Chief Experience and Partnership Officer

Lifeline-of-Ohio; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision plans

Paid time off (PTO)

12-week family leave

Life insurance & disability

401(k) with company match

Professional certifications

Job summary

Lifeline of Ohio is seeking a Chief Experience and Partnership Officer to shape our organization's future amid regulatory change and industry transformation. This hybrid executive role reports to the CEO and unites donor families, hospital partners, government leaders, community organizations, and volunteers under a single enterprise strategy.

The successful candidate will lead enterprise experience, hospital development and strategic partnerships, donor family experience, communications,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required.
• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare, stakeholder experience, or related fields.
• Experience leading multiple functions and teams through major organizational change.
• Proven ability to influence senior executives and external stakeholders.
• Experience developing and executing enterprise strategies with measurable outcomes.
• Direct organ procurement or donation experience not required.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement enterprise stakeholder experience strategy across donor families, hospital partners, and community stakeholders.
• Develop and strengthen executive partnerships with health systems, transplant centers, government leaders, and advocacy organizations.
• Lead organizational transformation by integrating reporting functions and building a high-performing team.
• Oversee donor family experience, ensuring compassionate, high-quality support across the continuum of care.
• Lead communications, public relations, and reputation strategies; guide crisis communications and coalition-building.

Skills

Leadership

Relationship building

Strategic thinking

Communication

Change leadership

Team building

Influence

Emotional intelligence

Policy navigation

Data-driven

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Description

Are you looking for a mission-driven executive career?

Lifeline of Ohio coordinates and promotes organ, eye, and tissue donation across Central and Southeast Ohio. We are seeking a Chief Experience and Partnership Officer to help shape our organization’s future during a period of significant change within the donation and transplantation landscape.

This newly created executive role is designed for a transformational leader who is energized by building relationships, leading organizational change, navigating complexity, and creating strategies that advance mission impact.

Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, this leader will bring Lifeline of Ohio’s stakeholder-facing functions together under one enterprise strategy. The role will strengthen trust, deepen relationships, and expand our influence among donor families, hospital and transplant partners, community organizations, government leaders, policymakers, volunteers, ambassadors, philanthropic partners, and the communities we serve.

This is not simply a role overseeing several departments. It is an opportunity to build an integrated experience and partnership strategy that positions Lifeline of Ohio to thrive amid regulatory change, evolving public expectations, increased competition, and industry transformation.

First-year priorities:

• Build an enterprise-wide experience strategy that creates consistent, measurable experiences for donor families, hospital partners, community stakeholders, ambassadors, and volunteers.
• Strengthen strategic partnerships and external influence by deepening executive relationships with health systems, transplant centers, government leaders, community organizations, and other mission-aligned partners.
• Lead organizational transformation by integrating reporting functions, building a high-performing team, and creating alignment around a shared vision and measurable outcomes.
• Establish the foundation for a sustainable philanthropy program by developing the vision, strategy, operating model, partnerships, and infrastructure needed for the function to mature and operate independently by 2028.

Successful candidates will possess:

• Proven leadership experience overseeing multiple functions through significant organizational change
• Exceptional relationship-building skills and demonstrated success influencing senior executives and external stakeholders
• Strong strategic thinking with the ability to translate enterprise vision into measurable execution
• Outstanding communication skills and executive presence, both internally and externally
• Experience leading in a complex, regulated, mission-driven, or highly relational environment
• Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams and foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Experience leading through ambiguity, disruption, restructuring, or significant external change
• High emotional intelligence, sound judgment, strong listening skills, and the ability to balance compassion with accountability
• Ability to build new relationships while strategically strengthening and connecting existing partnerships
• Political and organizational savvy, including the courage and diplomacy to navigate conflict and influence change
• A data-informed, systems-oriented approach to stakeholder experience and continuous improvement
• A servant leadership orientation and strong commitment to organ, eye, and tissue donation

Responsibility snapshot:

Enterprise Experience Strategy

• Design and implement a comprehensive stakeholder experience strategy across donor families, hospital and transplant partners, community stakeholders, ambassadors, and volunteers.
• Establish consistent standards for service, communication, engagement, and responsiveness.
• Develop Voice of Customer and stakeholder feedback systems that generate actionable insights and support continuous improvement.
• Define meaningful measures of stakeholder trust, satisfaction, engagement, and experience.

Hospital Development and Strategic Partnerships

• Provide executive leadership for hospital development and clinical partnership strategies in collaboration with the Director of External Partner Relations.
• Build trusted, executive-level relationships with hospitals, health systems, transplant centers, and other healthcare partners.
• Position Lifeline of Ohio as a valued and preferred partner.
• Develop strategic relationships that expand organizational reach, influence, resilience, and mission impact.

Donor Family Experience

• Provide executive oversight of Family Services and Donor Family Aftercare across the full continuum of care.
• Ensure donor families receive compassionate, consistent, and high-quality support before, during, and after donation.
• Strengthen alignment among family-facing, hospital-facing, and community-facing functions.
• Integrate donor family feedback into organizational strategy and continuous-improvement efforts.

Communications, Reputation, and Community Engagement

• Lead Lifeline of Ohio’s communications, media relations, public relations, community engagement, and reputation strategies.
• Ensure organizational messaging is clear, consistent, and aligned with the mission.
• Provide executive leadership for crisis communications and reputation management.
• Build coalitions across diverse communities, advocacy organizations, healthcare partners, and other stakeholder groups.
• Guide ambassador, volunteer, outreach, education, and signature-event strategies.

Advocacy and Government Affairs

• Guide local, state, and federal government affairs and public policy engagement in collaboration with clinical, quality, and executive leadership.
• Build productive relationships with legislators, policymakers, government leaders, and advocacy organizations.
• Help the organization anticipate and respond to regulatory, policy, and industry developments.
• Represent Lifeline of Ohio in advocacy and coalition-building efforts.

Philanthropy and Mission Advancement

• Develop the vision, strategy, operating model, and infrastructure for a sustainable philanthropy program.
• Create a phased plan that prepares philanthropy to operate as a standalone function by 2028.
• Identify philanthropic opportunities and cultivate partnerships that expand organizational reach and mission impact.
• Integrate philanthropy with community engagement, events, communications, strategic partnerships, and organizational priorities.
• Establish the talent, systems, governance, and performance measures needed to support long-term growth.

Executive and Team Leadership

• Integrate reporting functions into a cohesive, high-performing enterprise system.
• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary team of directors and functional leaders.
• Establish clear priorities, decision rights, performance expectations, and accountability.
• Strengthen collaboration between stakeholder-facing functions, clinical operations, quality, and other organizational areas.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO and an active member of the Executive Leadership Team.
• Build a culture of trust, service, collaboration, innovation, and measurable performance.
  

Work environment and presence expectations:

This is a hybrid executive position requiring meaningful in-person leadership and external engagement. The selected candidate must reside within Lifeline of Ohio’s donation service area and be available to work from the corporate office, travel to partner hospitals, and attend community and stakeholder engagements.

Travel throughout the donation service area is required, with occasional travel to regional or national meetings. While the role is primarily conducted during standard business hours, occasional evening or weekend availability may be necessary for community events, hospital engagements, media needs, and other executive responsibilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field required
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in healthcare, stakeholder or customer experience, strategic partnerships, external affairs, communications, community engagement, public relations, or a related field
• Experience leading multiple, diverse functions
• Demonstrated success leading teams through significant organizational change
• Experience in healthcare or another complex, regulated, mission-driven, and highly relational environment strongly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior executives and external stakeholders
• Experience developing and executing enterprise strategies with measurable outcomes
• Direct organ procurement organization, donation, or transplantation experience IS NOT REQUIRED

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience engaging legislators, policymakers, government leaders, or advocacy organizations
• Knowledge of government relations, public policy, advocacy, and coalition building
• Experience developing an enterprise stakeholder, customer, patient, family, or community experience strategy
• Experience leading communications, media relations, brand, or reputation functions
• Experience building relationships with hospitals, health systems, or other complex healthcare organizations
• Familiarity with stakeholder survey, feedback, or Voice of Customer methodologies
• Experience establishing or scaling the strategy and infrastructure for philanthropy or mission advancement

Benefits:

• Competitive compensation
• Affordable and comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Plans, including PPO, HDHP, and HSA options
• Generous PTO bank available for immediate use
• 12-week Paid Maternity, Paternity, and Family Leave
• Company-provided term life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance
• Company-paid professional certifications and license renewals
• 401(k) plan with company match and no waiting period
• Performance bonus opportunity
• Professional development opportunities
• The opportunity to shape enterprise strategy and advance a mission that saves and heals lives through organ, eye, and tissue donation

Equal Opportunity Employer: Lifeline of Ohio is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other legally protected status in employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, promotion, and termination. We are committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and we strive to foster a diverse and inclusive workplace. Lifeline of Ohio complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding equal employment opportunity.