Location: Denver, CO

Reports To: Board of Trustees

Salary: $180,000-200,000

Campbell.HR is working with Bonfils-Stanton Foundation in the search for their next Chief Executive Officer. Bonfils-Stanton Foundation strategically provides grants and fellowships to advance the arts and inspire creative leadership in Denver

Position Overview:

The CEO of Bonfils-Stanton Foundation leads a small, dedicated staff team to implement and promote the Foundation’s mission: to invest in equitable arts and culture organizations and leaders to build a thriving and just Denver.

In partnership with the team, the CEO:

• Leads the vision and strategic direction while overseeing programmatic operations, financial management, communications, and advocacy all with a spirit of equity and inclusion.
• Reports directly to the Board of Trustees and holds a broader accountability to both staff and community.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Develop and execute the Foundation’s strategic vision and initiatives in alignment with its mission, ensuring that the values of equity, collaboration, learning, creativity, and stewardship are incorporated throughout the Foundation and its work.
• Continually examine the work, looking for opportunities to improve and enhance the Foundation’s identity and impact.

Organizational Leadership and Culture

• Provide leadership that fosters a collaborative and inclusive organizational culture -honoring all voices, building teamwork and trust, encouraging constructive debate, and empowering creativity and new thinking – while keeping the Foundation’s strategic objectives at the forefront.
• Support staff through mentoring, professional development, and growth opportunities both within and beyond the organization.

Program Oversight

• Oversee the design, implementation, and evaluation of grant making and leadership programs, ensuring they align with the Foundation’s strategic priorities and that Foundation assets are managed effectively in support of its mission and values.
• Evaluate current workflows to identify opportunities for improvement, including realigning responsibilities to reflect the strengths of the CEO and staff team.

Financial and Endowment Management

• Ensure strong financial reporting and processes including forecasting, budgeting, managing spending, internal controls and regulatory compliance.
• Work with the CFO, investment advisors and investment committee on management of the Foundation endowment to optimize risk-adjusted returns and further its mission in alignment with foundation values – with a particular focus on program and mission related investments.
• Further, investment planning should take into consideration the Foundation’s sustainability and ability to accomplish its programmatic and strategic objectives.
• Understands and is aligned with the concepts of impact investing, including the breadth of tools available and when and how to deploy them.

Board Relations

• Collaborate closely with the Board of Trustees by providing insight into shifts in the external landscape and emerging priorities.
• Sharing updates on organizational performance and impact.
• Presenting strategic opportunities and vision.
• Setting board meeting agendas.
• Seeking guidance on critical decisions.
• Cultivating a strong, engaged board and board culture.

Communications and Advocacy

• Oversee the Foundation’s strategic communications efforts to highlight the work of grantees, fellows and honorees.
• Champion and communicate the transformative role arts and leadership play in a just society to a broad array of audiences.
• Lead efforts to identify and advance policy that aligns with the mission of the Foundation both locally and nationally.
• Serve as the primary public spokesperson for the Foundation.

Impact Measurement

• Collaborate with staff to establish robust, relevant metrics that assess program impact and demonstrate alignment with the Foundation’s mission.

Thought Leadership/Community Partnership

• Commit to ongoing learning and development as a thought leader locally and nationally on the Foundation’s priority areas and on philanthropy more broadly.
• Represent the Foundation as a convener and collaborator, fostering partnerships across sectors – including community groups, nonprofits, and public agencies.
• Champion the mission by galvanizing additional resources to strengthen the broader ecosystems aligned with the Foundation’s work.

Qualities we are Looking for in a CEO

Visionary Leadership

• Ability to see the big picture, think strategically, and work collaboratively.
• Demonstrate active listening and openness to new ideas and perspectives.
• Brings curiosity and a drive to explore new opportunities.
• Practice a team-driven leadership style while maintaining the capacity to take decisive action when needed.

Demonstrated Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion  

• Demonstrated experience in leadership that centers equity and inclusive practices and a commitment to and proven experience in engaging collaboratively to reflect those values.

Emotional Intelligence

• Exhibit self-awareness, approachability, humility and compassion.
• Serve as a strong culture builder with a focus on advancing the mission of the Foundation and the community.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the power dynamics that can exist in philanthropy.

Enterprising and Hands-On

• Demonstrate an inclination to generate new ideas and approaches, coupled with a willingness to do the work of the Foundation as both a leader by example and conscientious team member.

Unquestionable Ethics

• Act with integrity, transparency and accountability and fairness. Understands the responsibility to ensure the reputation and sustainability of the Foundation.

Collaborative and Inclusive

• Build and maintain relationships and foster partnerships across diverse communities, particularly marginalized groups, with cultural awareness, humility, and respect.
• Demonstrate strong relational skills, with the ability to build and nurture authentic and collaborative relationships across diverse, teams, communities, cultures, constituencies, class, and racial groups.

Strong Communicator

• Skilled in listening to and communicating with a wide range of stakeholders, from staff to community partners.

Desired Experiences & Qualifications

Leadership

• Senior leadership position in a mission-driven organization.
• Possess a strong understanding or brings equivalent experience of nonprofit management and the role that philanthropy can play in community and society, with an understanding of the tools available without compromising the Foundation’s nonprofit status.
• An understanding of or the capacity to quickly learn the role a place-based funder can play in a community, while still forging national partnerships.

Arts and Culture

• Brings a commitment to advancing the role of arts and culture and the creative economy in a thriving community and broader society, whether through prior experience or a demonstrated ability to learn and engage deeply with the field.

Community Leadership

• An understanding of and the capacity to be a champion and supporter of transformative social sector leadership to drive positive change within communities.

Management

• Relevant or equivalent experience in managing people and organizations including staff, teams and the Board of Trustees.
• Understanding and/or comparable experience in the areas of nonprofits, grantmaking, managing financial resources, creative use of capital and measuring effectiveness.

Financial Acumen and Understanding of Endowments and Impact Investing

• Sound business and financial acumen and a commitment to working with financial staff and external consultants to understand and manage the Foundation’s endowment to intentionally drive positive impact, generating social and risk-adjusted financial returns that enhance programmatic objectives.

Communication and Advocacy

• Experience communicating with diverse groups of stakeholders, establishing credibility and trust.
• Understand the use of communication and broader advocacy tools to advance mission and objectives.

Salary:

This is an exciting opportunity to bring your professional expertise in support of significant impact as an integral part of a small, mission driven team.

• The position is designed to be full-time.
• The Foundation operates on a hybrid schedule with time in office and flexibility to work remotely for a portion of the week.
• Salary will be commensurate with experience within a range of $180,000 – $200,000, including generous paid leave, medical, vision, dental and retirement plan contribution.

This Job Description describes the general content and requirements for the position. It is not an exhaustive statement of the essential functions, responsibilities, or requirements of the job; they may change from time to time and are dictated by the needs of the organization and the supervisor to whom the employee will report. 

Our client is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.