Chief AI & Data Officer

Chief AI & Data Officer

Location: Boston, MA or Remote (US)

About Data and Technology Hub

Data and Technology Hub (Hub) is a data, AI, and technology-driven social impact venture funded by Ballmer Group and operating as a fiscally sponsored project of TechSoup Global. Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in October 2025, the organization is leading a national strategy to equip cradle-to-career and place-based leaders with repeatable tools, shared infrastructure, and technical capacity to significantly expand their community impact. At its core, the Hub envisions a future where all communities have access to the data and technology capabilities needed to advance economic mobility, empowering partnerships to apply strong data practices, outcomes measurement, and innovative solutions to local challenges.

Across the United States, where a child grows up continues to shape their access to education, employment, housing, and long-term opportunity. While cradle-to-career partnerships are working to create pathways to mobility, many lack the data tools, infrastructure, and analytical capacity to understand what is working and how to scale it. The Data and Technology Hub addresses this gap by equipping community leaders with advanced data, technology, and AI capabilities - enabling them to measure outcomes, share impact stories, identify what drives results, and make informed, evidence-based decisions that direct resources toward interventions with the greatest impact.

As a founding executive, you will help build a national movement focused on developing technology that solves real community challenges. Working alongside a leading philanthropic partner, you will play a central role in shaping an ambitious, high-growth initiative designed to transform lives across urban and rural America. This is a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial, mission-driven builder energized by complexity, innovation, and the chance to create lasting, measurable impact.

Learn more about TechSoup Global at www.techsoup.org.

A Transformational Leadership Opportunity

The Chief AI & Data Officer (CAIDO) is a founding executive and technical co-founder of the Data and Technology Hub. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, this leader partners closely with the CEO to translate strategy and vision into repeatable, adoptable, and secure technology, data platforms, and AI systems used by communities nationwide. This is a rare opportunity to join the founding team of an early-stage, mission-driven data and AI venture funded by Ballmer Group and to shape how it shows up, builds trust, and drives impact nationwide.

As a member of the executive leadership team, the CAIDO will shape both the Hub’s technical direction and its organizational culture. This is a deeply hands-on role for a builder-leader who is equally comfortable prototyping solutions, guiding responsible AI governance, mentoring staff, managing vendors and budget, and standing on stage inspiring confidence in the Hub’s commitment to digital public infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the founding technical leader with end-to-end ownership of data, AI, and technology strategy, architecture, and delivery.

• Support cradle-to-career and place-based organizations with architecture guidance, technical expertise, repeatable processes, and governance best practices centered on responsible, ethical use of technology and AI.

• Personally prototype, build, and distribute repeatable data management tools, time-saving accelerators and technical guidance, AI workflows, and agentic systems from MVP through distribution.

• Lead infrastructure design, hosting, tool selection, and distribution strategies to support scalable and secure deployments.

• Provide sustaining infrastructure support to organizations who’ve developed successful proof of concepts or pilots but have no way to sustain or expand the code base or infrastructure due to resource constraints.

• Own the organization’s multiyear technical roadmap and deliver against clearly defined KPIs and impact success scorecards.

• Design and promote reusable reference architectures, standards, and implementation resources for place-based and C2C organizations.

• Provide field-facing technical leadership through architecture reviews, technical office hours, and “ask the expert” engagements.

• Guide organizations in navigating AI opportunity, risk, privacy, security, and responsible use governance.

• Manage a small internal technical team alongside external vendors and partners, including responsibility for a technical budget.

• Serve as a public-facing technical leader, representing the Hub with funders, partners, and community stakeholders.

Candidate Profile

The ideal Chief AI & Data Officer is a humble, pragmatic, and deeply capable builder who brings both technical credibility and servant leadership to an early stage, impact focused environment. While no single candidate is expected to bring every qualification, the following characteristics reflect the profile sought for this role.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate many of the following professional and personal competencies, skills, and characteristics: 

• Seasoned technical leadership and judgment, typically developed over 15+ years in a mix of startup, high growth, and/or established environments, with the ability to discern what matters most at each stage of organizational maturity.

• Hands on builder credibility, with direct experience designing, building, and operating modern data platforms, AI systems, and production grade software — not just overseeing teams, but engaging deeply enough to earn the trust of engineers and data practitioners.

• Demonstrated experience with generative AI and agentic systems, including the design, deployment, and responsible operation of these technologies in real world, production contexts.

• People centered leadership, with experience managing and developing individual contributors, partnering effectively with external vendors, and creating environments where technical teams can do their best work.

• Operational and financial acumen, including experience owning or contributing to technical budgets and/or P&L level decisions, and the ability to balance ambition with fiscal and organizational realities.

• A blended background spanning high technology and impact oriented or public adjacent organizations, reflecting a genuine motivation to apply advanced technology in service of mission-driven and civil societal outcomes.

• A servant-leader mindset, characterized by humility, curiosity, and a willingness to build alongside others — focused as much on enabling teams and stakeholders as on technical outcomes themselves.

Work Environment & Travel

• Fully remote role with periodic in-person collaboration

• Approximately 25% travel, including team convenings, conferences, and field engagement

• Willingness to travel to Boston, Seattle, and partner communities as needed

• Opportunity to work in person with team members and partners to support early-stage culture building and collaboration

Compensation and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $300,000 - $340,000 with a comprehensive benefits package.

Contact

DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Express interest in this role by https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/23096 or emailing the search team directly at DataTechHub_CAIDO@dsgco.com. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.

DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

TechSoup Global is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ+ applicants.

About DSG | Koya

DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.

DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.

Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's https://www.dsgco.com/industry/nonprofit-and-social-impact/.

About Ballmer Group

Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families across the United States by funding leaders and organizations with demonstrated impact and the potential to operate at scale. The organization focuses on systems that shape opportunity, including early learning, K–12 education, postsecondary pathways, housing, behavioral health, and criminal justice. Ballmer Group is both a national and place-based funder, investing deeply in regions including Southeast Michigan, Washington State, and Los Angeles County.

Ballmer Group was co-founded in 2015 by philanthropist Connie Ballmer and Steve Ballmer, former CEO of Microsoft. The organization is known for pairing catalytic philanthropy with rigorous measurement, long-term partnership, and a commitment to advancing equity and opportunity nationwide.

About TechSoup

TechSoup is a global nonprofit social enterprise dedicated to using technology for the greater good. For more than 30 years, TechSoup has connected mission-driven organizations with critical technology tools, resources, and expertise. Through a global platform serving over 1.4 million organizations in more than 230 countries and territories, TechSoup enables NGOs of all sizes to operate more efficiently, securely, and effectively.

TechSoup Global is the fiscal sponsor of the Data and Technology Hub initiative and provides the operational backbone and shared infrastructure for its work.

To apply, visit: https://apptrkr.com/7093507