Vice President Council Governance

About Us

Girl Scouts of the USA

Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls and the leading authority on their healthy development. Millions of Girl Scout alums across the country and the world have gone on to achieve incredible things and make a tremendous impact in fields ranging from public policy, medicine, journalism, and athletics to international relations, science, technology, art, and entertainment. 

As a mission-driven organization, Girl Scouts of the USA champions girls as they explore their worlds, try new things, and develop the courage, confidence, and character to make the world a better place. From stargazing during a first overnight camping trip to building robots, navigating a rocky hiking trail, working together on a community project, and learning about the importance of environmental stewardship, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can unapologetically be themselves as they rise to meet new challenges and discover the issues that matter most to them. Along the way they learn the power of friendship, connection, and teamwork. 

Girl Scouts are doers, innovators, problem-solvers, creators, and dreamers, and the GSUSA team is here to center, support, and inspire them, working with 111 local councils across the country and USA Girl Scouts Overseas to deliver our life-changing Girl Scout Leadership Experience.

The Experience community is focused on bringing Girl Scouting to more families and communities by creating meaningful ways to connect that are welcoming, accessible, and relevant for every girl. They work closely with councils nationwide to bring these experiences to life and make them truly impactful.

The team oversees the full development and lifecycle of national Girl Scout programs, including badges, awards, travel experiences, and virtual offerings, serving girls and volunteers. The Experience Community collaborates closely with teams across GSUSA, Girl Scout Councils, and Partners to ensure families have a seamless, high-quality experience at every touchpoint.

By building strong relationships and creating effective, empowering ways of working with council leaders, the team helps keep the broader organization aligned, connected, and moving forward together, making sure councils receive clear communication and strong customer support along the way. The goal is to fuel a vibrant, growing organization, one powered by meaningful connections and the enduring impact of the Girl Scout mission.

#li-remote

You Will

The Vice President, Council Governance will own and lead the national governance operating model that supports a strong, aligned federation of councils. In partnership with councils and GSUSA leaders, this role serves as the primary architect and steward of the shared governance processes, standards, tools, and experiences that enable every council to thrive while honoring local leadership and context. The role leads council health tracking, chartering, credentialing, and ongoing alignment across the Movement; establishes clear and consistent ways of working; and translates shared expectations into practical guidance, resources, and opportunities for continuous improvement. By recognizing strengths, promoting shared learning, and coordinating timely support, the role advances council capability, accountability, Movement-wide effectiveness, and long-term sustainability. When more significant needs arise, the role facilitates constructive viability reviews and supports councils in identifying pathways to renewed health or appropriate organizational transitions.

Essential Responsibilities

Federated Governance, Council Health & Chartering

• Own and steward the governance operating model for GSUSA’s federation of councils, ensuring nationally aligned processes and experiences while respecting local leadership and context.
• Establish and maintain shared standards, roles, governance forums, tools, and consistent ways of working that strengthen alignment and collaboration across all councils.
• Lead an annual charter review and renewal process that recognizes council strengths, confirms readiness, and supports continued growth.
• Maintain clear, equitable charter criteria, supporting guidance, documentation requirements, and review timelines.
• Partner with Council Partnerships, Legal, Finance, the Board Office, and council leaders to develop well-informed charter recommendations and coordinated support.
• Help councils understand and uphold Blue Book provisions and governance requirements through proactive guidance and practical resources.
• Prepare clear Movement-wide insights on council health, chartering, and alignment for executive and board review.

Council Quality & Credentialing

• Lead the design and implementation of council quality and credentialing frameworks that encourage reflection, learning, and continuous improvement across all councils.
• Translate organizational expectations into practical standards, evidence guides, review cycles, and consistent assessment practices.
• Develop self-assessment tools, dashboards, and progress reporting that help councils recognize strengths, identify opportunities, and focus improvement efforts.
• Create feedback loops and peer-learning opportunities that promote shared learning, ongoing alignment, and adoption of effective practices across the federation.
• Identify credentialing and recognition opportunities that build council capability, strengthen quality, and promote consistency across the Movement.
• Connect councils with relevant external standards, resources, and learning opportunities when they add value.

Council Health Review & Sustainability

• Establish and steward a transparent, ongoing council health approach that supports early learning, shared accountability, and timely partnership across all councils.
• Track financial, governance, membership, and operational indicators to recognize strengths, understand trends, anticipate emerging needs, and connect councils with appropriate support.
• Develop shared dashboards, sustainability tools, and regular reporting that create a consistent Movement-wide view of council health and future outlook.
• Partner with councils and internal teams to shape tailored support, capability-building strategies, and achievable action plans.
• Facilitate constructive viability reviews when deeper support is needed, working with councils to identify the strongest path forward.

Council Sustainability & Strategic Alliances

• Serve as the national process lead for strategic alliances and mergers.
• Develop and maintain practical playbooks, tools, decision frameworks, and implementation resources that enable councils to explore options with clarity and confidence.
• Facilitate collaborative due diligence across governance, finance, legal, and operational functions to support informed decision-making.
• Partner with councils to assess readiness, plan transitions, and address conditions needed for success.
• Guide councils through exploration, approval, implementation, and integration while protecting mission continuity, local relationships, and the experience of girls and volunteers.

Leadership

• Provide direct supervision and strategic leadership to the Council Governance team by setting clear priorities, creating shared accountability, coaching and developing team members, and fostering continuous learning and collaboration to ensure timely, high-quality delivery of council health, chartering, credentialing, viability review, and sustainability initiatives

Note: This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or activities required of the role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.

Required Competencies

• Strategic systems thinking
• Executive presence
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Facilitation and consensus building
• Cross-functional influence without direct authority
• Project and change leadership
• Risk identification and problem solving
• Ability to manage sensitive, complex matters with diplomacy, objectivity, and accountability

Required Technical Skills

• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and collaborative work-management tools.
• Advanced ability to design and manage assessment frameworks, scorecards, dashboards, decision tools, implementation plans, and executive-level reports.
• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to synthesize financial, operational, governance, and membership data into clear findings and recommendations

You Need

• Bachelor’s degree (BA, BS, BBA, etc.) from four-year college or university or equivalent
• Minimum of 12+ years demonstrated experience with deep knowledge of nonprofit governance, organizational standards, chartering or accreditation, and enterprise risk management.
• Demonstrated expertise assessing organizational health across financial, governance, membership, and operational indicators; developing evidence-based standards and review methodologies; and guiding complex remediation, transition, or organizational change efforts.
• Working knowledge of due diligence, mergers, strategic alliances, and board-level governance processes

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading communications for a federated, chapter-based, franchise, membership, or similarly networked organization.
• Experience in youth development, education, advocacy, or mission-driven work focused on girls and women.
• Experience supporting communications for documentary, entertainment, technology platform, or comparable high-visibility partnerships.
• Experience launching national research, reports, or thought leadership as public-facing moments.
• Experience in consumer product or food and beverage communications, particularly in relation to large-scale seasonal or cause-driven campaigns.
• Experience working alongside volunteer leaders, community-based organizations, or local market stakeholders.

SALARY RANGE: $137,000 - $225,000

This represents the present low and high end of the pay range for this position. This pay range is only applicable to NYC metro or similarly situated employees.  Actual pay will vary based on various factors, including but not limited to experience.

What We Offer: 

Girl Scouts is powered by people, and we encourage our team members to be their best selves in and out of the office. We place a high priority on flexibility and offer a competitive employee salary and benefits package that includes: 

Paid Time Off:  

GSUSA offers 20+ days of paid time off, 2 floating holidays, as well as 9 workplace holidays per year. GSUSA staff also enjoy a paid holiday year-end office closure between Christmas and New Year's.

Other Benefits: 

• Medical and Behavioral Health Coverage 

• Plan options with individual and family coverage which includes wellness, hospitalization, and fertility assistance. 
• Both plans include GSUSA partial subsidy of premium costs
• Dental and vision coverage

• Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) including Health, Dependent Care, and Limited FSA for those with Health Savings Accounts 
• Company-paid life insurance 
• Flexible work arrangements 
• 12 weeks of paid parental leave 
• 401(K) with company match 
• Short- and Long-Term Disability for salary continuation 
• Health and Wellness Classes and Activities throughout the year 

POSITION TYPE / EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK: This is a full-time, remote position. Days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, with east coast hours strongly preferred. Occasional evenings and weekends work may be required as job duties demand.

AAP/EEO Statement: GSUSA is an equal employment opportunity employer

Travel Requirements

up to 15%