Description

JOB SUMMARY 

Hawaii’s nonprofit sector anchors communities across every island, employs tens of thousands of people, and delivers what government and business cannot do alone. The Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations (HANO) exists to unite and strengthen this vital sector. We’re seeking a full-time Vice President of Network Strategy to help us show up for Hawaii’s nonprofits in bigger ways.

This role leads strategy across three areas that are deeply connected: communications and impact storytelling, network and membership experience, and partner engagement. The ideal candidate is a strategic builder and gifted storyteller who can position HANO as the trusted, indispensable voice of Hawaii’s nonprofit sector, and who brings that same strategic positioning to membership growth, strategic partnerships, and revenue development for our organization.

This role reports directly to the President & CEO and joins HANO at an exciting moment of deliberate investment in data infrastructure, operational capacity, and impact innovation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Communications & Impact Storytelling

• Develop and drive a communications and brand strategy that positions HANO as the trusted voice of Hawaii’s nonprofit sector.
• Build HANO’s impact story in collaboration with program and data teams, translating outcomes into narratives that resonate with members, funders, policymakers, and the public.
• Market both HANO’s own impact and the broader contributions of Hawaii’s nonprofit sector to community life.
• Lead HANO’s communications strategy including digital content, newsletters, social media, press, annual report, and print materials, maintaining a consistent and authentic voice across every channel.
• Oversee HANO’s website as a current, useful window into HANO’s resources and offerings in a way that reflects the organization at its best.
• Develop communications systems and editorial workflows that allow HANO to publish consistently and with quality.

Network & Membership Experience

• Own and evolve HANO’s membership strategy, treating membership as both a sustainable revenue foundation and a community and network that nonprofits across Hawaii want to be part of.
• Design and continuously improve the member experience from first contact through long-term engagement, ensuring every touchpoint delivers real value.
• Refresh and strengthen HANO’s membership value proposition, identifying benefits and experiences that boost engagement and retention.
• Collaborate with HANO’s programs teams to create intentional pathways for members to connect with each other, with HANO’s resources, and with the broader civic and philanthropic community.
• Use member data and feedback to drive strategy, track engagement, and identify opportunities to deepen the network.
• Build and steward member benefit partner relationships, cultivating collaborations that strengthen what it means to be a HANO member.
• Coordinate with HANO’s programs team to integrate membership with learning and capacity-building opportunities.
• Ensure membership infrastructure and processes are efficient, well-documented, and built to scale.

Partner Engagement & Revenue Innovation

• Partner with the President & CEO in cultivating and stewarding foundation funder relationships, contributing narrative and positioning expertise to meaningful funder conversations and toward deeper philanthropic investment.
• Create funder-facing and partner-facing materials, including proposal summaries, sponsorship decks, and sector reports, that make a compelling case for investment.
• Identify and pursue business partnership opportunities that generate revenue and mutual value for HANO and its members.
• Lead HANO’s sponsorship strategy for events and programs, including cultivation, benefits fulfillment, and year-round stewardship.
• Maintain a pipeline of partnership and funding prospects, prioritizing based on mission alignment and organizational capacity.
• Explore innovative revenue opportunities, including social enterprise models, affinity programs, and sector-wide campaigns.

Senior Leadership

• Serve as a core member of HANO’s senior leadership team, contributing to organizational strategy, planning, and culture.
• Bring external perspective and community intelligence into internal conversations, keeping HANO attuned to shifts in philanthropy, sector conditions, and public discourse.
• Contribute to HANO’s thought leadership by participating in convenings, sector spaces, and community forums.
• Model a values-aligned, collaborative leadership approach that reflects HANO’s commitments to equity, community, and collective impact.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

• 7+ years of experience across communications, brand strategy, membership, partnerships, fundraising, or community building, ideally spanning more than one of these areas.
• Strong supervisory and team-building skills.
• Exceptional storytelling and writing/editing skills, with the ability to find the narrative in data and adapt voice and message for diverse audiences.
• Experience applying business and innovation thinking to mission-driven work, e.g., revenue modeling, market positioning, new program development, or organizational growth strategy.
• Experience working in or with the private sector, including an understanding of how businesses think about partnerships, investment, and return on value.
• A track record of building something from the ground up.
• Experience with website design, maintenance, and drafting digital content.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain relationships across sectors, including with funders, businesses, media, and community organizations.
• Comfortable working with imperfect information and able to tell a compelling story while data infrastructure is still being built.
• Experience developing strategic partnerships with a clear understanding of mutual value and long-term stewardship.
  Strong understanding of the nonprofit sector and genuine investment in its strength and sustainability.
• Ability to work at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Comfort with CRM platforms, engagement analytics, and data as tools for relationship strategy and decision-making.
• Aligns with HANO’s Values in Practice, which honor collaboration, healthy dialogue, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Deep commitment to Hawaii and to the mission of building a nonprofit sector that improves quality of life for everyone in our state.