Board Relations Officer

April 2024 | Boston, MA
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Pine Street Inn seeks a Board Relations Officer to build, manage, and implement a robust and engaging Board Relations program.

About Pine Street Inn

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Pine Street Inn opened its doors in 1969. Over more than five decades, it has grown into New England’s largest nonprofit homeless services provider. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, Pine Street expanded from offering basic necessities—food, clothing, shelter, and health care—to offering programs that help guests take significant steps in their journey out of homelessness and regain some of what they have lost: relationships, life skills, employment, and housing. In the past ten years, Pine Street has significantly expanded its inventory of permanent supportive housing to provide lasting solutions to homelessness.  Pine Street is about to surpass the milestone of 1,000 units of housing, with more on the way.

Pine Street’s programs include:

• Permanent Supportive Housing – 960 individuals live in 38 residences and housing units throughout Greater Boston. The program for tenants follows a supportive housing model – permanent housing coupled with on-site support staff to help each individual regain their highest level of independence. Specialized housing is available for seniors, adults with mental health disabilities, and veterans. Pine Street currently has a housing retention rate of 96%.
• Emergency Shelter – Each night, Pine Street Inn operates four emergency shelters. Each offers a warm and safe bed, nutritious meals, and shower and locker facilities, as well as access to health care, substance use treatment and mental health support. Innovative new programs such as  Triage and Rapid Rehousing are creating new paths out of Pine Street’s shelters and into the stability of housing.
• Job Training – Pine Street provides job training in food services and housekeeping, providing individuals with the skills they need to find and retain jobs. Approximately 150 individuals participate in job training programs each year, which culminate in an annual “graduation” ceremony celebrating their accomplishments.
• Street Outreach – Pine Street’s day and night street outreach teams travel throughout Greater Boston to offer food, blankets, health care, access to shelter and a pathway to housing to 75+ unsheltered individuals. 

Today, Pine Street Inn supports more than 2,000 individuals a day. From emergency services, to needs assessment, counseling, and case management, to job training and placement in permanent housing, Pine Street Inn is providing short-term remedies and long-term solutions to end the experience of homelessness.

About Philanthropy at Pine Street Inn

Pine Street’s $98M annual operating budget is primarily funded through government grants and private philanthropy. Last year, Pine Street raised more than $23M, of which nearly $17M was in unrestricted operating support. Pine Street has a robust donor community of nearly 27,000 and a deep and active volunteer base.

Pine Street’s Advancement department is led by Chief Advancement Officer, Becky Crawford. The Board Relations Officer will join a team of nearly 30 across major and planned giving, institutional giving, annual giving, development services, event and volunteer engagement, and marketing and communications.

About the Position

At the strategic direction of the President and Chief Advancement Officer, the Board Relations Officer will build, manage, and implement a robust Board relations program that encompasses the Board recruitment and nomination processes, new Board member onboarding, Governance committee work, and overall engagement and stewardship of all prospective, current, and past Board members. In doing so, they will aim to enhance Board member experience and deepen their connection to Pine Street, while also ensuring that Pine Street fully leverages the expertise and connections of each member.

A highly visible and collaborative role, the Officer will directly interface with and support Board members. The Officer will be an essential convener of all internal partners – in Advancement, the President’s Office, and Pine Street’s executive leadership team – to create a strategic, comprehensive, and streamlined program.

Key Responsibilities

Board Engagement

• Enrich a Board engagement program – including social and service opportunities – to enhance Board member experience and satisfaction
• Develop a Board mentorship program with defined structure and guidelines, thoughtful assignments, and regular support
• Improve existing onboarding process with enhanced materials and programing and implement, with the support of the President’s Office
• Plan and manage logistics of annual Board reception

• Develop a system to report on member participation, engagement, and impact

Committee Management

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  Plan and support Governance Committee meetings, including agenda and presentation preparation, communications, logistics, and follow-up
• Support Governance Committee Chair and members in their work
• Work with institutional leadership and Governance Committee to set annual goals and share governance updates
• Manage calendar for governance
• Manage the Board candidate pipeline, through:
  • Understanding and tracking current assets and gaps on the Board to inform goals
  • Conducting annual Board demographic survey
  • Ensuring all Board candidates are cultivated and stewarded by colleagues in Advancement and/or other institutional leaders
• Oversee recruitment process from Board candidate identification through nomination
• Codify processes pertaining to identification, recruitment, nomination, and confirmation
• Manage renewal process and recognize outgoing members
• Develop and/or revise job descriptions for all Board members, officers, and committees
• Partner with Advancement leadership on the formation of the Advancement Committee
• Once established, plan and support Advancement Committee meetings, including agenda and presentation preparation, communications, logistics, and follow-up
• Support Advancement Committee Chair and members in their work

Board Support and Administration

• Support the Chief Advancement Officer in Board meeting preparation, including development of the Advancement Board Report
• Comprehensively track Board committee assignments and terms
• Provide administrative support to execute program strategy and plan
• Liaise with the Presidents office in the coordination and management of Board activities
• Collaborate and communicate with members of the Advancement leadership team
• Special projects, as needed

Key Qualifications

The successful candidate will be a strategic and creative development professional who can advance Pine Street’s vision for philanthropy. The Board Relations Officer will have an appreciation for diverse perspectives and will possess outstanding interpersonal competencies, the ability to effectively engage donors and volunteers, and a deep commitment to instilling best practices that reflect Pine Street’s values.

• 5-7 years of progressively responsible experience in a successful individual giving program or a relevant field  
• Experience with managing and engaging Board level volunteers, including volunteer committees
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, presentation skills, and analytical skills
• Commitment to the mission of Pine Street Inn
• Self-motivated and entrepreneurial approach to work
• Strong commitment to working in a collaborative environment
• A metrics-driven mindset that informs strategy
• Strong attention to detail
• Thorough, organized, strategic, and creative approach to volunteer management

• Flexibility, tenacity, sense of humor, a team player
• Proficiency in Raiser’s Edge and Microsoft Office
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Some weekend, evening, and holidays required

All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

All Pine Street Inn employees must comply with Pine Street Inn’s occupational health policy.

The starting salary for this role is $125,000. Final offers for this position will be based upon several factors including the position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, which includes regular on-site work and local travel.

If you are interested in being considered for this search, please use the form below to submit your cover letter and resume in confidence.

Tara DiDomenico

Development Guild DDI