Role Overview
The Children’s Foundation of Michigan seeks an Executive Operations & Development Coordinator to optimize the CEO’s time and external impact. This role treats the CEO’s calendar as a strategic asset, and strengthens execution discipline around CEO-related donor and external engagements.
In year one, the role will focus heavily on high-quality executive operations, including calendar management and core administrative support. Over time, as trust and institutional knowledge deepen, the role has the potential to expand to collaborate with the Development and Marketing teams based on performance and demonstrated judgment. This position is designed for a high-capacity professional seeking growth into more senior roles in development, strategy, or executive operations.
Reporting Structure
This role reports to the VP of Strategy & Operations and works in close partnership with the CEO to optimize executive effectiveness and fundraising impact. The position also collaborates closely with the VP of Development as well as the Development and Marketing teams to ensure disciplined execution of CEO-related donor engagement.
While the VP of Strategy & Operations provides direct supervision and coaching, the role maintains functional accountability to the CEO for calendar prioritization and executive support excellence.
Core Responsibilities
Strategic CEO Calendar & Time Management
• Responsible for booking and confirming meetings, travel, reservations, and other events
• Translate organizational, development, and marketing priorities into calendar decisions that maximize CEO impact
• Prioritize donor engagement and external relationship-building
• Conduct quarterly calendar reviews aligned to strategic goals
• Reduce low-value internal meetings through disciplined filtering and sequencing
In year one, this includes executing prioritization decisions made by the CEO and VP of Development, with increasing opportunity to recommend tradeoffs over time. Success in this area will be reflected in intentional sequencing of donor and external engagement and measurable reduction in low-value internal meeting load.
CEO & Development Execution Discipline
• Maintain a structured CEO donor follow-up tracker
• Monitor and support execution of next-step deadlines tied to CEO donor interactions
• Ensure timely CRM documentation of CEO meetings and touchpoints, with a goal of documenting all activity within 48 hours
• Coordinate and draft donor correspondence including follow-up emails, and thank-you notes
• Improve turnaround time on CEO-related development and marketing tasks
This role supports disciplined follow-through but does not own development strategy, portfolio design, or overall fundraising execution.
Executive Readiness & Meeting Preparation
• Prepare briefing materials for donor and high-priority meetings, leveraging our donor database to run reports and preparing other materials
• Document meeting outcomes and ensure clear follow-up alignment
• Coordinate closely with the VP of Development and Development Directors to translate cultivation plans into calendar execution
Core Executive Operations Support
• Manage scheduling logistics for the CEO (primary responsibility) and Executive Team as needed
• Coordinate travel and manage expense reporting and reimbursements for the CEO (primary responsibility) and Executive Team as needed
• Handle routine correspondence and confidential materials with discretion
• Other duties as assigned
Growth & Development
This role offers visibility into executive leadership and fundraising strategy. For a high-performing candidate, this role provides direct exposure to executive decision-making and fundraising execution, with potential pathways into other roles across development, strategy, or executive operations. Advancement is performance-based and grounded in demonstrated ownership, judgment, and impact.
Qualifications
• 3+ years of professional experience, ideally including direct support of senior executives and/or experience within nonprofit fundraising environments
• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities with sound judgment and discretion
• Strong written communication skills, including drafting professional correspondence for senior leaders
• High emotional intelligence and comfort engaging with internal and external stakeholders
• Familiarity with CRM systems and basic fundraising workflows preferred
• Exceptional organizational discipline and follow-through
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office Suite
Benefits
Salary Range: $65,000-$75,000
The Children’s Foundation of Michigan offers a robust benefits package including paid vacation and sick time, organizational holidays, and paid parental leave.
Frequently cited statistics show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many, but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, the Foundation encourages you to apply.
About the organization
The Children’s Foundation of Michigan is a grantmaking public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children in Michigan have equitable opportunities to lead healthy lives. With a rich philanthropic history spanning decades, the Foundation is now looking to launch an ambitious plan to take the organization to a new level of impact and scale over the next 10 years. This plan includes a 10-year financial outlook and sustainable revenue plan that will drive the organization’s growth and sustainability.
Since 2011, The Children’s Foundation has awarded more than $85 million in grants to support programs and initiatives aligned with its mission.
Mission
The Children’s Foundation of Michigan is a catalyst for change, partnering with the community to advance solutions and discoveries that improve the physical and mental health of children in Michigan.
Vision
The Children’s Foundation envisions a Michigan where all children have equitable opportunities to lead healthy lives.
Values
Children First: Intentionally works to advance solutions that will have the biggest impact on children’s health.
Advance Possibilities: Embraces a culture of continuous improvement and unbounded curiosity, challenging both ourselves and established processes to change for the better.
Collaboration: Prioritizes representation, participation, and information equity, achieving larger goals through unity and collaboration.
Relationship-focused: Strives to build and sustain meaningful relationships that extend beyond organizational boundaries to strengthen the broader ecosystem that supports young people.
Advocacy: Committed to understanding and addressing the needs of the community, leveraging our resources to create a significant and positive impact.
Trust: Committed to being a trusted organization, built upon credibility, reliability, intention, and accountability.
Intended Impact:
Over the next ten years, our efforts in Michigan will result in:
1 – Thriving community organizations and equitable systems that improve the lives of children.
2 – Innovative and collaborative solutions that advance the health of the whole child.
3 – Sustainable sources of capital that address the needs of children now and into the future.
To apply, please submit your resume and a short statement of interest to hr@yourchildrensfoundation.org
The Children’s Foundation of Michigan is proud of its diverse workplace and is an EEO employer. The Foundation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.