purview.
  • Regular travel to represent CDP at events, professional
    development and in-person team meetings.
  • Serve on committees and task forces at CDP as appropriate and
    as available.
  • Represent CDP in a positive, professional manner in meetings
    and other external engagements.
  • Perform other duties and job-related tasks that may be
    assigned.

    This position reports to the president & CEO but serves the
    whole organization.
    As this is a new position, prior experience navigating
    organizational structural change is welcome.
    Required qualifications
  • ≥ 15 years of relevant, progressive professional experience in
    marketing and communications.
  • Proven ability to lead, inspire and mentor a team.
  • Masters in a related field or equivalent work
    experience.
  • Proven experience optimizing the different disciplines of
    marketing and communications to develop and execute strategies that
    boost brand awareness, grow influence, enhance reputation and
    support organizational growth strategies.
  • Outstanding analytical and problem-solving skills to drive
    data-informed decision-making.
  • Experience applying insights from changing market dynamics to
    organization-wide growth strategies.
  • Demonstrated skills in mentoring or coaching team members to
    support their professional development and the organization's
    growth.
  • Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills.
  • Ability to effectively synthesize and distill complex
    information clearly and persuasively to multiple audiences.
  • Ability to think creatively and outside the box.

    Preferred skills and qualifications
  • Well-rounded marketing or business development experience in
    positions of increasing responsibility, focusing on market
    expansion.
  • Demonstrated ability to develop and nurture a productive
    network of professional relationships with industry influencers,
    partners and stakeholders that can support brand objectives.
  • An ability to adapt branding strategies to resonate with
    different demographics and audiences.
  • Familiarity with, although not necessarily a professional
    background in, philanthropy, the humanitarian sector and/or
    disasters.
  • Experience working in a fast-paced, high-growth
    environment.
  • Experience helping groups integrate evidence and data into
    their decisions.
  • Experience designing and implementing learning practices, with
    strong facilitation skills.
  • An understanding of nonprofit fundraising and relationship
    cultivation.
  • Proven ability to independently manage various operational
    functions, stand-alone workstreams and/or supervise staff.
  • Ability to work remotely with minimal direct supervision and to
    multi-task, including managing multiple projects
    simultaneously.
  • Ability to build relationships with and motivate dispersed team
    members with diverse personalities and backgrounds.

    Personal characteristics
  • Commitment to the values intrinsic to CDP's mission and
    strategy, including the centrality of local leadership, equity and
    service to marginalized and vulnerable communities.
  • A transparent, humble and empowering culture builder with
    demonstrated experience leading a diverse team of professional
    staff, inspiring trust and optimizing the team's potential.
  • An entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset able to adapt
    to evolving market trends and conditions and leverage financial and
    human capital to advance the organization's programmatic goals and
    overall mission.
  • Sense of humor.
  • Enterprise leader.

    The Center for Disaster Philanthropy's work environment is safe
    and open to all employees and partners, respecting the full
    spectrum of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender identity,
    sexual orientation, national origin, political affiliation,
    ancestry, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status and
    all other classifications protected by law in the locality and/or
    state in which you are working.
    We welcome and encourage applicants with non-traditional career
    paths. If you don't meet the qualifications outlined here, please
    apply and tell us how your experiences would equip you for the
    job.
    To Apply

    Qualified candidates should submit their resume and a cover
    letter via
    this link. Applications must highlight competencies against
    requirements.

    All applicants must be able to provide documentation
    that they are legally eligible to work in the United States for an
    extended period.

    Due to the expected volume of applications, only finalists
    will be notified. No phone calls,
    please.