Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer

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 CEO Kim R. Ford, GSCNC is building a dynamic Executive Leadership Team and advancing its bold FY2026–FY2030 strategic plan, “(S)heroes of the Movement.”

GSCNC seeks a Chief Strategy and External Affairs Officer (CSO) to turn that vision into results. Reporting to the CEO and serving on the executive leadership team, the CSO will oversee philanthropy, marketing and communications, strategic initiatives, and impact—integrating fundraising, external engagement, and enterprise strategy. This is an ideal opportunity for a leader of leaders with broad executive range who can elevate teams, strengthen GSCNC’s visibility and relationships, and build an enduring base of support for Girl Scouting.

The Organization

Formed in 1963 from five area councils, GSCNC today serves 45,000 Girl Scouts and engages more than 31,000 volunteers across 25 counties in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The council 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, net assets of $57 million, and 125 full-time employees. Through The Promise Fund, the council provides $300,000 to more than $900,000 annually in financial support to ensure every Girl Scout can participate in programming without limitation.

The Strategic Plan: (S)heroes of the Movement

GSCNC’s FY26–FY30 strategic plan is grounded in its mission to build youth of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Its vision is to transform GSCNC into a council that sets the standard for the Movement, demonstrating that Girl Scouting continues to be thriving, evolving, and essential. The plan advances three priorities:

• Elevate the Girl Scout experience—making it relevant for today’s youth, strengthening engagement through middle and high school, and ensuring equitable access to high-quality programming across urban, suburban, and rural communities.
• Position Girl Scouts as a lifelong leadership pipeline and sisterhood network—connecting members across generations, expanding the volunteer pipeline, and engaging women executives as advocates in the business community.
• Future-proof the organization through data-driven strategies, diversified revenue, investments in people and culture, and a modernized brand that positions GSCNC as a nonprofit-of-choice for transformational youth development.

The strategy is fully formed and embraced across the organization. The CSO’s mandate is not to reinvent it, but to lead its execution with discipline, creativity, and accountability.

The Mandate

The CSO will guide GSCNC’s long-term vision and sustainability by bringing strategy, philanthropy, marketing and communications, external relations, and impact together as an integrated enterprise. The opportunity is to break down historic silos, elevate well-structured teams, strengthen best practices, and create capacity for long-term strategic initiatives and community engagement.

The CSO’s priorities include:

Strategic Plan Leadership

• Serve as executive steward of “(S)heroes of the Movement,” translating priorities into actionable roadmaps, milestones, and measures of success.
• Ensure cohesion between outward-facing activities and internal goals, aligning external relations, partnerships, and donor engagement with growth and sustainability.
• Inspire entrepreneurial thinking, collaboration, and diverse perspectives across departments.

Philanthropy: Building the Pipeline, Elevating the Practice

• Grow and diversify the donor pool. Philanthropy currently represents approximately 12% of revenue; success will include acquiring and retaining more donors and building a broader, more resilient base of support.
• Design and lead an engagement and individual giving strategy that builds the donor pipeline from grassroots giving through leadership and major gifts, including cultivation of six- and seven-figure gifts.
• Turn donors into long-term ambassadors whose engagement extends to advocacy, volunteerism, and lifelong connection to Girl Scouting.
• Strengthen prospect management, cultivation, stewardship, and data-driven donor engagement while expanding revenue through 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, performance discipline, data, and analytics to marketing and communications across digital, print, and social platforms.
• Lead signature efforts such as “Once a Girl Scout, Always a Girl Scout,” with the opportunity to reactivate and engage more than 1 million Girl Scout alums in the region, while overseeing crisis communications and brand reputation.

Long-Term Strategic Initiatives and Community Engagement

• Lead long-horizon initiatives that advance the council’s vision through 2030 and beyond.
• Build strategic relationships across the District of Columbia and 25 counties served, developing culturally competent engagement strategies for diverse communities.
• Cultivate corporate, foundation, and government partnerships that increase support and advance mission-based initiatives.

Impact Measurement and Learning

• Lead the Impact Director in measuring, assessing, and strengthening the council’s impact and clearly communicating outcomes.
• Establish budgets, key performance indicators, and reporting that drive accountability, using evidence of impact to strengthen the case for support with funders, partners, and prospective donors.

The Candidate

The ideal CSO brings a genuine passion for GSCNC’s mission and deep knowledge of development and philanthropy—but is not defined by fundraising alone. This is a seasoned executive who sees the whole enterprise, understands how the organization is positioned for its audiences, and can fulfill the strategic plan while transforming the functions they lead. The successful candidate will typically bring 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 across the enterprise and can translate an established strategic plan into measurable outcomes and long-term growth.
• Campaign and Pipeline Builder: Understands individual giving from grassroots through major gifts, with demonstrated success building donor pipelines and cultivating significant gifts.
• Relationship Builder: Creates connections whose value extends beyond giving, engaging donors, volunteers, families, corporate sponsors, foundations, government, and community leaders as advocates and partners.
• Leader of Leaders: Coaches and develops senior talent, leads effectively through directors, and builds a collaborative culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Brand and Communications Strategist: Understands how to strengthen visibility, public perception, and organizational reputation through disciplined, data-informed communications and brand stewardship.
• Results- and Impact-Driven: Uses metrics, evidence, and accountability to measure progress and inspire ambitious performance.
• Innovative and Adaptable: Brings creativity, resourcefulness, resilience, and an entrepreneurial mindset to changing and complex environments.
• Mission-Aligned and Inclusive: Believes deeply in the Girl Scout mission, listens closely to youth, volunteers, staff, and donors, and leads with dignity, respect, belonging, and effective communication.

The Relationships

The CSO reports to the Chief Executive Officer and works closely with other members of the Executive Leadership Team. The CSO directs a team of 20 through four direct reports:

• Director of Marketing & Communications
• Director of Philanthropy
• Director of Strategic Initiatives
• Director of Impact

The CSO also stewards relationships with alums, volunteers, donors, sponsors, and community and government partners.

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. Expected compensation 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 throughout the GSCNC footprint.