North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation

Executive Director
Position Announcement
December 2022
Raleigh, NC

The firm of moss+ross has been retained to help with the search. Please send nominations or cover letter and resume to:
NCCCFsearch@mossandross.com

Candidates are encouraged to apply by January 20, 2023.

North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation
Position Profile: Executive Director
Hiring Range is $110,000 to $130,000 with competitive benefits
Applications will be accepted until position is filled

The Opportunity

The North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation seeks its first full-time professional Executive Director to lead the transformation of the Foundation to a robust and active partner with the State Board of Community Colleges, and the North Carolina Community College System and its 58 constituent institutions. The Executive Director will lead the following priorities: developing and implementing strategic direction; administering policies and processes needed to properly maintain, steward and leverage Foundation resources in support of priorities; providing guidance to the Foundation Board in program development; and executing fundraising responsibilities. Working with the Foundation Board, the Executive Director will serve as the chief fundraiser responsible for strengthening existing partnerships and creating new relationships with foundation, corporate and individual allies of the community college system and align the Foundation’s fundraising and resource development efforts with a new four-year Strategic Plan recently adopted by the State Board of Community Colleges.

North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation

Established in 1986, the North Carolina Community Colleges Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the growth, progress, and general welfare of the community college system. Specifically, the Foundation:

• Supports programs, services and activities that promote the system’s mission;
• Promotes excellence in administration and instruction throughout the system;
• Fosters quality in programs and encourages research to support long-range planning;
• Provides an alternative vehicle for contributions of funds to support innovative programs, services, and activities;
• Lends support and prestige to fund raising efforts of the institutions within the system; and
• Increases public awareness and appreciation for the community college system’s mission, purpose, and responsiveness to local needs.

The Executive Director reports to the Foundation Board which presently consists of 18 at-large members selected by the Board and 6 ex-officio (voting) members (the System President, two members from the NC State Board of Community Colleges, and one member each from the NC Association of Community College Presidents, the NC Council on Resource Development, the NC Association of Community College Trustees and the NC Economic Development Association). The Foundation holds approximately $10 million in endowed assets, including $7 million in unrestricted funds.

The Foundation has engaged moss+ross to assess and provide recommendations to increase the capacity and capabilities of the Foundation to develop and execute an effective long-term fundraising strategy. The Executive Director and Board may use this assessment as a guide in planning the Foundation’s future direction.

North Carolina Community College System

The NC Community College System is third largest in the country composed of 58 colleges (116 campuses). Collectively, the system enrolls more than 550,000 individuals in two-year associates degrees, continuing education, certificate programs and adult literacy skills programs. Each college is governed by Trustees appointed by the North Carolina Governor and local school boards and county commissions. In October 2022, the State Board of Community Colleges (the system’s coordinating board) adopted a four-year strategic plan that includes five major goals:

• To recruit and retain top faculty and administrative talent within the system;
• To increase access and enrollment to meet the state’s educational attainment goals;
• To provide resources inside and outside the classroom to help all students to successfully enroll, persist, and complete a career program of study;
• To provide education, training, and credentials to develop the most competitive workforce in the nation; and
• To increase state funding, streamline the allocation formula, and implement support practices to improve system effectiveness.

The State Board also is currently engaged in a search for the system’s tenth president (since 1963).

Candidate Profile and Key Responsibilities

While having a strong forty-year history, the Foundation has been staffed by System personnel, and this is the first shift to in-house management. The key responsibilities of the Executive Director include the following:

• Provide vision, leadership, and direction for the North Carolina Community College Foundation and promote ideas integral to the advancement of the Foundation’s impact and sustainability;
• Build staffing and/or contract capacity and implement strategies to grow the Foundation’s visibility, influence and philanthropic impact;
• Employ fundraising expertise to create and implement entrepreneurial strategies to identify new funding opportunities that grow the endowment and leverage diverse revenue streams;
• Identify significant external grant opportunities and manage grant writing, administration, and compliance processes;
• Use an entrepreneurial approach and understanding of complex systems to build and sustain operational infrastructure;
• Ensure fiscal responsibility, operational efficiency, growth orientation, fundraising and marketing effectiveness, and transparency regarding projects and programs;
• Demonstrate effective and transparent communications with the Board, strategic partners, donors, system members and others;
• Exhibit persistence, confidence, adaptability, and wisdom when advocating on behalf of the community college system;
• Serve as primary liaison and ambassador for the Foundation within the community college system;
• Be adept in navigating competing interests while also finding common ground inside and outside the community college system;
• Understand how to build collaboration and effectively activate networks, including with System personnel, individual colleges, and partners. Invite the contributions of others and be nuanced in balancing multiple relationships.
• Identify additional staffing (or external contractor) needs—e.g., marketing, accounting; design and implement strategies to manage the administrative and operational model (initially, the Executive Director will be the sole employee of the Foundation); and
• Manage board communications and board meetings.

In carrying out the responsibilities delineated above and all other actions taken on behalf of the Foundation, the Executive Director will uphold equity and inclusion as critical values to the community college system and use their experience in proposing, designing and implementing policies, practices and processes that are inclusive, representative, and equitable to advance the open-door mission of the community college system.

Minimum Education and Experience
• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university or equivalent; Advanced degree preferred;
• At least five years of fundraising, nonprofit, foundation or education system experience;
• Understanding of and commitment to the mission and goals of the North Carolina Community College System and Foundation;
• Exhibit personal characteristics to effectively and persuasively engage with a wide variety of individuals, including high-wealth donors, legislators, and corporate, civic, education, philanthropic, and community leaders;
• Demonstrated success in planning, executing, evaluating, and improving high-level fundraising initiatives;
• Proven ability to identify and secure major gift opportunities of $25,000-$50,000 and more from individual donors, corporations, foundations, and other funding sources, and to sustain long-term donor relationships;
• Demonstrated success in grant writing and grant management and/or success in managing external grant writing contractors;
• Ability to develop and implement policies, systems, processes, and a staffing model necessary to build and maintain a successful resource development program;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; and
• Proficiency in applicable software tools.

While the Foundation’s mission serves all of North Carolina, the Foundation office is located in Raleigh. Regular local and statewide travel is required, and occasional national travel is required.

The Location

The “Triangle” area of North Carolina is home to more than two million people and ten colleges and universities. The Research Triangle Park boasts hundreds of companies and is the largest research park in the United States. The Triangle is located midway between one of the longest coastlines in the country and the highest mountain peaks east of the Rockies, enjoying the benefits of mountains and sea.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Commitment to Non-discrimination and Diversity: All candidates for the Executive Director position will be treated equally without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran’s status, or marital status.

Applications

In one document please submit a cover letter (including how you learned about this opportunity) and resume and send via email to:

Mr. Randall Johnson
Chair, Oversight Committee
NC Community Colleges Foundation
NCCCFsearch@mossandross.com

Five references will be required of finalists. A short presentation and writing samples will be required from finalists. Academic, credit and criminal checks will be conducted before a final offer is made.

The hiring salary range for this position is $110,000 to $130,000 with competitive benefits.

Applications will be accepted until January 20, 2023 or until the position is filled.