ABOUT CRADLES TO CRAYONS:
Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive - at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.
Two in 5 kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top 10 reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity - just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet. Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally, through Giving Factory Direct - a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.
Cradles to Crayons takes a three-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:
- In-person Engagement - through tens of thousands of children and adults volunteering at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.
- Online Product Donations - Giving Factory Direct matches product donors directly to children who need the items they have to donate. GFD is currently available in a growing number of communities as we expand our reach nationally.
- Advocacy and Awareness - Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.
Cradles to Crayons has earned the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. Only 2% of charities nationwide have received this distinction. C2C has a budget of $19.4M for FY25.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
The Chief of Staff provides important operational, administrative and project management support to the CEO. Acting as an advisor and operational partner, the Chief of Staff will enhance the CEO’s effectiveness by prioritizing strategic initiatives, managing critical projects, and ensuring alignment across the Senior Leadership Team. This individual will be service-oriented, serving as a trusted liaison between internal and external stakeholders, overseeing key aspects of the CEO’s day-to-day activities while driving organizational goals forward with precision and strategic foresight. The role requires a high level of professionalism, excellent communication and organizational skills, and an unwavering commitment to Cradles to Crayons' mission.
MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Act as the primary support to the CEO, ensuring alignment across the organization of all current and emerging priorities, and moving forward key initiatives and strategic decisions.
- Oversee and optimize the CEO’s calendar, ensuring the CEO’s focus on high-priority and high-impact activities. Address scheduling conflicts and communicate with internal and external stakeholders on behalf of the CEO.
- Manage and drive key strategic projects and initiatives on behalf of the CEO and Senior Leadership Team. Take ownership and effectively execute special projects and initiatives.
- Lead all aspects of Board management, including governance processes, partnering with senior leaders to prepare content, materials and agendas, managing meeting logistics, and recording meeting minutes.
- Manage internal and external communications for the CEO, including emails, reports, presentations, and public-facing materials. Partner regularly with the External Affairs team to ensure messaging is aligned with organizational values and strategic priorities.
- Foster strong relationships with the Senior Leadership Team to maintain an organization-wide view of strategic work. Collaborate to prepare weekly leadership meeting agendas, slide decks and distribute pre-reads. Act as a liaison to enhance coordination and communication across teams.
- Oversee the planning, execution, and coordination of major organizational events, including national team and all-staff meetings, retreats, fundraising events, and strategic leadership gatherings.
- Support the CEO with administrative tasks, including but not limited to expense reporting and booking travel.
- Handle sensitive information with the utmost confidentiality and professionalism, ensuring that critical organizational data is protected.
- Other duties as assigned
REQUIRED EXPERIENCE/KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES:
- Bachelor’s degree required; 7+ years of professional experience with 3+ years of experience in executive support or strategic operations, preferably within a mission-driven organization.
- Proven experience managing executive-level operations, highly visible projects and cross-functional collaboration.
- Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to effectively interact with stakeholders at all levels, including board members, donors, and executive leadership.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, and strong presentation skills.
- Unparalleled organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple high-priority projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Ability to work autonomously and collaboratively within a high-performing, goal-driven organization.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
The estimated salary for this position is $105,000-$110,000 annually. The compensation offered to the successful candidate may vary from the posted range based on geographic location, work experience, education, and/or skill level, among other things.
This is a benefits-eligible position. Cradles to Crayons benefits include, but are not limited to:
- Health benefits including medical, dental, vision and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement.
- Employer-sponsored short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance
- Retirement plan matching
- Paid time off, including Summer Fridays and Winter Closure
- Annual professional development stipend
DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH:
Diversity and Inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we continuously strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is the policy of Cradles to Crayons to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Individuals from underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
This is an office/work from home virtual environment with occasional visits to C2C Giving Factories. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.
ACCOMMODATION:
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is possible that requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made by Cradles to Crayons which may pose serious health or safety risks to the employee or others, or which impose undue hardships on the organization.
TO APPLY: Please send a cover letter and resume with relevant experience to https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/
