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About NESsT

NESsT’s mission is to support enterprises that create quality jobs for underserved communities while sustaining the planet. Founded in 1997, the organization has developed 225 enterprises, invested $24 million in financing and business mentoring, supported 77,000 jobs, and impacted 900,000 individuals.

NESsT has an ambitious strategy to become a $50 million organization. This will be achieved by continuing to grow an accelerator that provides investment-readiness support to enterprises, scaling up impact investments that provide loan financing to enterprises in growth phases, and expanding to new emerging market geographies.

About the Role

NESsT seeks a visionary nonprofit business leader skilled in driving organizational success and empowering high-performing staff. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the CEO will have overall management responsibility for a growing impactful organization with a $5 million annual budget, $11 million assets under management, and 40+ employees across six countries.

Purpose of the Role

The CEO will use inspirational leadership and sophisticated management abilities to advance the organization toward its strategic goals regarding culture, capability, processes, and impact. The CEO will oversee a senior leadership team with nine persons consisting of country directors, functional directors, and investment directors.

While working closely with the organization’s executive team, the CEO will inspire innovation and ensure the organization is continually well-equipped to advance its mission. It is expected that the position will require a significant emphasis on fundraising and business development to reach NESsT’s growth objectives.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Vision and Leadership

• Collaborate with the President and the Board to refine and implement the strategic plan while ensuring that the budget, staff, and priorities are aligned with NESsT’s core mission.
• Provide inspirational leadership and direction to senior leadership, and ensure the continued development and management of a professional and efficient organization.
• Establish effective decision-making processes to enable NESsT to achieve its long- and short-term goals and objectives.
• Continually foster a culture that encourages collaboration between departments and recognizes positive contributions.

Development and Fundraising

• Oversee the Development Director to drive development and fundraising strategy in collaboration with senior leadership members, leveraging the Board as needed.
• Play a significant role in cultivating and securing donors and impact investors, including major donors, foundations, government agencies, and corporations.
• Ensure that the flow of funds permits NESsT to make continuous progress towards growing its acceleration and impact investment programs and that those funds are allocated properly to reflect present needs and future potential.

Board Governance

• Maintain regular and ongoing communication to build strong relationships with the entire Board, providing leadership and support to members at all times
• Communicate effectively with the Board by providing members with all information necessary to continually function properly and make informed decisions in a timely and accurate manner
• Work closely and openly with the Board and its committees, ensuring ongoing communication of risks, issues, as well as successes

Programs

• Oversee the Acceleration Director responsible for leading the acceleration program and the portfolio team responsible for supporting enterprises to become investment ready, and the overall portfolio methodology and impact measurement.
• Oversee four Country Directors and provide strategic direction on the positioning of the organization in local markets consisting of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Poland, and Romania
• Supervise two Investment Directors and oversee the proper management of impact funds in Latin America and Central Europe, including consistent investment policies and risk management.
• Oversee the implementation of adequate knowledge management that improves the efficiency of program delivery and services.

Financial Management and Administration

• Provide strategic leadership and hands-on management to the Finance Director and the Operations Manager for all of the administrative and financial functions of the organization
• Assume responsibility for the fiscal and legal integrity of the organization
• Ensure the organization stays within the board-approved budget
• Ensure the organization’s financial stability and sustainability

External Relations and Communications

• Oversee the Communications Manager to drive marketing and branding strategy that raises NESsT’s visibility
• Represent the organization and serve as chief spokesperson publicly at events, conferences, and partnership meetings
• Ensure high visibility to prospects and the public, build interest in social entrepreneurship and impact investing

Skills and Experience

• Fifteen years of prior experience as a senior executive at a nonprofit, social investment organization, foundation, government, or mission-related company
• Experience with both nonprofit management and impact investing preferred
• Experience with international development, either by having worked in a multinational organization or by having lived abroad
• Significant board development, fundraising, marketing/branding and fiscal management experience are a must
• Outstanding presentation and communication skills and the experience and disposition to be an outgoing spokesperson, relationship builder, and fundraiser
• Knowledge of other languages (Spanish preferred)
• Proven experience executing organization growth and leading a similar or larger size successful social investment organization and/or related entity
• Experience and success in motivating, recruiting, developing, retaining, and mentoring high-performance, mission-driven, and results-oriented teams