Job Description

Founded in response to the Ethiopian famine in 1984 by brother and sister Bill and Debbie Shore, Share Our Strength’s mission is to end hunger and poverty in the U.S. and abroad.

Today, that mission is expressed through the organization’s work to end childhood hunger in America through its No Kid Hungry and Cooking Matters campaigns. 1 in 7 children in the U.S. live in households that struggle to consistently put food on the table. Hunger impedes a child’s future, hindering their ability to learn and negatively impact their test scores, attendance and likelihood to graduate.

As Share Our Strength continues to grow and push to end childhood hunger, the organization is seeking a new Chief Communications and Marketing Officer (CCMO) who will steward the organization’s portfolio of brands, building the public profile of Share Our Strength and its campaigns; conceive and execute creative marketing campaigns which support our program and development efforts; continue to engage the public through owned, earned and paid media; and advance the issues of hunger and poverty in the public dialogue. They will oversee a Communications team of 32 individuals supporting Share Our Strength’s programmatic work, influencer relations, culinary engagement and events, and other critical initiatives by strategically partnering with teams across the organization. In addition, the individual will work closely with the organization’s Chief Revenue Officer to maximize fundraising, especially through corporate partnerships, dining partners and individual donor campaigns.

The CCMO will be responsible for continuing to raise the visibility of Share Our Strength’s brands and campaigns. The CCMO will direct a multi-dimensional communications and marketing program, aimed at delivering unified and consistent messages across all of its key constituencies: donors, partners, media, culinary community, influencers, policymakers, partner employees, activists, partner NGO’s, etc.

Share Our Strength believes that child hunger in the U.S. is a solvable issue, and will look to the CCMO to help them more effectively communicate the profound progress the organization is making toward ending hunger.

The CCMO will play a critical leadership role on the executive team of Share Our Strength. The preferred candidate will be expected to provide strategic direction and a strong guiding voice on matters related to the reputation and brand management of the organization. The CCMO will be instrumental in helping to reconcile and prioritize communications and marketing strategies and activities in order to create and confirm a unified message for the organization. They will also be asked to develop new and better ways for working across the organization and fostering more seamless integration between functional areas.

The CCMO will provide marketing and communications counsel and leadership across the organization, and will be relied on as an expert and sounding board in these areas. The CCMO will also counsel and coach key executives on media appearances and messaging. This person will need to be viewed as a creative and credible marketing peer to CMOs of prospective and current corporate donors, as they will be asked to develop and execute meaningful campaigns which benefit both the corporate donors and Share Our Strength.

The very capable staff of 32 under this position provides communications and marketing expertise to the organization’s Programs and Development teams. They are engaged in the following areas: media relations, digital/social media, storytelling and video production, graphic design, marketing, brand management, event assistance, executive communications, influencer relations, youth engagement, and thought leadership.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

· Strategic Partnerships – Collaborate with the Executive Team, particularly the Chief Revenue Officer, to help identify and pursue strategic relationships with a variety of external partners – Corporations, Media, Foundations, Government, etc.— who share interests with and objectives of Share our Strength. The focus of this work will be on designing marketing and communications programs with and for these important strategic partners.

· National Media – Leverage national and mainstream media to advance coverage of No Kid Hungry’s work to end childhood hunger, as well as Share Our Strength’s role as a thought leader on social impact, social innovation and entrepreneurship. Work proactively to ensure that the issue of hunger is connected to and creatively positioned alongside other issues of national importance.

· Brand Steward – Ensure that all Share Our Strength brands continue to embrace and reflect their defined brand equities and values across all communication touchpoints, with every key stakeholder group. Serve as a passionate steward, advocate and gatekeeper for the brands, providing internal standards and guardrails for the organization to follow. Continue to engrain the brands’ positioning into Share Our Strength’s organizational culture.

· Marketing and Communications Strategy – Lead annual development of the overall, integrated marketing and communications strategy and budget based on the brand’s positioning, defined organizational objectives, the competitive landscape, and a deep understanding of key stakeholder interests (Corporate Leaders, Government Officials, Foundation Heads, Individual Donors, Media, Culinary Professionals, Other National Nonprofits, etc.). Plans need to link back to the brand, and include a sharp focus on target audience, message, medium(s), timing, and weight. Strategies should embody our core value of Demand Diversity and ensure various voices and perspectives are represented.

· Owned, Earned, Paid & Social Media – Lead and collaborate with internal colleagues and with external agencies/consultants to ensure all stakeholder touchpoints and media vehicles embrace and reflect the essence of the organizational brands, that these communications are integrated effectively, produced efficiently and focused on driving organizational results.

· Public Relations – Help lead the annual PR planning process, determining key messaging strategies for a variety of critical constituent groups, across a wide range of PR vehicles. Work closely with external agency partners, consultants and the internal team to ensure this messaging strategy is delivered consistently and effectively, with an eye towards ROI on all activities. The CCMO will also oversee Thought Leadership efforts to get Share Our Strength voices out in the public on important issues.

· Revenue Growth – Help the Development team drive annual organizational revenue across multiple sources (Corporations, Foundations, Culinary, Dine, Membership, Major Donors, and Grassroots). The CCMO will quickly become a significant driver of organizational growth and revenue by leveraging branding, strategic planning, better, and more efficient Communications execution, new campaigns/messages, and by supporting organization-wide efforts.

· Organizational Representative – Represent Share Our Strength at a myriad of events and engagements, speaking on behalf of the organization and engaging stakeholders in person. The CCMO will be a compelling spokesperson who can effectively tell the story of Share Our Strength’s impact and motivate others to join our work.

· Influencer Relations – Share Our Strength engages hundreds of chefs and culinary professionals, celebrities and other influencers each year, helping to activate them to engage others in ending childhood hunger. The CCMO will be an important player in cultivating and engaging current and prospective influencers.

· Functional Development – Continually enhance Brand Development, Marketing, and Communications capabilities. Build and shape a highly-effective, world-class organization by hiring, developing, motivating and setting leadership direction for all direct reports. Oversee the team working with outside Communications, PR, Marketing and Brand agencies/Consultants, continually ensuring the strongest ROI and allocation of resources. A strong Brand and Communications infrastructure must be reinforced (the processes, methodologies and tools required to drive Communications effectiveness).

QUALIFICATIONS

Share Our Strength seeks to review a diverse slate of seasoned (15+ years of experience) executives with exceptional marketing and brand instincts and strategic communications skills. High-level media/PR contacts or relationships are also a plus. Candidates should be able to demonstrate a track record for successfully driving campaigns and building awareness for causes, organizations or companies. The ideal candidate will also have some, if not significant, experience in a nonprofit, mission-driven environment, working alongside and in support of the Development (fundraising) function. They should be a superb communicator, with experience serving as the representative for an organization to the public, particularly in public speaking engagements and with the media.

Candidates should be able to demonstrate interest in serving the public and should be personally compelled and inspired by Share Our Strength’s mission. Individuals specifically interested in food and nutrition will thrive at the organization.

Relevant candidates will be creative and integrated thinkers, able to manage multiple objectives across multiple audiences and operate at both strategic and tactical levels. The ideal candidate will be organizationally astute and will help Share Our Strength reach important internal decisions regarding priorities and resources. They will also help Share Our Strength continually improve its communications and marketing functions.

Candidates must also have significant managerial and leadership experience, and possess a track record for managing and developing a team of professionals at various levels. This position will lead and direct a seasoned, high-functioning team of 32, while continuing to be involved in hands-on execution. The successful candidate is expected to lead, model and embed diversity, equity and inclusion principles within the team and across the organization as a member of the Executive Team and live our core value of Demand Diversity.

The successful candidate must possess a Bachelor’s degree. An advanced degree is preferable, but is not required.

How to Apply

Job Categories: Equal Opportunities. Job Types: Full-Time. Salaries: 100,000 and above.

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