Chief Advancement Officer

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Touch Foundation in the search for a Chief Advancement Officer.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Chief Advancement Officer will set the vision and strategy for all communications and development activities, including setting and implementing a vision that will provide additional unrestricted contributions, initiate growth, and catalyze new channels of funding for Touch Foundation. The Chief Advancement Officer will work closely with the Development Committee to identify opportunities for growth and monitor performance, while building, strengthening, and managing the development and communications team in close collaboration with program staff and internal experts in institutional fundraising. The Chief Advancement Officer will systematize the development function and grow revenue, as well as have the opportunity to influence organizational strategy and culture. Location is flexible. Close proximity to the Touch Foundation office in NYC is strongly preferred, with an ability to spend some time each week in the NYC office. The Chief Advancement Officer will have regular domestic travel and occasional international travel requirements.

Touch Foundation is a non-governmental organization founded in 2004, that is working to save lives and relieve human suffering by strengthening health care services in sub-Saharan Africa, providing better access to care, and improving the quality of local health systems. In collaboration with funders, local partners, and governments, Touch designs programs and implements them at a small scale in the Lake Zone of Tanzania to test their potential impact. Successful solutions are then scaled up to a national level, setting the stage to ultimately adapt and replicate them in other countries facing similar challenges to achieve broader impact. 

Touch’s current programmatic priorities include both its program to ensure access to emergency transport and high-quality care for obstetric and neonatal emergencies, leading to a reduction in maternal and infant mortality, and the use of its innovative and data-driven solutions to optimize planning and decision-making around production, deployment, and retention of scarce health workers. Given the private sector background of its Board members and several members of its staff, Touch is also focused on developing market-based solutions for portions of the private sector in health to complement the role of the public health system in providing broader access to care to the population. To date, Touch has successfully implemented programs in Tanzania, Lesotho, Nigeria, Mozambique, and South Africa.

Touch’s budget is approximately $6 million and its funding comes from a variety of sources, including a cooperative agreement with USAID, large private foundations, and individual donors. Most of its people work overseas in Africa and other countries with the administrative and development functions centered in New York City. 

Touch Foundation values people of diverse races, gender identities, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, and geographic regions. It  recognizes the existing racial, social, and economic injustices resulting from a lack of access to effective health care throughout sub-Saharan Africa. It works in partnership with diverse stakeholders across the countries in which it operates to address these injustices by increasing access to effective health care.

A bachelor's degree is required for this position as is at least seven years of experience in fundraising and communications, with specific experience in collaborating with and supporting a Board of Directors. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Touch Foundation as well as the responsibilities and qualifications presented in the prospectus.