Chief Marketing Officer

Organizational Overview: Leadership Greater Chicago

Leadership Greater Chicago (LGC) is the region’s premier civic leadership development organization, delivering the knowledge and network to lead bold, transformative change. LGC convenes, connects, and activates the Region’s most promising leaders around key socioeconomic issues through dynamic education and experiential activities. These diverse individuals represent the most prominent corporate, nonprofit, government, and education organizations.

Since its founding in 1983 by The Chicago Community Trust, LGC has developed more than 1,400 leaders through its Signature Fellows Program – an intensive 10-month exploration of current socioeconomic issues that provide the foundation for a lifelong commitment to civic engagement. Fellows learn from a diversity of perspectives, styles and world views, and develop the capacity to approach and break down complex problems to drive transformative change in effective and collaborative ways.

In 2019, LGC launched The Daniel Burnham Fellowship – an accelerated civic onboarding experience for senior executives who in their roles are committed to civic engagement and can play a part in shaping the future of Chicago. While beneficial to any executive, it is especially beneficial for those who are new to Chicago and provides a rich introduction to an executive new to their role. The Fellowship is designed to inspire these leaders to activate and exert their combined influence and intellect to positively impact Chicago, its future and the continued economic progress of the region for all. To date, nearly 200 C-suite executives have participated in this innovative leadership experience.

With a renewed mission and strategic path forward under the leadership of CEO Myetie Hamilton, LGC is poised to reach even greater levels of strategic influence, impact, and innovation as the region’s premier organization for fostering and growing civic leadership.

You can learn more by visiting their website at www.lgcchicago.org.

Position Summary: Chief Marketing Officer

The Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a critically important leadership role and a central pillar of LGC’s strategy to elevate its brand, amplify its mission, and strengthen engagement across the region. This individual will serve as LGC’s chief storyteller and brand steward, ensuring that the organization’s voice, reputation, and public presence reflect the quality and significance of its work.

The CMO will lead a talented team of two and work closely with the CEO and executive leadership to develop and drive LGC’s marketing and communications strategy across brand, messaging, content, and digital presence. The ideal candidate will be a decisive leader and creative strategist with a demonstrated ability to take major initiatives from strategy through successful execution. They will thoughtfully deploy internal staff, agencies, contractors, and other resources to bring that strategy to life. As part of a small team, they will remain close to the work and step in when needed while maintaining ownership of the broader strategy, execution, and results.

The CMO will drive the process for hosting Celebrate Leaders, LGC’s annual gala and one of LGC’s most visible events. They will collaborate with LGC’s event production partner and the internal LGC teams to produce an event that showcases Fellows, highlights impact, and engages alumni, partners, and regional influencers. While this role does not include direct fundraising responsibilities, the CMO will play a key role in creating strategies, messaging, and engagement that support fundraising success. The CMO’s work will influence donor confidence, alumni participation, and overall organizational visibility.

Ideal candidates will understand the significance of civic leadership in Chicago, appreciate the influence of LGC Fellows, and convey the organization’s mission with authenticity and sophistication.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive marketing and communications strategy that further positions LGC as the region’s leading civic leadership organization, strengthens LGC’s visibility across Chicago and nationally, and ensures consistent, high-quality messaging across all platforms.
• Shape LGC’s brand narrative and lead the development of compelling content that showcases the impact of Fellows, the significance of LGC’s programs, and the organization’s role in Chicago’s civic ecosystem. Manage all external communications, media relations, executive visibility efforts, and reputation management.
• Lead the digital presence of LGC by overseeing website development, social media strategy, email marketing, digital storytelling, and multimedia content. Introduce creative formats that broaden audience engagement and highlight Fellows, program milestones, and organizational impact.
• Direct all marketing and communications efforts for Celebrate Leaders, including messaging, honoree storytelling, event marketing strategies, and materials that support sponsorship engagement. Collaborate closely with the event production and internal partners to ensure a polished, cohesive, and high-impact event.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with alumni, Fellows, civic leaders, corporate partners, and media contacts. Develop targeted campaigns and outreach strategies that deepen alumni engagement and contribute to LGC’s long-term influence and fundraising momentum.
• Maximize the opportunities for Fellow engagement through the strategic deployment and management of the LGC Fellows Network Portal designed to engage LGC Fellows to inspire and foster collective activation of our network to tackle the Region’s toughest challenges and scale innovative solutions.
• Lead, coach, and develop the marketing and communications team, leading with excellence and setting high expectations for quality, creativity, responsiveness, and strategic alignment. Establish workflows, processes, and standards that promote excellence and support coordinated communication across departments.
• Partner with the CEO and program leadership to ensure unified messaging across all organizational initiatives. Serve as a key thought partner on organizational strategy, internal communications, and the public positioning of LGC’s priorities.

Leadership & Competency Expectations

While no single candidate will bring every single competency, strong candidates will offer the following skills, characteristics, and experiences:

Strategic Leader who Drives Execution

The CMO will be a strategic thinker who brings creativity, innovation, and fresh ideas to how LGC tells its story and engages its audiences. They will have a track record of leading complex initiatives from idea through implementation, making sound decisions, and maintaining momentum and accountability through completion.

Attention to Detail and Commitment to Excellence

LGC operates with a culture of excellence. The CMO must hold high standards for accuracy, tone, design, and presentation. They must also understand what makes LGC unique and possess the ability to recreate the spark that fellows experience in the LGC ‘classroom’ across all other platforms.

Strong Communicator and Storyteller

The CMO must understand LGC’s mission and Fellows deeply enough to tell their stories in ways that resonate with civic leaders, alumni, and the broader region. They should bring clarity, warmth, and authenticity to all messaging.

Engaged and Civic-Minded

The CMO must understand LGC’s culture, values, and community. They should appreciate the significance of the Fellows network and know how to communicate effectively within Chicago’s civic environment.

Collaborative and Relationship-Driven

The CMO will work closely with the CEO, development team, program staff, and external partners. Success requires strong interpersonal skills, diplomacy, and the ability to influence both with and without authority.

Location, Compensation and Benefits

This is a hybrid role based out of LGC’s offices downtown at 303 E Wacker Dr. The role requires regular in-person engagement with partners, fellows, and community stakeholders.

Compensation for this role is commensurate with experience, with an anticipated salary range of $140,000–$155,000, along with a comprehensive benefits package.

Interest in the Role?

To express your interest and explore this opportunity, please submit your resume and cover letter via email to George Theotokatos at [email protected].

All inquiries and discussions will be handled with the utmost confidentiality. This position is available immediately, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the role is filled.

We look forward to connecting with you!

About Maneva Group

Maneva Group is a leading woman and minority-owned executive search firm dedicated to connecting exceptional talent with organizations committed to making a meaningful impact. Through a consultative and client-focused approach, Maneva Group partners with mission-driven organizations to build transformative leadership teams.

Our name, Maneva, comes from the combination of two Sanskrit words: “Mānav” meaning mankind & “Sevā” meaning service. We are driven by the ideal of our name - service to humanity.