Chief External Affairs Officer

Overview

• Common Future works to close the racial wealth gap. Our current economic system does not work
• for everyone. Generations of Black and Indigenous communities and other communities of color
• have been and are currently intentionally locked out of wealth and power, holding us all back.

• Founded in 2001, Common Future is building a future where all people—no matter their race and
• class—have power, choice, and ownership over the economy.

• As a women-led, multiracial organization, our diverse team of strategists, community organizers,
• financial activists, and policy enthusiasts provides capital, operational support, and strategic
• partnership to budding solutions addressing racial and economic injustice. To advance racial and
• economic equity, Common Future incubates, co-creates, and funds field-defining initiatives and
• influences key sectors. We collaborate with leaders who have the imagination and courage to
• rethink our economy. We bring initiatives that model how to build wealth and power in excluded
• communities to life.

• Our culture values include centering equity, being the communities we serve, embracing
• experimentation, reimagining what’s broken, collectively solving problems, and modeling a new
• way of working. We strive to be an innovator that prioritizes the well-being of our employees.
• Read more about us at commonfuture.co.

Purpose

Common Future is seeking a Chief External Affairs Officer to serve as a senior executive leader responsible for building and sustaining the financial foundation and brand reputation that makes our mission possible. This is a pivotal role at a pivotal moment: as the landscape for equity-focused organizations grows increasingly complex and the need for durable, flexible funding becomes more urgent, Common Future needs a bold, relationship-driven leader who can match the ambition of our programmatic work with an equally ambitious funding and communications strategy. The Chief External Affairs Officer will own Common Future's revenue strategy across institutional philanthropy, individual donors, capital raising, and emerging revenue streams, developing a business model that supports both organizational sustainability and economic independence.

Success in the role includes owning a $10M total annual fundraising goal, which includes $6 - 7M in operations and $3M in investment capital. The CEAO will hold a personal portfolio of funder and investor relationships, including high-net-worth and big-bet philanthropic prospects, and will be an active and visible presence in the field, traveling to conferences and convenings (20-25% time) to build new relationships and deepen existing ones.

In addition, the Chief External Affairs Officer will steward Common Future's brand and strategic communications, including providing guidance to the team managing public relations and cross-platform media. This senior leader will remain attentive to the external environment and develop strategies to support the positioning of the Co-CEOs, our organizational impact, and our collective thought leadership.

As a member of Common Future's Executive Leadership Team, the Chief External Affairs Officer will partner closely with the programmatic team leads on revenue strategy, ensuring that fundraising is tightly integrated with programmatic priorities, and will work in a matrixed fashion across the Impact Investments, Initiatives, and Finance teams. They will oversee Fund Development and Strategic Communications, and will set the tone for a culture of excellence, creativity, and deep relationship-building in service of an equitable economy.