Chief Strategy Officer

About the Chef Ann Foundation

Founded in 2009, the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) believes that all children should have equal access to fresh, healthy, delicious food providing them the foundation to thrive and meet their true potential. We ensure that school food professionals have the resources, funding, and support they need to provide cook-from-scratch meals that support the health of children and our planet. To date, we’ve reached 14,000+ schools and over 3.4 million children in all 50 states.

Job Description

The Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) is responsible for the strategic advancement vertical, overseeing policy, research, development, and marketing in a fast-paced, high-growth, and dynamic environment. The CSO is both a leader and doer, responsible for understanding and formulating corporate strategy from an operational point of view and ensuring that strategic initiatives and the portfolio of verticals are optimized to support the strategy in achieving CAF’s multi-year strategic plans. The CSO's peer group includes the other C-suite roles that comprise the highest leadership within the organization. This position reports to the Chief Executive Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy & Leadership

• Continuously create, develop, and execute strategic plans that advance the mission of the organization;
• Monitor market trends and stakeholder needs to forecast opportunities and inform strategies;
• Analyze risks and complex issues to provide strategic guidance & efficient solutions;
• Develop and maintain a network of strategic partners and stakeholders to amplify CAF's mission and impact;
• Identify and pursue innovative strategic opportunities to extend CAF's; work through partnerships, collaborations, and social impact extensions;
• Stay informed about emerging trends in social entrepreneurship and impact investing to identify potential opportunities for CAF;
• Prepare and present executive presentations and other materials for Board of Director meetings, funders, and all-hands meetings;
• Build working relationships by earning the trust, confidence, and respect of the senior leadership team through listening, building credibility, and developing synergies across the organization;
• Ensure strategies are well communicated and translated into actionable and quantitative plans for work verticals/functions and business partners;
• Perform additional job-related duties as needed.

Marketing, Policy, Development, Research Oversight

Direct CAF's research, marketing, development, and policy agenda, ensuring it supports the organization's short and long-term strategic goals.

Marketing and Communications

• Ensure alignment of marketing initiatives with the organizational brand;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Marketing in growth goals across all CAF communication channels;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Marketing in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of marketing efforts and adjusting strategies as needed;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Marketing to enhance CAF's brand presence and messaging across various platforms, ensuring we are communicating effectively.

Policy and Advocacy

• Stay informed about relevant legislative and regulatory developments in school nutrition and child health;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Policy and Advocacy in the creation of policy briefs, position papers, and advocacy materials;
• Cultivate relationships with policymakers, government officials, and other key stakeholders;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Policy and Advocacy in participation in coalitions and partnerships to advance policy objectives.

Development

• Oversee the Sr. Director of Development in cultivating and stewarding of major donors and institutional funders;
• Participate in high-level donor meetings and presentations;
• Oversee the Sr. Director of Development in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of fundraising efforts, adjusting strategies as needed;
• Cultivate and steward high-level funder relationships;
• Other duties as assigned within the scope of the position.

Research and Evaluation

• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Research and Evaluation in the design and implementation of research studies related to school nutrition, environmental impacts, and child health;
• Guide and support the Sr. Director of Research and Evaluation in the analysis and interpretation of research findings;
• Support the Sr. Director of Research and Evaluation to ensure research outcomes are effectively communicated to various stakeholders, including funders, partners, and the public;
• Oversee and support the Sr. Director of Research and Evaluation in identifying opportunities for research collaborations with academic institutions and other organizations.

Budget and/or resource responsibility:

• Develop, plan, and forecast the program budget(s;)
• Final approval, oversight, and management of budget(s;)
• Identify, cultivate, and maintain high-level funder relationships and program opportunities in collaboration with the Development team’s and the organization’s revenue generation goals;
• Ensure accurate reporting, expense control, and auditing.

Position Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required to fulfill those duties:

• A minimum of 15+ years of progressive experience in a leadership role overseeing P&L management and at least two of the following four areas of focus: Marketing, Development, Policy and Research;
• Bachelor’s Degree required, MBA (or other areas of study that lend themselves to our business model) strongly preferred;
• Extensive experience in strategy planning, strategy development & strategy execution;
• Considerable experience in project and change management;
• Nonprofit and/or School Food / Food System experience strongly preferred;
• Ability to travel for eight trips a year;
• Ability to work virtually.

Essential Traits

• A passion for food systems and a strong interest in childhood health and wellness;
• Highest standards of integrity, ethics, and performance;
• Forward-thinking with the ability to engage others in casting a broader and focused vision;Flexible mindset, innovative thinker who is willing to challenge standard thinking with new ideas, approaches, and solutions;
• Ability to build new programming and manage implementation;
• Resourcefulness in finding solutions to unique problems and making pivots to ensure outcomes;
• Strong relationship builder who can find common ground, build consensus, and strengthen collaboration among diverse business partners;
• Ability to motivate teams, lead complex projects to completion/sustainment, and manage multiple verticals in parallel;
• Expert at effectively pivoting between strategic development and tactical deployment;
• Astute with applying change management principles to effectively lead and navigate ambiguity and uncertainty;
• Exceptional listening, persuasion, negotiation, and conflict management skills;
• Willingness to engage in continuous learning and training.