Summary
Description
The Opportunity
For more than three decades, the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) has been one of the most disciplined, successful, evidence-driven forces in American health advocacy, a coalition of survivors and grassroots organizations, unwilling to settle for incremental progress against a disease that still takes far too many lives.
In 1991 a small group of women decided that breast cancer needed a powerful advocacy arm with a focused mission to eradicate the disease. They formed a coalition of organizations who came together as NBCC, launching the breast cancer movement. Attorney and breast cancer survivor Fran Visco was elected as the organization’s first leader.
NBCC is a grassroots advocacy driven and led organization. It was built on an audacious premise: that the people most affected by breast cancer belong at the table where decisions about research, funding, and policy are made, not on the sidelines, and that their leadership and participation is vital to the system change necessary to end breast cancer.
NBCC maintains an integrated approach to achieving its mission, addressing system change in law, public policy, science, and health care. To conduct lobbying and programmatic efforts, NBCC is composed of two organizational arms: The National Breast Cancer Coalition is a 501(c)(4) corporation whose purpose is to lobby Congress, the Administration, and the states for legislation and improved public policies to end breast cancer. This entity is led by a grassroots Board of Directors who determine substantive breast cancer-related positions and policies. The National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund is a 501(c)(3) corporation that supports the educational and program efforts of NBCC. Together, the two arms of NBCC issue a call to action by offering diverse and substantive activities, programs, training, and events designed to educate and empower individuals and organizations to fight effectively to end this disease.
After more than 30 years at the helm, Fran Visco is preparing to step back from her role leading NBCC. NBCC then decided to restructure the organization, replacing the elected President position with a staff Chief Executive Officer role. Ms. Visco will remain engaged for a period as President Emerita and Senior Advisor, guiding the Artemis Project®, helping transition key relationships with donors, scientists, and policymakers, and serving as a resource to NBCC’s new CEO.
This is a rare opportunity: to lead one of the most respected and independent voices in breast cancer advocacy, building on three decades of momentum with the same rigor, urgency, and refusal to settle that have defined NBCC from day one.
The Organization’s Impact
NBCC is a coalition, a network of member organizations and thousands of trained advocates across the country built around a single, uncompromising mission: to end breast cancer. Where much of the breast cancer field has organized around awareness and support, NBCC has organized around science, policy, and systems change, and it has earned a stellar reputation for doing so.
NBCC’s mission is based on three goals: research, to make certain sufficient funding exists for meaningful research and that the research agenda is focused on saving lives; access, to guarantee uniform access to quality care for all; and influence, to have trained advocates at all tables where decisions are made about breast cancer. Several of NBCC’s programs and policies advance those goals.
- As a result of NBCC’s grassroots advocacy, Congress created the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program in 1992, a peer-reviewed research program shaped by advocates alongside scientists. The program has funded landmark research, including early work on the breast cancer drug Herceptin, and has since grown into the second-largest funder of breast cancer research in the country, having awarded over $4.6 billion over the years.
- NBCC does not fund scientific research directly. Perhaps NBCC’s boldest undertaking, the Artemis Project® was created in 2010 to unite a select group of visionary scientists, clinicians, and trained advocates around two of the hardest problems in breast cancer research: how to prevent the disease and how to stop people dying from it. Now advancing a prevention vaccine toward its first clinical trial after more than a decade of work, the Artemis Project® reflects a conviction at the heart of NBCC’s culture that advocates and scientists working shoulder to shoulder, focused on questions no one else is asking, can move faster than traditional funding pathways allow.
- NBCC’s clinical trials project has changed the way breast cancer trials are conducted. NBCC set criteria to identify those trials that would have the biggest impact and partner with investigators and sponsors to design protocols, give input into process, collaborate with investigators, and educate the public. NBCC participated on several trials, including those for targeted therapies and CDK inhibitors, some of the most impactful interventions for breast cancer.
- NBCC pioneered Project LEAD®, a model of training and educating advocates to understand science. Advocates sit as full partners, alongside scientists, in research review and to set a research agenda, as well as training in policy, to make certain advocates are able to meaningfully participate in research and policy debates, set policy and legislative agendas, and develop evidence-based positions. Project LEAD is the country’s most rigorous science and policy training ground for breast cancer advocates.
- Throughout the year, NBCC brings together its coalition of member organizations, state field coordinators, and national grassroots network for virtual interactions culminating in its annual Advocate Leadership Summit in Washington, DC to learn about and debate the latest research and legislative updates. The Summit is followed by an annual membership Lobby Day where trained advocates meet with their representatives on Capitol Hill. Lobby days also occur throughout the year, in person and virtually.
- NBCC has also directly driven legislative changes in addition to increased funding, including the Breast and Cervical Treatment Act that created a system of access to care for thousands of uninsured women with breast and cervical cancer, and recent work to advance the Metastatic Breast Cancer Access to Care Act, which would waive the waiting period that delays access to Medicare and Social Security Disability for people living with metastatic disease.
NBCC has never hesitated to take unpopular, data-driven positions, even when they put the organization at odds with allies, industry, or public opinion.
Grassroots advocates set the substantive agenda for NBCC. NBCC’s staff is lean by design, its advocates are trained to a high standard, and its funding comes overwhelmingly from individual donors, family foundations, and a small number of long-tenured major supporters. The organization has built financial resilience over the years by staying disciplined and close to its mission. Growing and diversifying its base of philanthropic support is one of the clearest opportunities awaiting its next leader.
The Responsibilities
Reporting to the c3 Board of Trustees, the CEO will provide vision, strategy, and day-to-day leadership for NBCC, working in partnership with the c4 Board of Directors and a deeply committed staff, and will be responsible and responsive to grassroots leadership. The CEO will also have the benefit of ongoing counsel and collaboration with Fran Visco for up to two years to help ensure a smooth transition. The CEO will:
- Be a dynamic, visionary leader who is comfortable challenging the status quo. The CEO will bring a track record of leadership that engages both major donors and grassroots advocates with equal authenticity, and that understands strategic advocacy and systems change. The CEO will believe strongly in centering and amplifying the voices of those directly affected by breast cancer and will know how to challenge the status quo while working within system constraints. The CEO must possess an understanding of the process required to stimulate creativity, collaboration, risk-taking, and a sense of urgency with often risk-averse, hierarchical systems and institutions.
- Set context and build a shared agenda. The CEO will be skilled at helping the boards, staff, donors, advocates, and outside partners find common ground and a shared agenda, regardless of everyone’s starting point or priorities. The CEO will motivate people to set aside personal interests in service of NBCC’s mission, helping others see a bigger picture that is greater than the sum of its parts.
- Lead growth in philanthropic support. Fundraising is among the clearest priorities for NBCC’s next chapter. The CEO will have real experience raising significant funds for complex and at times controversial work and will understand the necessity of cultivating financial support at every level, from individual major donors to foundations, while ensuring that funding sources do not compromise the credibility and integrity of the organization and its reputation. The CEO will partner with the Chief Development Officer to craft compelling narratives, elevating success stories, and building the case for investment in NBCC’s mission.
- Steward the organization’s financial health. Ensure sound financial strategies that balance fiscal health with the flexibility and risk tolerance needed to advance the mission.
- Be both strategic and scrappy. NBCC operates with lean teams where everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to advance the work, while keeping focused on the mission. The CEO will think strategically at the highest level but will also roll up their sleeves on the ground and be nimble, relentless, and persistent. The CEO will also have the “street smarts” to critically analyze and prioritize among many competing issues, and the flexibility to change course while still maintaining focus on the vision and the mission when new opportunities arise, or old ones stop working.
- Navigate a complex political and scientific landscape. The CEO must earn and retain the respect of the grassroots members of NBCC. The CEO will build productive relationships with Congress, federal research agencies, the scientific community, and NBCC’s coalition of member organizations, bringing enough fluency in science and public policy or the demonstrated ability to learn it quickly and deeply, to represent NBCC credibly in rooms full of advocates, researchers, physicians, and policymakers.
- Lead a historic transition with humility and confidence. The CEO will spend meaningful time in year one listening to staff, the Boards, and advocates in the field, letting that input shape the path forward while still bringing the vision and confidence NBCC’s advocates and supporters expect from their leader. 8. Strengthen NBCC’s visibility, infrastructure, and reach. The CEO will expand NBCC’s public profile and its communications and digital presence, broaden and diversify its base of philanthropic and coalition support without diluting the independence and evidence-based rigor that set NBCC apart.
The Ideal Candidate
NBCC’s Board is looking for an executive who can be trusted with an extraordinary legacy and who has the vision, discipline, and personal presence to build on it. NBCC is open to candidates from a range of backgrounds; deep experience in advocacy, public policy, nonprofit leadership, or a mission-driven field with complex, multistakeholder dynamics will be more important than any single credential. The CEO must be a breast cancer survivor.
Attributes being sought in the new CEO include:
- Ability to gain the respect of a diverse network of grassroots advocates.
- Dynamic, visionary leadership. A demonstrated ability to challenge the status quo, drive strategic advocacy and systems change, and inspire others toward an ambitious, shared goal.
- Fundraising and donor relationship skills. A genuine track record of cultivating significant philanthropic support for complex or controversial work, and a willingness to partner with the Chief Development Officer to grow and diversify a donor base.
- Political and scientific fluency. Credibility with members of Congress, federal agencies, and the scientific and medical community, or the intellectual horsepower and curiosity to build that credibility quickly.
- A collaborative, listening leadership style. Strong communication and listening skills, and a genuine ability to bring together people with different perspectives, priorities, and levels of institutional history.
- Strategic and operational range. Comfort operating at the highest level of strategy and vision. Equally comfortable being scrappy and hands-on when the moment calls for it, working in partnership with grassroots advocacy leadership.
- Integrity and independence of judgment. The confidence to say no when the mission requires it.
- Mission-driven. A deep, authentic commitment to ending breast cancer and to NBCC’s evidence-based, no-fluff approach to getting there.
- Respectful of legacy, unafraid of the future. Genuine respect for what has been built, paired with the confidence to lead in one’s own voice and help take the organization where it needs to go next.
- Inclusive and high expectations. A leader who welcomes differing views and has the humility to build consensus rather than dictate it, while holding NBCC’s advocates, staff, and partners to the same high standard the organization has always expected of itself.
- Steady under pressure. Comfortable operating in a politically charged environment, protecting NBCC’s independence and reputation even when it would be easier to go along with the crowd.
The Relationships
The CEO:
- Reports to: NBCC 501(c)(3) Board of Trustees and is responsible to the 501(c) 4 Board of Directors
- Works in collaboration with: President Emerita & Senior Advisor for up to two years.
- Manages 4 direct reports and an overall team of ~18: Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff; Chief Programs Officer; Chief Policy Officer; Chief Development Officer
- Other key relationships include: NBCC’s national network of trained advocates and grassroots leadership; Coalition member organizations across the country; Members of Congress and federal agencies; The scientific and medical research community; Individual major donors, family foundations, and long-tenured supporters
Location & Salary
NBCC is headquartered in downtown Washington, D.C., a natural home for an organization whose influence runs through Capitol Hill, federal research agencies, and the national policy conversation. NBCC operates in a hybrid environment with staff in the office Tuesday through Thursday. The CEO will be based in Washington, with travel to NBCC’s events and meetings with key funders, coalition members, and partners. The starting salary range for this position is $225,000 – $275,000. NBCC also offers a comprehensive benefits package.
