Summary
Description
A Unique Opportunity
Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital (GSCNC), the largest council within the GSUSA movement, is in a period of growth and momentum. Under the leadership of Kim R. Ford, Chief Executive Officer, the council is building a dynamic Executive Leadership Team and has adopted a bold new strategic plan, “(S)heroes of the Movement,” charting the council’s course from FY2026 through FY2030.
GSCNC now seeks a Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer (CSO) ready to help lead that plan from ambition to achievement. This is a rare opportunity: the vision has been set, the priorities are clear, and the organization is aligned behind them. The CSO will translate the priorities into results, elevate the teams that will deliver them, and help position GSCNC as the council that sets the standard for the Girl Scout Movement.
Reporting to the CEO and serving as a key member of the executive leadership team, the CSO will oversee philanthropy, marketing and communications, strategic initiatives, and impact—integrating the council’s external relations, fundraising, and long-term strategy into a cohesive whole. The CSO sees the big picture: how GSCNC is positioned in the minds of every audience it serves—donors, alums, caregivers, volunteers, corporate and government partners, and the broader community—and how each interaction advances the council’s standing and story.
This is an ideal opportunity for a leader with the range of a chief executive who prefers to channel that breadth into strategy, external leadership, and enterprise-level impact—a leader of leaders who elevates the people and teams around them. Ultimately, this role is about fulfilling the strategic plan and transforming the functions the CSO leads: a skilled executive who will take the largest council of a movement with more than a century of impact from good to great, building a broad and enduring base of support and affinity for Girl Scouting.
The Organization
Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital is a thriving organization serving over 76,000 youth and volunteers across diverse communities in 25 counties in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the entire District of Columbia. GSCNC is dedicated to empowering youth with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to become leaders in their communities and beyond.
GSCNC has an annual budget of $26 million, with net assets of $57 million, and 125 full-time employees. Through The Promise Fund, the council provides financial support ranging from $300K to over $900K annually to ensure every Girl Scout can participate in programming without limitation—a commitment that will grow as the need continues to increase.
The Strategic Plan: (S)heroes of the Movement
GSCNC’s FY26–FY30 strategic plan is grounded in the mission to build youth of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Its vision is to boldly transform Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital into a council that sets the standard for the Movement, proving that Girl Scouting continues to be thriving, evolving, and essential. The plan advances three priorities:
- Elevate the Girl Scout experience by making it more powerfully relevant for today’s youth— so that caregivers see Girl Scouting as a vital milestone of youth development, youth stay engaged through the critical middle and high school years, and every corner of the footprint— urban, suburban, and rural—enjoys equitable access to high-quality programming.
- Position Girl Scouts as a lifelong leadership pipeline and sisterhood network that connects members across generations—making “Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout” a powerful reality, expanding the volunteer pipeline, and engaging women executives as advocates within the business community.
- Future-proof the organization through data-driven strategies, diversified revenue, investments in people and culture, and a modernized brand—so that funders seeking transformational impact in youth development see GSCNC as a nonprofit-of-choice, and revenue grows from streams insulated from membership fluctuations.
The incoming CSO inherits this plan fully formed and embraced across the organization. The mandate is not to reinvent the strategy—it is to lead its execution with discipline, creativity, and accountability.
The Mandate
The CSO will play a pivotal role in shaping and guiding the council’s long-term vision and sustainability, integrating external relations, fundraising, and strategic initiatives. Like many organizations, GSCNC has functions that have historically operated in silos—and the CSO must be a leader for whom collaboration is a way of working, not a talking point, building bridges across departments so that strategy, philanthropy, marketing, and impact move as one. The teams the CSO leads are well structured; the opportunity now is to elevate their performance. With an unwavering commitment to quality improvement, the CSO will instill best practices across philanthropy and marketing and communications, developing directors and building high-performing teams—creating the capacity to focus on long-term strategic initiatives, community engagement, and the measurement and strengthening of the council’s impact. The CSO’s priorities are:
Strategic Plan Leadership
- Serve as the executive steward of “(S)heroes of the Movement,” translating the plan’s priorities into actionable roadmaps, milestones, and measures of success.
- Ensure cohesion between outward-facing activities and internal operational goals.
- Collaborate with the CEO and senior leadership team to ensure external relations, partnerships, and donor engagement align with the council’s goals for growth and sustainability.
- Inspire entrepreneurial thinking across departments and welcome diverse perspectives.
Philanthropy: Building the Pipeline, Elevating the Practice
- Grow the donor pool. Philanthropy currently represents approximately 12% of the council’s revenue, and the clear measure of success is growth in the number of donors—acquiring new donors and then retaining them—to build a broader, more resilient base of support.
- Design and lead a successful engagement and individual giving campaign, building the donor pipeline from grassroots giving through leadership and major gifts. The pipeline is not yet established—the CSO will be its architect.
- Grow leadership and major gifts, cultivating six- and seven-figure gifts while identifying new donor prospects and deepening relationships with current donors.
- See every donor as a brand ambassador: cultivate believers in the bold strategic plan whose passion extends beyond fundraising into advocacy, volunteerism, and lifelong connection to Girl Scouting.
- Strengthen the philanthropy team’s practice in prospect management, cultivation, stewardship, and data-driven donor engagement.
- Expand and diversify revenue through new and emerging funding models—including digital fundraising, corporate partnerships, and community-based initiatives.
Marketing and Communications Excellence
- Elevate the Girl Scout brand as a recognized leader in youth development, multigenerational engagement, and volunteer innovation.
- Bring best practices and performance discipline to marketing and communications, using data and analytics to refine strategies across digital, print, and social platforms.
- Oversee signature campaigns such as “Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout,” aiming to reactivate and engage over 1 million Girl Scout alums in the region.
- Lead crisis communications and brand reputation management, ensuring readiness across digital and traditional media environments.
Long-Term Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement
- With high-performing teams in place, focus leadership attention on long-horizon strategic initiatives that advance the council’s vision through 2030 and beyond.
- Lead strategic relationship-building across the District of Columbia and the 25 counties served, developing culturally competent engagement strategies that connect with diverse communities.
- Build and cultivate partnerships with corporate sponsors, foundations, and government partners that increase financial support and drive mission-based initiatives.
Impact Measurement and Learning
- Lead the Impact Director in measuring, assessing, and strengthening the council’s impact, ensuring outcomes are rigorously tracked and clearly communicated.
- Establish and manage budgets and key performance indicators, reporting regularly on progress to ensure transparency and accountability.
- Use evidence of impact to strengthen the case for support with funders, partners, and prospective donors.
The Candidate
The ideal CSO candidate brings a genuine passion for GSCNC’s mission and knows development and philanthropy deeply—but is not defined by fundraising alone. This is a skilled executive who sees the whole enterprise, positions the organization for every audience it serves, and will fulfill the strategic plan while transforming the functions they lead. The successful candidate will be a seasoned executive—typically with ten/#? or more years of progressive leadership, including significant experience directing multiple functions through senior staff in an organization of comparable or greater complexity.
The ideal candidate is:
- Big-Picture Strategist: Sees the whole organization and how it is positioned for its audiences, with proven ability to take an established strategic plan and deliver measurable outcomes and long-term growth.
- Campaign and Pipeline Builder: Knows individual giving from the grassroots up through major gifts, with demonstrated success cultivating six- and seven-figure gifts and building donor pipelines where none existed.
- More Than a Fundraiser: Builds relationships whose value extends beyond giving—turning donors into advocates and cultivating connections across volunteers, families, corporate sponsors, foundations, government, and community leaders.
- Leader of Leaders: A coach and developer of senior talent who leads through their directors, instilling best practices and a culture of continuous quality improvement that elevates good teams to great.
- Brand and Communications Strategist: Skilled at growing visibility and public perception through data-driven, broad-based marketing and disciplined brand stewardship.
- Results- and Impact-Driven: Strong focus on metrics, accountability, and evidence of impact, with the ability to inspire others to meet ambitious goals.
- Mission-Aligned Leader: Deep belief in and passion for the Girl Scout mission, with a track record of empowering youth, centering equity, and engaging community.
Personal Characteristics
The CSO of GSCNC believes in the value of Girl Scouts and the transformative power of these experiences. GSCNC is seeking a leader who is deeply committed to the ideals and mission of Girl Scouts and will demonstrate the following qualities:
- Strategic: Keeps the long view while driving near-term results, connecting daily execution to the 2030 vision.
- Collaborative: A natural bridge-builder who works across departments and makes shared success the expectation.
- Quality-driven: Relentless about continuous improvement—never satisfied with “good enough,” always raising the standard of the work.
- Innovative: A creative problem solver who is resourceful and encourages new ideas and emerging approaches.
- Flexible: Embraces change, using “and” more than “or.”
- Attuned: Finely attuned to what is happening at the ground level—among Girl Scouts, volunteers, staff, and donors—and uses that awareness to shape the big picture of the organization.
- Inclusive: Treats every person with dignity and respect—a truly inclusive leader who champions belonging in all aspects of the council’s culture and external presence.
- Resilient: Recovers from setbacks and brings adaptability to complex issues.
- Effective Communicator: Listens intently and clearly conveys expectations, priorities, and results.
The Salary
The position is full-time with a competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, generous paid time off, and a retirement plan. The expected compensation for the CSO position starts at $200,000.
The Location
GSCNC is headquartered in N.W. Washington, DC, at 4301 Connecticut Avenue (at Girl Scouts’ Way), with Satellite Offices and camp properties located throughout the GSCNC footprint.
