Chief Community Impact Officer

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Chief Community Impact Officer

The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo is seeking to hire a Chief Community Impact Officer to help lead the organization into its next chapter of community impact.

Full profile HERE.

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting to the President & CEO and serving as a key member of the Foundation’s leadership team, the CCIO will be both an enterprise leader and community catalyst. This individual will partner closely with the President & CEO, leadership team, Board, staff and community partners to advance the Foundation’s mission, translate strategy into action, and strengthen the systems, relationships and capabilities required to create meaningful and sustainable community change.

The CCIO will provide strategic and operational leadership across multiple levels of the organization. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, this leader will contribute to enterprise-wide priorities, including ongoing organizational design and leadership effectiveness work. Within the Community Impact function, the CCIO will partner closely with the Community Impact Leadership Team to translate strategy into clear priorities, strengthen coordination and decision‑making, and guide the broader team responsible for advancing CFGB’s community goals, grantmaking, community leadership initiatives, systems‑change strategies, partnerships, and related learning and evaluation.

Across these leadership responsibilities, a key priority will be ensuring that the Foundation’s broad portfolio of work remains focused, appropriately resourced, and aligned with its strategic priorities and areas of greatest potential impact.

SUCCESS IN THE ROLE

Success in this role will require significant leadership both inside and outside the Foundation. Internally, the CCIO will work in close partnership across departments and leadership levels, developing and empowering an experienced team, strengthening clarity and accountability, and helping translate community needs and opportunities into priorities the organization has the capacity and resources to deliver successfully. Externally, the CCIO will increasingly represent the Foundation as a convener, strategist, relationship builder and trusted partner, bringing together diverse stakeholders around complex issues and shared solutions.

As a trusted thought partner to the President & CEO and broader leadership team, the CCIO will bring intellectual rigor, sound judgment and an enterprise‑minded perspective to important decisions. This leader will ask thoughtful questions, surface different perspectives, test assumptions, and help the organization weigh strategic alignment, potential impact, capacity, resources and tradeoffs. They will have the confidence to constructively challenge ideas when appropriate while remaining collaborative, diplomatic and focused on advancing the Foundation’s mission.

The CCIO will also serve as a skilled facilitator, helping establish the focus and guardrails needed to balance mission and ambition with organizational capacity and the thoughtful use of resources. This includes helping internal and external stakeholders understand how priorities are set, why certain initiatives are pursued, and others are not, and where the Foundation can have the greatest impact. Through clear communication, thoughtful prioritization and strong partnership, the CCIO will help mobilize people, resources and relationships around work that is aligned, feasible and positioned for meaningful, sustainable results.

Success in the role will be grounded in the following critical leadership competencies that reflect how the CCIO will contribute across the organization, lead the Community Impact function, and engage the broader community.

Core Leadership Competencies:

• Strategic & Enterprise Leadership
• Team & Organizational Leadership
• Convening, Influencing, and Relationship Building

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES:

Strategic & Enterprise Leadership:

The CCIO will operate as an enterprise leader, contributing to the overall direction and success of the Community Foundation while providing strategic leadership for Community Impact.

Key Responsibilities Include:

• Serve as a trusted advisor and thought partner to the President & CEO and member of the senior leadership team.
• Bring an enterprise‑first perspective to decision-making, balancing Community Impact priorities with the broader needs, resources and capabilities of the Foundation.
• Translate the Foundation’s strategic plan and community goals into actionable priorities, initiatives and measures of success.
• Lead cycles of long‑term and annual planning for community impact strategy.
• Help evaluate emerging opportunities, risks and community needs and work with team to