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Chief Marketing Officer

Seattle, Washington
SM Diversity
Our partners at Seattle Foundation are seeking an experienced, agile, and innovative Chief Marketing Officer who will serve as Seattle Foundation’s principal strategist and steward for organizational brand, marketing, communications, and creative content. The CMO will join and spearhead a transformation of the organization’s approach to communications, storytelling, and marketing and will play a critical role in driving awareness and support for our mission, programs, and engagement strategies. Position Highlights

  • Hiring Range: $220,000-$240,000; Full Salary Range: $167,411 – $276,229
  • Type: Permanent; Full-Time, Salary/Exempt
  • Location: Hybrid Work Model; Offices located downtown Seattle, WA
  • Relocation Package Available for Out-of-State Candidates
  • Submission Requirements:
    • Resume
    • Cover Letter
    • Marketing Portfolio – We would love to see your portfolio, complete with a brand strategy deck, demonstrating your expertise in brand development and strategic marketing initiatives
  • Excellent PTO Package: Enjoy 3 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of sick leave, 4 wellness days, 15 holidays, and 2 weeks off (paid) during Fourth of July and Thanksgiving weeks.

About Seattle Foundation

Founded in 1946, Seattle Foundation has guided philanthropy in the Seattle region as trusted advisors to donors who care deeply about their community and partners to organizations driving work on the frontlines. The foundation believes that the people most proximate to the issues of our time have the solutions and develop targeted strategies to inspire collective action.

The inflection point Seattle Foundation finds themselves in at this moment is about how they lean more deeply into impact work that is transformational while simultaneously retooling their business model to support this shift. In 2023, the Foundation engaged in a strategic planning process to seize the moment and lean in. The three-year strategic plan (to be publicly released later this year) is the culmination of a nine-month process involving significant dialogue and iteration with core stakeholders and potential partners across the region. This process was rooted in a commitment to advance the Blueprint for Impact through near-term goals and milestones toward their vision of a joyful region of shared prosperity, belonging, and justice.

The Opportunity Seattle Foundation has gone through significant growth and change over the past several years. The Foundation carried out a strategic refocus in 2020, shaping the Blueprint for Impact framework that explicitly centers racial equity and inclusion as critical to everything they do. Alesha Washington, President & CEO, joined the Foundation in May 2022 and is guiding the Foundation towards honing its strategic focus and community impact. In March 2024, Seattle Foundation’s Board approved a three-year strategic plan focused on near-term opportunities to deepen impact and a roadmap to financial sustainability to evolve their business model.

Building on our core strategic grantmaking approach and guided by our recently adopted strategic plan, Seattle Foundation will work to use our voice and grantmaking activities to advance community priorities around the following three areas: 1) affordable housing financing, 2) transit-oriented development, and 3) equitable childcare access. These are cross-cutting issue areas, meaning that their work does not live in siloes and the work their grantees do in these areas is multi-dimensional. These are high-impact opportunities with near term milestones that both allow the organization to advance toward their vision and inspire stakeholders to join them.

By focusing on these high-priority issues, the Foundation can employ the unique skills and relationships that they hold in service of communities most impacted by racism and other inequities. As the Greater Seattle region changes and new policies are passed to maximize public resources, the specific near-term opportunities will evolve. The Foundation’s priorities will always be guided by their community grant partners proximate to the needs of community.

Position Overview: Seattle Foundation is looking for an experienced, agile, and innovative Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) to join us during an exciting moment in the Foundation’s history. As Seattle Foundation’s principal strategist and steward for organizational brand, marketing, communications, and creative content, the CMO will join and spearhead a transformation of the organization’s approach to communications, storytelling, and marketing – a critical area for the organization to meet its goals outlined in the recently adopted Strategic Plan. The CMO will report directly to the President & CEO and will play a critical role in driving awareness and support for our mission, programs, and engagement strategies.

As a member of the senior leadership team, the CMO’s primary aim is to lead the organization in effectively communicating the Foundation’s cause in support of greater impact in the community, while meeting the needs of a diverse group of stakeholders. This role will oversee the Marketing & Communications Team (MarCom Team) to support business development goals and increase awareness of Seattle Foundation’s mission and work in the region. In addition, the CMO will drive the Foundation’s narrative and storytelling work to advance racial equity, justice, and shared prosperity. This position will also play a critical role in supporting our learning journey – an intentional process of learning from the communities we serve, as well as the internal and external unlearning of harmful behaviors that are barriers to our organizational vision. This position will drive the elevation of Seattle Foundation’s brand, storytelling, and thought leadership across diverse channels contributing to the organization’s measurable growth and impact.

As a strategic and operational leader, the CMO will cultivate and oversee a dynamic team, plus a range of external consultants. The CMO will serve on and work closely with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that Seattle Foundation’s offerings support the organization’s unique value proposition within the complex and dynamic philanthropic ecosystem. They will also lead significant change initiatives to ensure that the MarCom Team’s capacity, resources, and processes are best aligned with Seattle Foundation’s strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities Lead Seattle Foundation’s Communications, Marketing & Creative Strategy

  • Lead marketing development and strategy aligned to Seattle Foundation’s mission and goals, including market analysis, brand management, communications strategy, digital marketing (and social media) and performance measurement.
  • Serve as chief communications strategist on Seattle Foundation initiatives, goals, and priorities with a focus on forward-looking messaging, distinctive learning experiences for donors, and communications planning.
  • Ensure consistency of existing and new marketing and communications projects and initiatives to accentuate Seattle Foundation’s unique value proposition and competitive advantage.
  • Set the creative visual strategy for the Foundation and oversee and provide creative input into the design of materials (print and electronic).
  • Develop and maintain standards for Seattle Foundation’s brand strategy, image, positioning, identity, storytelling and messaging.
  • Set measurable communications and marketing goals to improve year-over-year, with specific objectives and key results.
  • Evaluate the current state of the local philanthropic market to ensure delivery of relevant and useful products, messages, and branding.
  • Develop and maintain working relationships with community leaders, organizations, and members of the media to drive more meaningful engagement with Seattle Foundation.
  • Develop and drive clear and consistent internal, executive, and crisis communications strategies.

Enable and Support Foundation-wide Execution

  • Develop storytelling narrative through persuasive, creative writing skills and partner with all departments to ensure the storytelling and communications strategies are effectively implemented in a cohesive manner across the organization.
  • Ensure that deliverables and initiatives are prioritized, managed and executed in a systematic way; deploy and leverage organizational expertise and capabilities to enable purposeful revenue growth, maximize impact, and deepen relationships with stakeholders.
  • In partnership with the Philanthropic Services team, execute and evaluate strategies to increase revenue and enhance the overall client experience through deeper engagement and learning activities.
  • Oversee the events and experiences function for the Foundation. Working closely with the Chief Impact Officer and Chief Philanthropy Officer to establish curated learning experiences and compelling marketing & communications tools to support ongoing education in service of the Foundation’s mission and vision.
  • In collaboration with the Impact team, develop, execute, and evaluate strategies that amplify grantee partner stories and drive our civic action priorities.
  • Optimize Marketing & Communications operations and act as a change agent to support effective storytelling and creating a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization.
  • Represent the CEO and Seattle Foundation at various community functions and at local, state, and national non-profit and philanthropic convenings. Partner with the CEO in articulating Seattle Foundation’s vision and voice in the field . click apply for full job details

Job Overview