Careers
For over 50 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee has served the youth in our community. Our team is made up of highly passionate and talented individuals who are driven by our mission to ignite the power and promise of youth in everything they do.
“Named in the top 50 for Best NonProfits To Work For, 2024” by The NonProfit Press and Best Companies Group.
Named in 2024 Leaders in Diversity honorees by the Nashville Business Journal
Named as an Inclusive Workplace by Best Companies Group and COLOR Magazine
Every Voice is Heard
We want people of all backgrounds to be represented and included in our work, so we actively seek to diversify our team. We are committed to building a culture where every voice is heard, differences are celebrated, and everyone has the opportunity to do meaningful work.
We make it a priority to invest in our staff by offering a competitive benefits package including:
- Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)- generous portion is paid by BBBSMT
- Domestic Partner Benefits
- Company Paid Life Insurance, Short and Long Term Disability
- Immediate enrollment in our 403B — We match 50% of what you contribute up to 6% of pay. Staff are vested after 12 months of employment
- Training & Development Programs
- Opportunities for advancement- we promote from within!
- 20 days of paid time off
- 16 paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Years
- Flexible work schedule
Become a defender of potential and join our team!
Chief Advancement Officer
About the Role
The Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) reports directly to the CEO and serves as a key member of the Big Tennessee Executive Leadership Team, leading the planning and implementation of a comprehensive marketing, volunteer and investment program to advance the organization’s mission and vision. The CAO oversees fundraising, business development, marketing and communications, and volunteer recruitment and engagement. The role of this dynamic and highly collaborative leader is critical to the organization’s ability to meet its strategic goals and priorities.
In partnership with the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors, this position is responsible for attracting philanthropic and volunteer support for programmatic and operational priorities, sustaining and forging new relationships to build BBBSMT’s visibility, impact, and resources.
Each employee at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee helps extend the agency’s mission in particular ways, as outlined in the position description. The essential functions of the position include but are not limited to the following:
Day to day:
Leadership and Management
- The Executive Team (ET) is the CAO’s first team. The CAO will relentlessly collaborate and partner with their ET colleagues to ensure that the organization’s collective goals and objectives are achieved.
- Mobilize the Advancement team by sharing ambitious, inspiring, and compelling approaches to greater organizational impact and sustainability by meeting or exceeding their goals.
- Foster a collaborative and results-oriented culture within the Executive and Advancement teams that embraces teamwork, transparency, seamless communication, continuous improvement, and mentorship.
- Through proactive and adaptable leadership, continuously evaluate progress toward established goals, shifting and evolving as needed to be successful
- Be responsible for hiring, onboarding, coaching, performance management, and talent development of direct reports, and support these leaders in doing the same for those who report to them.
- Promote ongoing learning and development across the department by identifying areas for growth and collaborating with the Vice President of Employee Experience to develop appropriate learning and development strategies.
- Through active listening and clear, respectful communication, demonstrate a commitment to working collectively to achieve results together.
Investment Strategy and Execution
- Lead the building, implementation, and adoption of systems and practices that support intra- and inter-departmental collaboration, integration, communication, and relationship building to meet/exceed annual fundraising goals.
- Develop and execute a comprehensive investment plan including major, annual, and planned giving.
- Lead stewardship strategies to maximize donor participation and long-term retention.
- Partner closely with the CEO, Chief Impact Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Vice President of Finance to strategically align impact models, services, and innovation opportunities with funding opportunities.
- Support the CEO and Board of Directors in cultivating and soliciting investment from individuals, corporations, foundations, and others.
- Instill a culture of philanthropy throughout BBBSMT, ensuring all staff members understand their role in the organization’s philanthropic success.
- Cultivate and steward critical relationships with corporate partners, foundation and individual investors, and other strategic revenue partnerships, to reach organizational growth and sustainability goals.
- Develop and manage the Advancement department budget, ensuring strategic investments and responsible fiscal controls and stewardship aremaintained.
- Monitor, analyze, and report out fundraising data and key performance indicators to assess progress toward fundraising goals.
Volunteer Recruitment and Engagement
- Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive volunteer recruitment and engagement program.
- Provide strategic thinking and leadership in visioning and growing the recruitment and engagement of volunteers.
- Demonstrate accountability for the organization’s volunteer recruitment performance by continually assessing progress toward recruitment goals and targets and proactively identifying and addressing challenges within the agency’s recruitment strategy and flow.
- Leverage external partnerships to expand new volunteer recruitment initiatives.
Communications and Marketing
- Represent BBBSMT in external-facing work with donors, partners, and other stakeholder communities and partner with the CEO and other organizational leaders to serve as a passionate advocate for BBBSMT’s mission.
- Guide vision and messaging for external communications, including public relations and marketing to increase knowledge and awareness of BBBSMT, its mission, activities, and the value of its work. To include website, investment proposals, paid advertising and all agency collateral.
- Create and execute strategy to leverage marketing as a tool in resource development: volunteers, revenue and relationships.
- Monitor, analyze, and report key performance metrics to assess the impact of communication and marketing efforts.
About You
This Job May Be For You…
The Chief Advancement Officer is a key member of our Executive Leadership Team who plays an integral role in the success of our agency. We are seeking an engaged leader who is:
- A critical thinker who can demonstrate complex problem-solving skills.
- Experienced and accomplished in fundraising and donor development best practices.
- A strong verbal and written communicator who can effectively engage and collaborate with a diverse group of individuals, both internal and external.
- Skilled in leading people and processes, including coaching and motivating teams to successfully reach and/or exceed goals.
- An excellent interpersonal communicator demonstrating energy, enthusiasm, and the ability to build long-term relationships and represent the organization to external audiences.
- Flexible, self-aware, culturally competent with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and demonstrates a high degree of professional integrity.
- Open to adapting and changing, bringing innovative ideas to help further the organization’s mission.
- Organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and outcomes.
Qualifications
- Passion for and understanding of the agency’s mission.
- A Bachelor’s degree is required, and training that would provide the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful performance of the essential job duties.
- At least 15 years of professional experience in development/marketing/sales/management; nonprofit preferred.
MentorCorps Fellow, Mentoring the Mentor
About the Role
Each employee at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee helps extend the agency’s mission in particular ways, as outlined in the position description. The essential functions of the position include but are not limited to the following:
As a youth-serving agency, we work at the request of the young people enrolled in our programs to find them the mentors that they want and need – mentors that can ignite their potential and have lived experiences that youth can identify with. To meet the needs of our clients – the youth we serve, we have launched a new initiative: The MentorCorps Fellowship. The MentorCorps Fellowship is a paid fellowship that seeks to expand the impact of mentorship by matching highly sought-after mentors with multiple youth in our programs while also completing a capacity-building project for our High School Bigs program that will allow our agency to better serve our participants in the future. This is an 18-month position (January 2025-July 2026). It follows a part-time schedule of up to 20 hours of work a week.
BBBSMT’s High School Bigs program matches local high school students as “Bigs” with an elementary school “Little.” The matches are supervised by BBBSMT staff and they meet on a weekly basis at the designated site to play board games, work on school work, and hang out together. High School Bigs participate in training known as “Mentoring the Mentor” where they receive targeted support to guide them in providing efficient mentorship to their Little. These programs run in Robertson County and Rutherford County. Occasional travel to these school sites is required.
Day to Day:
Capacity-Building Project (~10 Hours a Week)
- Collaborate with our School-Based team to build out our “Mentoring the Mentor” training for the High School Bigs program.
- Gather student feedback to evaluate the needs of our High School Bigs to guide training development.
- Research mentoring and relationship development materials that are age-appropriate for high school students.
- Research college & career readiness materials and scholarship opportunities.
- Find ways to cultivate and amplify youth voices within the training development process.
- Create “Mentoring the Mentor” training curriculum, and build out a training delivery model.
- Develop a system to track the “Mentoring the Mentor” completion rate.
- Develop a plan to ensure that the “Mentoring the Mentor” training can be maintained with full-time staff.
- Work with staff to ensure participating mentors have taken the Hemmingway Survey of Adolescent Connectedness at the start and end of the school year.
- Implement “Mentor the Mentor” training for the 2025-26 school year.
- Provide guidance and support to High School Bigs.
- Participate in 1:1 check-ins with supervisor.
1:1 Youth Mentoring (~10 Hours a Week)
- Serve as a 1:1 mentor to up to 10 youth (“Littles”)
- Complete mentor orientation & interview before matching and interacting with Littles.
- Engage with each Little in a 1:1 match weekly in-person or via virtual mentoring platforms.
- Support youth’s attendance, academic performance, and behavior in school.
- Be a supportive, positive role model.
- Apply best practices for child safety, interaction, and engagement with Littles.
- Exhibit open and affirming behavior and active listening.
- Acknowledge Littles strengths, talents, and gifts and encourage them to find ways to use them.
- Display enthusiasm, patience, and understanding of Littles.
- Participate in monthly match support with BBBSMT staff and accept coaching, feedback, and training as needed.
Professional Development
- Participate in monthly professional development meetings with Program Development Coordinator.
- Engage in professional development according to growth areas identified by BBBSMT staff and self-evaluation.
- Assist staff across the programs team in facilitating group mentoring work, as needed.
About You
This Job May Be For You…
- Previous experience mentoring in some capacity, e.g. school setting, neighborhood, sports team, younger family member
- Willingness to provide emotional, social, and practical support within limits
- Excel in project-driven work
- Microsoft Office proficiency
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Strong time-management and organizational skills
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Ability to problem-solve
- Ability to display cultural humility
- Receptive to feedback
- Multi-tasking abilities that meet the need of daily variability within a non-profit
- Bilingual students (Spanish) encouraged to apply
- Belief in the mission of our organization and a desire to support youth in reaching their full potential
Qualifications
- Completed background check, provided by BBBSMT (criminal backgrounds will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Criminal record will not automatically disqualify applicants.)
- Commitment to serve for 18 months after date of hire
- Ability to allocate 20 hours to program requirements
- Reliable transportation
- Availability during school hours (7 AM-3 PM)
Program Specialist, E-Mentoring
About the Role
Each employee at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee helps extend the agency’s mission in particular ways, as outlined in the position description. The essential functions of the position include but are not limited to the following:
Big Brothers Big Sisters seeks a Program Specialist who will thrive in a growing organization that is dedicated to positively impacting more youth through high quality, 1-to-1 mentoring. In this role, you will provide support and strengthen mentoring relationships between youth and positive adult mentors matched in our site-based program. This role will primarily work within our E-Mentoring program. E-Mentoring is a virtual mentoring program that gives Bigs the flexibility to mentor on their own time and build a connection with a teenager using technology as a shared space. This program strives to help high school students develop personal, academic and career skills. This program is a blend of virtual and in person mentoring. Your coaching and guidance will help empower and inspire youth to reach their full, inherent potential, especially youth of color who are disproportionately impacted by systemic barriers. Primary responsibilities will include providing support to new and existing BBBS matches to ensure child safety, positive outcomes for youth, healthy and satisfying relationships between children and volunteers, and a strong sense of affiliation with BBBS. Other responsibilities will include facilitating lessons to high school youth on life skills, college, and career readiness, the interviewing and assessment of volunteers and youth, facilitating the introduction of new mentoring relationships, and conducting orientation for new volunteers interested in the site-based program. As a member of the larger Site-Based team, this role will occasionally provide support to Sports Buddies and School-Based programming which may include occasional Sports Buddies Saturday activities as well as traditional school-based interviews and assessments.
Evening and some weekend hours are required.
Day to day:
Manage a caseload of volunteer adults (Bigs) and youth (Littles) who have been paired in a mentoring relationship. Through regular support calls, continually assess the match relationship focusing on: child safety, match relationship development, positive youth development and volunteer and family satisfaction.
Conduct in-person match introductions between the Little and Big in order to help facilitate early relationship development.
Identify, address and resolve existing and/or potential match challenges through regular coaching conversations and in-person meetings.
Provide on-going coaching, support and training to help develop and sustain lasting match relationships that have a positive impact on the youth served.
Facilitate lessons to high school youth on life skills, college, and career readiness
Assess volunteers and children for appropriate program participation by conducting initial and update interviews, orientations, and training. Obtain collateral material needed for assessment purposes, including criminal background checks and references.
Complete timely and comprehensive written assessments and recommendations for participation in the program based upon assessments of each individual.
Maintain up-to-date, accurate and detailed documentation and database records according to Big Brothers Big Sisters standards.
Work schedule includes regular evening and some weekend hours to best meet the needs of our families and volunteers.
Provide program participants with solution focused strategies, resources and training that will help to further support match participants.
Participate in professional training as provided by the agency and the National office to achieve maximum development of professional skills when required.
Perform other duties dependent on departmental needs throughout the year.
Assist with agency priorities centered on resource development (relationships, resources, tools) 14. Support and attend agency functions, both advancement-specific and broader agency events
About You
Our ideal candidate will thrive in a fast-paced environment, be organized, be able to provide a positive customer experience, be able to multi-task, and have a passion for improving the lives of young people and our underrepresented youth. This team member will be passionate about and able to engage mentors and community partners from diverse communities, especially within communities of color. People from the communities we serve are especially encouraged to apply.
This Job May Be For You…..
Youth-serving experience, especially working with youth of color and/or from marginalized communities
Passion for supporting youth through strengths based strategies
Understanding of issues/barriers that impact children and families from underserved populations
Belief in the power of mentoring relationships
Celebrates diversity
Ability to work remotely and comfortable utilizing latest technologies
Strong time management and organizational skills with the ability to work independently, as well as with a team
Ability to thrive in a fast paced environment and effectively manage shifting priorities and responsibilities
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills reflecting outstanding customer service, both in-person and by telephone
Ability to think critically, effectively provide responsive coaching, and draw solid conclusions based on information provided
Comfortable engaging in challenging conversations
Additionally, we’d love…
Effective group presentation skills
Driven to help youth reach their full potential
Consistent desire to seek out new and more effective methods to support programming
Understanding of/experience with youth mentoring
Familiarity with Positive Youth Development strategies
Spanish fluency
Qualifications
Relevant youth-serving experience or a Bachelor’s degree/college coursework in Social Work or a related field. Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Word, Outlook, and Excel. Must have a reliable car, valid driver’s license and meet state required automobile insurance minimums.
