matteria
Chief Executive Officer - Private Philanthropic Organization
🇧🇷BrazilRemote available3 days ago
ExecutiveFull TimeEN
Selection process developed by matteria
São Paulo, Brazil. Hydrid role
A private philanthropic organization in Brazil is seeking a Chief Executive Officer to lead its next stage of growth and institutional development.
The organization focuses on addressing complex public challenges through strategic capital allocation, institutional partnerships, and hands-on execution. It operates with a lean, high-performance model inspired by private-sector standards, combining philanthropic support with direct implementation when needed.
This is a founder-backed organization with long-term ambition, strong execution standards, and the goal of building scalable initiatives capable of generating systemic impact in Brazil.
Brazil-based private philanthropic organization focused on systemic impact.
Hybrid model combining strategic capital allocation and direct project execution.
Works with institutional and public-sector stakeholders to strengthen implementation capacity.
Lean, high-performance team designed around execution quality and disciplined decision-making.
Focused on scalable interventions capable of generating national-level impact in Brazil.
Lead the organization through its next stage of institutional growth by translating its ambition into a focused, high-impact operating model.
The CEO will integrate strategy, capital allocation, execution, stakeholder engagement, and organizational building to maximize systemic impact in Brazil. This role requires a leader who can combine strategic judgment with hands-on execution, build a high-performing team, and partner closely with the founder and senior stakeholders.
Define and refine the organization’s long-term strategic priorities, translating ambition into clear goals, execution plans, and measurable outcomes.
Lead disciplined capital allocation across high-impact initiatives, balancing strategic relevance, feasibility, expected impact, and execution capacity.
Build and strengthen the organization’s operating model, team structure, management systems, and internal rhythms.
Engage senior stakeholders across philanthropy, public-sector institutions, partners, and ecosystem actors.
Oversee the implementation of priority initiatives, ensuring execution quality, accountability, and problem-solving capacity.
Partner closely with the founder and future governance bodies, providing strategic insight, analytical depth, and high-quality decision support.
Education
Bachelor’s degree required.
Preferred academic backgrounds may include: Business Administration, Economics, Engineering, Public Policy, Political Science, International Relations, Law, Finance.
Master’s degree or postgraduate studies are valued but not mandatory.
Experience
12+ years of progressive leadership experience in high-performance environments.
Proven experience operating in complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
Strong track record in strategy, execution, organizational building, and leadership.
Experience engaging with senior government officials, institutional actors, boards, or founders.
Exposure to consulting, philanthropy, development finance, public-sector transformation, think tanks, education, policy, or founder-led organizations is highly valued.
Experience managing lean teams with high accountability standards is strongly preferred.
Experience balancing strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
Knowledge and Skills
Strategic planning and prioritization
Capital allocation and portfolio management
Organizational scaling and institution building
Stakeholder management and government navigation
KPI definition and performance management
Systems thinking and analytical problem-solving
Strong digital fluency
Familiarity with productivity and collaboration tools
AI-enabled analytical and organizational tools considered a plus
Portuguese: Native or fully fluent (mandatory)
English: Professional fluency (mandatory)
Competencies
Strategic and critical thinking
Execution discipline
Intellectual curiosity
Institutional judgment
Humility and self-awareness
Resilience and adaptability
Transparent communication
High ethical standards
Team orientation and collaboration
Ability to receive and integrate feedback
The organization operates with a high-performance culture that combines analytical rigor, strategic ambition, hands-on execution, humility, transparency, and strong ethical standards. The CEO must be able to lead a lean and talented team, build trust, receive feedback well, and create a culture of accountability without arrogance or excessive self-promotion.
The organization’s work sits at the intersection of strategic philanthropy, public-sector implementation, institutional transformation, and systems-level impact in Brazil. The right candidate should be motivated by the opportunity to solve complex public challenges, build a high-performance organization, and contribute to long-term systemic change. The organization’s work sits at the intersection of:
Strategic philanthropy
Complex public challenges
Public-sector implementation
Institutional strengthening
Systems change
Scalable impact
Long-term transformation in Brazil
Opportunity to shape and scale a highly ambitious private philanthropic organization in Brazil.
Close partnership with the founder and senior stakeholders.
High level of autonomy, responsibility, and institutional influence.
Competitive executive compensation aligned with the level of responsibility and performance expectations.
Opportunity to build a lean, high-performance team and contribute to systemic impact at scale.
This role requires significant maturity balancing strategic leadership with operational involvement.
Frequent travel within Brazil and occasional international travel are expected.
São Paulo is preferred, though exceptional Brazil-based candidates elsewhere may be considered.
