Engagement Manager | CNE Leadership and Advancement

Position Description

 

 

POSITION:                   Engagement Manager

 

TEAM:                         CNE Leadership and Advancement

 

HOURS:                       Monday-Thursday, 9am-5pm; Friday, 9am-4pm. Occasional work possible outside standard work hours, with flex time encouraged.

 

LOCATION:                  In-person based at CNE’s Charlottesville, VA office Monday-Thursday, with Friday remote.

 

SALARY:                      Full-time, salaried position with a starting salary of $60,500 and a robust benefits package (see below).

 

 

The Engagement Manager provides high-level strategic and operational support to the Executive Director and executive team, ensuring alignment between leadership priorities, organizational systems, and stakeholder engagement. This role manages executive workflows, strengthens governance and board relations, oversees advancement data and processes, and contributes to strategic initiatives that drive the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s mission forward. With strong judgment, excellent communication skills, and deep technical and relational capacity, the Engagement Manager acts as a trusted partner to leadership—balancing strategic foresight with hands-on execution.

 

 

 

Executive Support and Strategic Coordination (25%)

•  Manage the Executive Director’s schedule, priorities, and external relationships with a focus on strategic alignment.

• Serve as a thought partner, ensuring preparation for critical meetings and follow-through on organizational commitments.
• Coordinate cross-departmental initiatives and track progress on executive-level projects.

 

Advancement and Donor Stewardship (30%)

• Oversee donor engagement systems and ensure accurate, timely, and strategic data management.

• Manage acknowledgment processes, donor segmentation, and impact reporting.
• Partner with the Advancement team to craft communications, outreach, and stewardship strategies that strengthen donor relationships.
• Provide analysis of donor data to support executive decision-making

 

Governance and Board Relations (10%)

• Manage logistics for board and committee meetings, including scheduling, agenda development, board materials, and follow-up.
• Staff board committee meetings.
• Serve as staff liaison to the Executive Director and Board Chair, ensuring effective communication and governance practices.
• Support board member onboarding and engagement initiatives

 

Systems, Process, and Data Management (15%)

• Maintain and improve workflows, standard operating procedures, and shared systems for executive and advancement functions.
• Manage database integrity and reporting, ensuring leadership has accurate data for strategic decisions.
• Identify and implement improvements in digital tools, processes, and reporting systems.

 

Event and Project Leadership (20%)

• Lead planning, logistics, and execution for key events, convenings, and executive-level projects.
• Manage timelines, deliverables, and cross-team collaboration to ensure excellence in delivery.
• Represent the executive office with professionalism in external and internal engagements.

 

 

 

• Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in executive support, advancement, governance, or nonprofit management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage high-level projects, board relations, and donor engagement with discretion and judgment.
• Experience with donor management systems (such as Salesforce, Bloomerang, or Little Green Light) and comfort with data analysis and reporting.
• Strong organizational and time management skills with proven ability to balance multiple priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive correspondence, meeting materials, and stakeholder engagement.
• Technologically savvy; comfortable learning and optimizing digital tools and platforms.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
• Professionalism, discretion, and capacity to handle confidential information.

Preferred:

• Experience supporting a Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, or senior leadership team in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization.
• Knowledge of fundraising, governance best practices, and nonprofit operations.

 

 

Application deadline is October 20^th,2025.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates should complete our brief application form, including the names and contact information of three references. References will not be contacted without prior knowledge and approval. All applications shall be confidential until finalists are named.

 

 

This is a full-time, salaried position with a starting salary of $60,500, and CNE offers a robust employee benefits package, including 100% of employee health insurance coverage paid, the opportunity to participate in a 403(b) with employer match, and 160 hours of personal time off in the first year of employment plus approximately fourteen paid holidays.  This role includes opportunities for professional development and growth.

 

CNE 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.  This applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, leaves of absence, compensation, and professional training.

 

CNE is committed to building a team that values diverse perspectives, inclusive policies, and equitable practices.  Candidates of all races, ethnicities, nationalities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ages, and abilities are encouraged to apply.

 

 

Culture

As a learning lab for the nonprofit sector, we believe in a culture rooted in continuous learning and improvement. We operate in a fast-paced and customer-centered environment where the work can have a profound impact on our sector and the lives of the individuals we serve. We value the individuality of our staff and strive to bring our full selves to the work, while maintaining humor and perspective. We center relationship building across the organization and save space and time for socializing with staff, board, and other stakeholders.

 

Vision

Equitable, thriving, and just communities powered by healthy nonprofits.

 

Mission

We are a champion, learning partner, and advisor for Virginia nonprofits.

 

Values

Courage

We do and say the things that strengthen the social impact sector, even when they are hard, and we stand with those who bravely build community.

 

Equity

We commit to equitable outcomes at CNE, in the sector, and in the community and will realize them through learning, sharing, skill-building, and action.

 

Collaboration

We partner across sectors and geographies to achieve more together for the communities we serve than we can on our own.

 

Excellence

We are adaptable and forward-thinking, we act with humility, and we strive for learning and growth, not perfection.

 

Equity Commitment

The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) envisions a region where all community members have the opportunity to thrive – supported by a nonprofit sector that celebrates diversity, values inclusion, and centers equity across all aspects of our work. Making this vision a reality requires resilience and ongoing commitment within and beyond the nonprofit sector.

 

Together we must dismantle deeply-rooted and pervasive policies and systems of exclusion and oppression, which promote and perpetuate inequitable outcomes for many members of our communities. We also must understand existing systems of power and rebuild them to foster equitable decision making, while restructuring the distribution of access and resources to ensure fair and just outcomes.

 

To learn more about our equity commitment and read our full statement, please visit https://www.thecne.org/about/equity-commitment/

 

To learn more about our programs and services, please visit www.thecne.org.

 

 

 

Appendix A

 

Engagement Manager | CNE Leadership and Advancement

Key Competencies, CNE Talent Development Framework

 

Knowledge:

• Learns quickly and makes steady progress without the need for frequent significant feedback from more senior team members.
• Begins to build understanding of broader organizational context and goals.
• Understands CNE’s equity statement and CNE’s vision for and commitment to a region where all community members have the opportunity to thrive, supported by a nonprofit sector that celebrates diversity, values inclusion, and centers equity work across all aspects of our work.
• Displays clear willingness and commitment to ongoing learning about issues, ideas, concepts, and history related to systems and policies of exclusion, oppression, and racism that created inequities and to skills and practices of diversity, equity, and inclusion that will dismantle them.
• Understands and values racial equity as an organizational operating principle and an integral part of CNE’s approach inside and outside the organization, and is able to communicate why racial equity aligns with CNE’s mission. Understands the history of racial inequality in America, the idea of race as a social construct, the manifestations of personal, institutional and systemic racism, and the role of the invention of “race” in systemically isolating, separating, and disempowering groups of people.
• Focus on attaining expertise in one or more areas of their role.
• Rarely makes same mistake twice; learns and applies lessons from failure.

 

Delivery/Execution:

• Makes steady progress on tasks/projects; knows when to ask for help in order to get unblocked.
• Able to own small to medium tasks/projects from planning/development through completion.
• Capable of prioritizing and managing multiple tasks/projects simultaneously; avoids getting caught up in unimportant details.
• Capable of providing support for their function, including parts that they are not familiar with.
• Proactively builds relationships and delivers exceptional customer service, internally and externally.
• Applies a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens to inform discussion and decisions.

Communication & Leadership:

• Gives timely, helpful feedback to peers and managers.
• Communicates assumptions and gets clarification on tasks up front to minimize the need for rework.
• Understands how their work fits into the larger organization and identifies areas of concern and opportunity.
• Engages with curiosity, humility, and openness in discussions about race, diversity, equity, inclusion, oppression and power inside and outside CNE.
• Understands how the construct of race has impacted the distribution of power and the recognition of innovation, creativity, and voice throughout history; looks critically at existing power structures and is mindful of power dynamics in inter-personal and professional situations.