President And Ceo Jobs

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) has partnered with Isaacson, Miller to recruit a new President & CEO to succeed founder Melissa Berman.
Please apply directly through Isaacson, Miller.

President and CEO
New York, New York
Our mission is to accelerate philanthropy in pursuit of a just world by providing
deep global expertise to make philanthropy more thoughtful, equitable, and effective.
THE SEARCH
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors [RPA], one of the world’s leading nonprofit philanthropic service organizations, seeks a President and Chief Executive Officer [CEO]. Dedicated to accelerating philanthropy in pursuit of a just world, RPA builds upon the longstanding charitable legacy of the Rockefeller family. Today, the organization advises on and manages more than $500 million in annual global giving by individuals, families, corporations, and foundations. RPA develops strategic plans, conducts research, manages foundations and trusts, structures major gifts, coordinates donor collaboratives, and provides regranting and sponsorship services. It also serves as a thought leader and innovator as it courageously works to reflect and advance values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) throughout the philanthropic sector.
The President and CEO reports to a 19-member Board of Directors and leads a core team of 110 employees as well as more than 526 colleagues who work under RPA’s fiscal sponsorship worldwide. With a FY2023 operating budget of $33 million, RPA is a social enterprise funded through fee-for-service contracts and philanthropic gifts and grants for the programs it operates.
This is a rare opportunity to lead an institution with a remarkable history, a multi-country presence, and the commitment to achieve an ever-greater level of influence and impact. The CEO will be a person of exceptional vision and judgement; a proven leader who is able to inspire and mobilize a diverse network of stakeholders. As a key spokesperson for thoughtful, values-driven philanthropy, and for the importance of its commitment to equity and justice, the CEO will have an important platform from which to influence the field globally and enhance public understanding and support.
RPA welcomes candidates from a range of backgrounds who bring executive leadership experience, a keen understanding of philanthropic structures and approaches, and a demonstrated commitment to the RPA mission. Breadth of experience across a range of issue areas is preferred over a narrow focus within one professional arena.
A six-member board search committee has been established to conduct this search. The committee is assisted by Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm. All inquiries, nominations, and applications should be directed in strict confidence to the search firm as indicated at the end of this document.
BACKGROUND
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors [RPA] was founded in 2002 as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It grew out of a centuries-long tradition of philanthropy within the family of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. In the early 20th century, under the leadership of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a philanthropy arm was added to the family office, eventually comprising experts in tax, investing, legal issues, and philanthropic programming. Over time, a formal Charitable Gift Fund was established, and the office expanded its services beyond the Rockefeller family itself to begin to advise other families and individuals in their wealth management and charitable giving activities. Following the appointment of Melissa Berman in 2001, the ten-person philanthropy team spun off from the family office, and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors was created.
RPA’s initial operating model was to provide fee-based professional services to philanthropists, including individuals, families, foundations, and corporations. Its mission statement focused on advancing “thoughtful, effective philanthropy,” and its approach reflected the Rockefeller family’s tradition of taking a long-term global perspective, respecting the non-profit sector, and committing to good governance. For more than a decade, RPA remained a boutique provider of personalized services, principally focused on its advisory role where it became widely respected for the depth and breadth of its expertise across diverse issue areas.
A major publication grant from the Gates Foundation in 2009 launched RPA’s “Philanthropy Roadmap” series of donor guides and helped to establish what soon became a robust research, publication, and thought leadership presence. In turn, this work has served as a driver of repeat business for RPA.
Beginning around 2010, RPA’s fiscal sponsorship services, long a small part of its offerings, began to expand rapidly at a pace that continues to the present and undergirds its financial strength. The organization’s consistent record of high integrity and professionalism in its advisory services reinforced donor confidence that their projects, initiatives, and donor collaboratives would be especially well stewarded by RPA.
By 2012, RPA also had begun to operate more globally, and that work has accelerated over the subsequent decade. While the organization had always supported U.S. donors in their international grantmaking—a hallmark of the Rockefeller family’s own philanthropy—it is increasingly advising philanthropies, collaborating with partner organizations, and sponsoring projects in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
A major unrestricted gift to RPA in 2021 from MacKenzie Scott, coupled with RPA’s strong operating reserves, has recently enabled the organization to create an exciting opportunity fund to invest in innovative mission-related initiatives without the need to fund them externally. The gift also provides flexible resources for RPA to invest in critical infrastructure improvements in support of its remarkable growth trajectory.
RPA TODAY
Today, RPA is one of the world’s most highly respected philanthropic service organizations, serving an array of clients and partners. Its 110 core employees are in offices in New York, Chicago, Lagos, and San Francisco, as well as working remotely from locations around the world. The organization currently manages more than $500 million in philanthropic investments annually and since its inception has facilitated over $3 billion in grantmaking in more than 70 countries.
Over the last five years, RPA has experienced a period of profound growth driven largely by its sponsored services practice, which currently provides governance, management, and operational infrastructure to more than 120 fiscally sponsored projects in 35 countries. The number of RPA “life of project” colleagues within sponsored projects has nearly quadrupled since 2018, growing from 160 to 526, with 160 of these colleagues based outside the U.S. Core staff in sponsored services are organized around key issue areas.
RPA’s advisory services team of 23 currently serves approximately 75 clients, in addition to those donors who participate through the Charitable Gift Fund.
Mission and Values
In 2023, RPA unveiled a bold new mission statement: to accelerate philanthropy in pursuit of a just world by providing deep global expertise to make philanthropy more thoughtful, equitable and effective.
The “pursuit of a just world” is consistent with the longstanding goals and values of RPA and of the Rockefeller family. A statement on diversity, equity, and inclusion makes this intention explicit and is meant to guide RPA’s future activities. The mission is also grounded in the following principles:

• We are committed to learning and sharing knowledge.
• We believe that philanthropy can help create a better world.
• We make decisions that center people and communities.
• We uphold the highest standard of integrity and trust.
• We believe philanthropy has a responsibility to pursue equity.

Strategic Plan
RPA’s new mission statement grew out of an 18-month strategic planning process undertaken in 2021-2022, which was extended to incorporate opportunities provided by the MacKenzie Scott gift. The result was a new five-year strategic plan, which reflects the views of employees and stakeholders throughout the organization. The plan is designed to respond to and leverage RPA’s recent growth, and to guide the organization into and through its next chapter. It prioritizes augmenting RPA’s systems and internal capacities, enabling a broader range of services that include a focus on racial, economic, and climate justice; impact investing; next generation philanthropic engagement; and the growth of global philanthropic capacity. To achieve these aims, the plan has identified a set of key goals:

• Heighten investments in a more supportive, equitable, and thriving organizational culture, with strong operational excellence and a commitment to learning.
• Ensure that RPA has the financial capacity to achieve its goals and advance its mission through growth aligned with capacity, strong reserves, and effective use of the Accelerating Philanthropy Fund.
• Ensure that RPA’s board members are accountable, effective fiduciaries and partners in supporting RPA’s mission.
• Additional information on RPA’s current programming, governance, organization, and finance may be found in the addendum to this document and at www.rockpa.org.
• Deepen integration across RPA’s service lines, creating and leveraging existing tools, resources, and knowledge to help the philanthropic community be more intentional and strategic.
• Develop RPA’s talent, strengthen organizational capabilities, and foster an inclusive culture.

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION
Melissa Berman has led RPA since its founding in 2002. She has been an exceptional thought leader in philanthropy, and has consistently played a pivotal role in generating revenues and pursuing innovative avenues to advance RPA’s mission. After two decades, Berman leaves RPA as a strong and influential institution, well positioned for further evolution and growth.
RPA’s next CEO will take office at a pivotal moment. Profound and interrelated global issues such as climate chaos, ever-widening economic gaps worldwide, gender and racial injustice and related health inequity, the vastly expanding impact of technology, ramifications of the pandemic, and a host of other forces propel urgency and opportunity for action.
The field of philanthropy itself is also at an important inflection point. The origins and ethics of wealth accumulation and the tax policies that have long fueled the sector are subjects of complex debate. New models and approaches are emerging as a result of generational shifts in wealth and governance, new mega-donors, innovative social entrepreneurs, evolving impact investment strategies, threats to democracy, trends in community organizing and movement building, and many other often unpredictable factors.
These dynamics contribute to what is a particularly exciting opportunity and challenge for RPA’s next leader. With its vibrant and ambitious new mission and values statement, its excellent reputation, and its solid financial footing, RPA is poised for enhanced sector leadership in the years ahead.
PRESIDENT AND CEO – Opportunities and Challenges
The President & CEO reports to RPA’s Board of Directors and to its Chair, Valerie Rockefeller, and serves as a voting member of that board. The CEO is the principal spokesperson for RPA and is expected to serve as an innovative thought leader, helping to shape the field of philanthropy and promote its high standards of integrity and accountability. Internally, the CEO must ensure that RPA lives up to its values, that it is well managed, and that it is fiscally and administratively strong.
The key opportunities and challenges ahead for the new CEO, working in close partnership with diverse RPA stakeholders, are as follows:
Solidify and evolve RPA’s strategic direction in light of its new mission.
The 2023-2027 strategic plan was completed in summer 2022 and a detailed implementation process for year one is underway. It is expected that RPA’s next CEO will put their own stamp on the work, embracing flexibility as new opportunities come to light and as the philanthropic and competitive landscapes continue to evolve.
Guide important transformations inspired by commitments to justice and equity.
Implicit in RPA’s new justice-centered mission statement is an important acknowledgement that a just world does not currently exist. A core question for RPA moving forward is, “how do we realize our new mission to accelerate philanthropy in pursuit of a just world?” This question and the pursuit of its answer should be a north star for the next CEO.
Effectively and thoughtfully manage RPA’s growth and reinforce its global identity.
The organization’s rapid growth in recent years has been driven by its sponsored projects, which are increasingly popular tools both for funder collaboratives and for testing innovative programs. At the same time, RPA’s interest in and capacity to deliver international work and serve global clients has also expanded dramatically. With its strong finances and a powerful rearticulated mission, the organization expects to be ever more intentional in planning for growth and global expansion. The CEO will work with colleagues to address the following questions:

• What is the right pace and focus of growth for RPA so that it is sustainable and has the greatest measurable impact?
• What distinguishes RPA from other philanthropic service providers and how might that be enhanced?
• What will it mean for RPA to be a global organization in its next era?
• How best can RPA catalyze the wide-ranging philanthropy community around values of justice and equity?

Drive integration across RPA service lines and ensure that RPA systems and policies meet organizational needs.
RPA’s full suite of services is unusual for an advisory organization, especially given the stellar quality of its offerings. RPA’s services have traditionally operated independently, and the new strategic plan highlights the need to deepen integration so that the organization as a whole can become far greater than the sum of its parts. How best to advance “One RPA,” where advisory, sponsored programs, and thought leadership services are optimally aligned and mutually reinforcing, will be an essential piece of work for the next CEO. As RPA continues to grow, it will be important to balance essential standardization and risk management with the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that has been so fundamental to the organization’s culture and success.
Oversee revenue generation, fiscal stewardship, and operational management.
RPA’s next CEO has overarching responsibility for the organization’s financial stability and sustainability. Unlike the sector it serves, RPA is not funded by a permanent endowment; it must continue to generate business and bring in clients. The CEO plays a key role in revenue generation through serving as a spokesperson in general and as a salesperson directly.
In addition to revenue generation, the next CEO supports the financial team and the board audit and finance committees in monitoring the balance sheet and ensuring continued strong fiscal oversight.
Given the number of philanthropic relationships and individual projects that RPA oversees all around the world, and its hundreds of employees within those projects, the complexity of organizational administration, compliance, risk management, human resources, and quality assurance is considerable. In partnership with RPA’s strong executive team, the CEO will reinforce and propel organizational excellence.
Inspire the full range of RPA stakeholders.
RPA’s CEO must stimulate trust and confidence among myriad stakeholders. These range from RPA employees and colleagues across roles and cultures, clients, and partners worldwide; the RPA governing board; colleagues in other Rockefeller family organizations; and policy makers and media focused on the philanthropic sector.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
For this pivotal role, RPA seeks an experienced, trusted leader and spokesperson who is passionate about RPA’s mission, committed to its longstanding standards of excellence, and farsighted about its future potential.
To be a highly credible representative of the field and of RPA to multi-sector and multi-cultural audiences, the President and CEO must be knowledgeable about philanthropy in its many current forms and approaches. Experience and active networks in philanthropy and non-profit communities is strongly preferred.
RPA is open to candidates from a range of backgrounds, preferably with experience spanning fields, geographies, and roles. International experience, including having lived and worked in cultures other than one’s own, is preferred, and experienced candidates from any part of the world are welcome to apply.
The professional qualifications and personal attributes of a successful candidate will include:

• Public presence. Exceptional communication skills and the ability to relate across sectors, disciplines, and cultures. Sophisticated understanding of the role of media and social communications in driving change.
• Leadership experience within a multi-faceted, sizable institution, preferably one that operates across diverse geographies and cultures.
• Excellent strategic and intellectual abilities, and a reputation for rigor. Willingness to challenge conventional thinking, take calculated risks, and venture into controversial issues with care.
• Keen diplomatic instincts and collaborative skills. Experience leading or contributing to productive strategic partnerships.
• Exceptional management and team-building skills, including the ability to recruit, inspire, and retain a strong staff, set clear priorities, hold people accountable, and delegate effectively.
• Proven business acumen. Discipline and focus in running a fiscally sound and sustainable enterprise. Comfort with technology and the expanding use of digital platforms.
• An outgoing and optimistic personality. Outstanding interpersonal skills to work well with the full range of stakeholders. Tenacity, high energy, flexibility, patience, and good humor.
• Informed passion and sense of urgency for the mission, values, and legacy of RPA.
• Experience setting and implementing strategy, managing institutional growth and change, and effectively overseeing talented professionals.
• The highest level of personal and professional integrity, and demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

LOCATION & COMPENSATION
Given its history and structure, RPA strongly prefers that its CEO is based at its New York headquarters. At a minimum, the CEO will be expected to spend the equivalent of two weeks each month on-site in the New York office. In addition, the position calls for frequent travel, including internationally, approximately 20%-30% of the time.
The starting salary for this role will be in the range of $528,000-$750,000, plus benefits and potential incentive compensation.
INQUIRIES, NOMINATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS
Inquiries, nominations/referrals, and confidential applications (including resumes and 1-3-page letters of interest) should be sent electronically to the following:
Karen Wilcox, Ernest Brooks, Chloë Kanas, and Brinkley Serkedakis
Isaacson, Miller
via this IM link
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors celebrates the uniqueness of our staff, our partners, and the communities we serve. We are committed to inclusion with the goal of cultivating a culture of belonging and acceptance. We strive to embed this value in our philanthropic work to advance a more just, equitable and sustainable world. RPA is an equal opportunity employer.
ADDENDUM
RPA Key Offerings
Through a breadth of service offerings, RPA works with a variety of stakeholders in the philanthropic space, including individuals, families, corporations, foundations, and collaborative donor entities. It also operates a Charitable Gift Fund—its in-house donor-advised fund (DAF)—through which clients can make gifts outside the U.S, participate in funding consortia, and operate nonprofit initiatives.
RPA has long prided itself on its ability to provide tailored, personalized services to its philanthropic clients, a thread woven throughout each of its service lines, as outlined below:
Strategy and Consulting
PA’s advisory practice, the original cornerstone of its work, is designed to help philanthropists develop charitable giving strategies that are both powerful and pragmatic. RPA facilitates strategic planning efforts that help its clients chart individualized paths forward in the philanthropic sector. To inform clients’ giving strategies, RPA also conducts and creates sector scans, benchmarking reports, and subject-specific white papers, while also providing ongoing, practical guidance related to its clients’ charitable giving activities.
Management and Implementation
The RPA team harnesses deep combined expertise in the grant making space to help philanthropists manage all aspects of foundation, trust, or other giving programs, including coordination with financial, tax, and legal advisors, board and administrative management, and grantee recommendations. RPA currently provides comprehensive management services for 12 private foundations, with funding areas spanning human rights, environment, global development, education, and health.
Sponsored Projects
RPA’s sponsored projects services support the development of innovative, high-impact global projects for funders that include foundations, major corporations, government agencies, and collaborations of donors who pool their resources. Harnessing its own 501(c)(3) status, RPA serves as the fiscal sponsor for a variety of charitable initiatives, providing projects with an immediate mechanism for receiving contributions and disbursing grants and expenses. The organization also provides an administrative and programmatic platform to assist in the management of large, sponsored projects, both domestically and internationally.
Thought Leadership
RPA values its role as a thought leader and works to drive innovation and spur best practices in the philanthropic sector. On an ongoing basis, RPA produces educational and research-based materials, which include The Philanthropy Roadmap series of guides on strategic philanthropy, to an emerging body of work on the Theory of the Foundation.
Impact Investing
Embracing an expansive definition of philanthropy, RPA has been an active participant in the impact investing field. In addition to publishing a recent Impact Investing Handbook, RPA has incubated the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), Confluence Philanthropy, and the U.S. National Advisory Board on Impact Investing. Currently, the Catalyst Fund (supporting developing world fintech entrepreneurs) and Upstart Co-Lab are among the impact investing-related projects RPA sponsors. Importantly, RPA also works directly with funders to help them shape strategy and plans for their own impact investing.
Governance, Organization, and Finance
RPA is governed by a 19-member Board of Directors comprising seven Rockefeller family members and 12 non-family members. The Board is currently chaired by Valerie Rockefeller and includes leading thinkers and executives in philanthropy and social innovation. The Board convenes three times per year. Standing Board committees include audit, executive, finance, and nominating. Members serve up to three consecutive three-year terms.
RPA is led by a six-person executive team under the CEO. The team includes the senior vice president and chief operating officer; chief human resources officer and senior vice president of people & culture; senior vice president, advisory services; senior vice president, sponsored project & funds; senior vice president and corporate secretary, and general counsel. 110 core RPA employees are joined by 526 professionals who staff the sponsored projects worldwide that operate under RPA’s fiscal sponsorship.
Currently, RPA employees and staff within the sponsored projects are based in 35 countries, and 366 work from locations across the U.S.
In FY2022, RPA’s revenue totaled $29M and its administrative expenses totaled $26.5M. Revenues for FY2023 are forecast at $33.5M and the growth is projected to continue in 2024 to approximately $35.6M.
Please apply directly through Isaacson, Miller.