About NXT | CLT

NXT | CLT is a Charlotte-based nonprofit organization dedicated to building the region’s next generation of successful entrepreneurial companies by equipping emerging business owners with the tools, mentorship, relationships, and resources necessary to grow sustainable, competitive enterprises.

 

Established in 2021 and operating under Junction Business Services, NXT | CLT was created to strengthen Charlotte’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, with a particular focus on supporting high-potential small and medium-sized businesses owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

 

At the center of NXT | CLT’s work is an intensive six-month business development program designed for established entrepreneurs who are positioned for meaningful growth. Through immersive learning, individualized coaching, mentorship, business development and growth workshops, executive engagement, networking opportunities, and access to capital resources, participants develop the leadership and business capabilities necessary to scale their organizations.

 

NXT | CLT believes that successful entrepreneurs have the potential to become cornerstones of the Charlotte community by creating jobs, driving innovation, building generational wealth, and contributing to the long-term economic vitality of the region. Its vision is an entrepreneurial ecosystem in which every founder has access to the opportunity, support, and community necessary to build a thriving business.

 

Position Summary

The Executive Director serves as the chief executive leader of NXT | CLT and is responsible for the strategic, financial, operational, programmatic, and external leadership of the organization. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Executive Director will lead NXT | CLT with the mindset of both a nonprofit executive and an entrepreneur able to balance mission and impact with the discipline, accountability, resourcefulness, and financial stewardship required to build and sustain a successful enterprise.

 

The Executive Director will provide leadership for all aspects of NXT | CLT’s operations, with an immediate emphasis on exceptional program delivery and a long-term focus on organizational growth, financial sustainability, and expanded community impact.

 

A central priority will be ensuring the continued strength and evolution of NXT | CLT’s cohort-based programming. The Executive Director will work closely with entrepreneurs, coaches, consultants, volunteers, corporate partners, funders, and community stakeholders to ensure participants receive meaningful resources and experiences that translate into measurable business growth.

The Executive Director will also serve as the organization’s principal fundraiser, relationship builder, and external ambassador. Working in partnership with the Board of Directors, this leader will diversify and expand NXT | CLT’s financial resources through corporate partnerships, philanthropy, grants, individual giving, and other appropriate revenue opportunities.

 

Because NXT | CLT exists to serve entrepreneurs, the successful candidate must bring more than an understanding of entrepreneurship. The Executive Director must possess firsthand experience with the realities of building, operating, growing, or taking meaningful financial responsibility for an entrepreneurial enterprise. This experience is a fundamental requirement of the position and essential to establishing credibility with the business owners NXT | CLT serves.

 

Position Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic and Organizational Leadership

• Serve as the chief executive leader of NXT | CLT, providing vision, direction, accountability, and leadership across all areas of the organization.
• Partner with the Board of Directors to establish and advance NXT | CLT’s strategic priorities, translating organizational vision into measurable goals, initiatives, and outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen, expand, and position NXT | CLT for its next stage of organizational development and community impact.
• Build the organizational systems, infrastructure, partnerships, and resources necessary to support sustainable growth.
• Provide the Board with timely and accurate information regarding organizational performance, finances, programs, fundraising, opportunities, and emerging risks.
• Remain informed about economic, entrepreneurial, small business, and community development trends affecting Charlotte and the entrepreneurs NXT | CLT serves.

 

Program Leadership and Entrepreneur Engagement

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for NXT | CLT’s cohort-based programming and broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Ensure programming remains relevant, innovative, practical, and responsive to the needs and challenges of growth-oriented entrepreneurs.
• Work with staff, consultants, coaches, volunteers, business leaders, and community partners to develop and deliver high-quality programming.
• Cultivate meaningful relationships with participating and alumni entrepreneurs and maintain an authentic understanding of their businesses, opportunities, and challenges.
• Establish measurable program goals and evaluation methods to assess participant outcomes, program effectiveness, and long-term impact.
• Identify opportunities to expand access to mentorship, executive expertise, procurement opportunities, capital, networks, and other resources that help participating businesses grow.
• Build upon NXT | CLT’s existing programming while identifying new opportunities for services, partnerships, and initiatives that advance the organization’s mission.

 

Fundraising and Resource Development

• Lead the development and execution of a comprehensive and diversified fundraising strategy in partnership with the Board of Directors.
• Establish annual resource development goals and maintain accountability for achieving or exceeding established revenue targets.
• Personally cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward relationships with corporations, foundations, individual donors, and other funding partners.
• Identify and pursue appropriate grant opportunities and ensure fulfillment of grant requirements, reporting, and stewardship.
• Develop compelling cases for support that effectively communicate NXT | CLT’s impact on entrepreneurs, businesses, job creation, economic mobility, and the greater Charlotte community.
• Strengthen existing donor relationships while proactively developing new sources of financial support.
• Provide accurate and timely analysis of fundraising performance, trends, opportunities, and variances to the Board of Directors.
• Explore innovative and entrepreneurial revenue opportunities that can contribute to NXT | CLT’s long-term financial sustainability.

 

Financial and Operational Management

• Maintain responsibility for the overall financial health and operational effectiveness of NXT | CLT.
• Lead development of the annual operating budget in partnership with the Board and manage the organization within approved financial parameters.
• Oversee accounting and financial operations and ensure accurate, consistent, and timely financial reporting.
• Develop and maintain appropriate financial policies, internal controls, operating procedures, and organizational safeguards.
• Regularly evaluate financial performance and provide forecasts, recommendations, and appropriate reporting to the Board.
• Develop efficient and scalable operational systems that allow NXT | CLT to maximize its resources and effectively deliver its programs.
• Review and strengthen organizational policies, procedures, manuals, and operational practices as necessary.
• Ensure appropriate compliance with applicable nonprofit, financial, grant, and organizational requirements.

 

Community Engagement, Partnerships, and Brand Leadership

• Serve as a visible, credible, and compelling ambassador for NXT | CLT throughout Charlotte’s business, entrepreneurial, philanthropic, corporate, and civic communities.
• Establish and strengthen relationships with entrepreneurs, donors, corporations, nonprofit partners, business accelerators, financial institutions, government resources, community leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Develop strategic partnerships that expand opportunities and resources available to NXT | CLT participants.
• Position NXT | CLT as an important convener and contributor within Charlotte’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Oversee organizational communications and ensure consistent, compelling messaging to participants, donors, partners, and the broader community.
• Protect and strengthen NXT | CLT’s reputation and brand while increasing awareness of its mission, programs, outcomes, and opportunities for engagement.
• Listen actively to entrepreneurs, Board members, partners, funders, staff, consultants, and community stakeholders and incorporate diverse perspectives into organizational decision-making.

 

Team and Organizational Culture

• Recruit, retain, lead, and develop highly qualified staff, consultants, volunteers, coaches, and other resources necessary to fulfill NXT | CLT’s mission.
• Establish clear expectations, accountability, and performance standards for individuals supporting the organization.
• Foster a collaborative, entrepreneurial, results-oriented culture that encourages initiative, innovation, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.
• Provide motivational leadership that engages and empowers those working on behalf of NXT | CLT.
• Ensure staffing and contracted resources remain appropriate to organizational priorities and approved budgets.

 

Candidate Qualifications

The Executive Director must be equally comfortable developing strategy, raising financial resources, engaging business owners and corporate executives, overseeing organizational finances, building partnerships, and rolling up their sleeves to accomplish the work required within a growing organization.

 

Candidates should demonstrate:

• Five or more years of progressive leadership, management, or supervisory experience.
• Demonstrated success leading an organization, business, business unit, or entrepreneurial enterprise.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, forecasting, financial reporting, revenue generation, and financial decision-making.
• Demonstrated ability to develop financial resources through fundraising, business development, sales, partnerships, grants, or other revenue-generating activities.
• Experience developing, implementing, and evaluating programs, initiatives, or services.
• Exceptional relationship-building skills and the ability to develop credibility with entrepreneurs, business executives, donors, community leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Strong strategic planning, organizational development, project management, and execution capabilities.
• Experience leading staff, consultants, contractors, volunteers, or multidisciplinary teams.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including strong presentation and public-speaking abilities.
• The ability to articulate NXT | CLT’s mission, value, impact, and vision to a broad range of audiences.
• A collaborative leadership style and demonstrated ability to seek, respect, and incorporate diverse perspectives.
• Knowledge of Charlotte’s entrepreneurial, corporate, philanthropic, and community landscape is strongly preferred.
• A bachelor’s degree in business administration, management, finance, accounting, or a related field is preferred. An advanced business degree or certification in nonprofit management is desirable.

 

Entrepreneurial Operating Experience

The next Executive Director must have personally run a business or built an entrepreneurial organization and carried meaningful responsibility for its success or failure. Candidates who do not meet this requirement will not advance in the search regardless of their other qualifications.

 

To satisfy this requirement, a candidate must have accomplished at least one of the following:

• Founded and operated a company with meaningful revenue, employees, and responsibility for consistently meeting payroll over multiple years.
• Held full profit-and-loss (P&L) responsibility for a business or business unit in which they were accountable for both generating revenue and managing the cost structure, rather than solely administering an allocated budget.
• Built an entrepreneurial support organization—such as an accelerator, incubator, venture studio, fund, or founder network—from an early or unproven stage into an established operation with earned or raised revenue and demonstrable participant outcomes.
• Acquired, turned around, grown, or exited a business in which they held meaningful personal or fiduciary responsibility and risk.

 

While valuable, the following experiences do not independently satisfy the mandatory entrepreneurial operating requirement:

• Managing a program, department, or initiative within a larger institution against an allocated budget.
• Grantmaking, grant administration, or portfolio oversight without direct responsibility for generating the underlying revenue.
• Advising, consulting to, mentoring, or investing in entrepreneurs without having personally built or operated an enterprise.
• Serving in a corporate leadership position where an established revenue stream existed before the candidate assumed responsibility and was not meaningfully dependent upon their leadership or revenue-generation efforts.

 

NXT | CLT believes this firsthand operating experience is essential. The Executive Director must be able to engage the entrepreneurs NXT | CLT serves not simply as an advisor or nonprofit leader, but as someone who understands through personal experience the accountability, uncertainty, financial pressures, resource constraints, and decision-making required to build and sustain an enterprise.

 

Compensation

The Executive Director will receive an annual base salary of $90,000 - $100,000 and will be eligible for a performance-based bonus of up to 30% of base salary, tied to established fundraising, development, and grant revenue goals.

 

NXT | CLT will also provide an annual $5,000 health insurance benefit.

 

POLICY ON PLACEMENT AND RECRUITING

The Batten Group and NXT | CLT are equal opportunity employers committed to identifying and recruiting highly qualified candidates based on the experience, leadership capabilities, competencies, and qualifications necessary for success in the position. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.