Business Advisory Board Member Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Business Advisory Board Member (Volunteer)

Executive Team | Business Strategy, Growth, Innovation & Executive Advisory

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: Executive Team

Location: Remote with NYC-based collaboration as needed

Type: Volunteer Executive Advisory Role

Commitment: Approximately 2–4 hours per month, with additional participation around key strategic priorities

Minimum Commitment: 1-year commitment preferred

Works Closely With: Chief Executive Officer, Chair of the Business Advisory Board, Executive Leadership Team, and fellow Business Advisory Board Members

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, education, social-emotional learning, creative opportunity, advocacy, technology-enabled programming, and community-centered support.

As MAP grows, we are building the leadership, strategic relationships, organizational capacity, and innovative thinking necessary to expand our impact responsibly and sustainably.

About the Business Advisory Board

The Business Advisory Board is a strategic advisory body within MAP’s Executive Team.

The Board brings together accomplished executives, entrepreneurs, business leaders, strategists, and subject-matter experts who contribute experience, perspective, relationships, and constructive challenge to MAP’s executive leadership.

Members help MAP think more critically about strategy, growth, innovation, sustainability, partnerships, technology, organizational capacity, and emerging opportunities.

This is not a governing board position. The Business Advisory Board is a non-fiduciary advisory body and does not exercise governance, supervisory, or operational authority over Mentor A Promise.

Advisory Opportunity

Mentor A Promise is seeking accomplished leaders to serve as members of its Business Advisory Board.

Members will serve as strategic thought partners to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team, bringing expertise from business and industry to some of the organization's most important opportunities and challenges.

We are not looking for people who simply lend their names to an advisory board.

We are looking for active advisors who ask difficult questions, challenge assumptions constructively, share lessons from experience, identify possibilities, make thoughtful connections, and help leadership see around corners.

Key Responsibilities

Executive & Strategic Advisory

• Provide thoughtful counsel to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
• Advise on organizational strategy, growth, innovation, sustainability, and long-term positioning.
• Help leadership test assumptions and evaluate strategic alternatives.
• Identify emerging opportunities, challenges, and risks.
• Bring relevant business, industry, economic, technology, and organizational perspectives into strategic discussions.
• Provide constructive challenge while respecting executive decision-making authority.

Expertise & Perspective

Contribute expertise in one or more areas such as:

• Business and corporate strategy
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance and investment
• Technology and artificial intelligence
• Innovation
• Marketing and audience growth
• Revenue diversification
• Partnerships
• Operations
• Organizational development
• Talent and leadership
• Risk
• Consulting
• Social impact
• Other areas relevant to MAP’s future

Members are not expected to know everything.

The Board’s strength should come from assembling people whose experiences, disciplines, industries, and perspectives complement one another.

Relationships & Opportunity Development

• Help expand MAP’s relationships across business, corporate, philanthropic, entrepreneurial, academic, technology, and professional communities.
• Make thoughtful introductions where appropriate.
• Identify potential partnerships, resources, expertise, and strategic opportunities.
• Connect MAP with people and institutions capable of advancing organizational priorities.
• Serve as an informed ambassador for MAP within appropriate professional networks.

Advisory Board Participation

• Participate actively in scheduled Business Advisory Board meetings.
• Review relevant materials and come prepared to contribute.
• Engage respectfully with differing perspectives.
• Participate in relevant strategic discussions between meetings when appropriate.
• Follow through on commitments and introductions.
• Help build a Board culture grounded in curiosity, candor, contribution, humility, and respect.

Potential Advisory Priorities

The Business Advisory Board may advise executive leadership on:

• Enterprise strategy
• Organizational growth
• Strategic partnerships
• Innovation and new ventures
• Revenue diversification and sustainability
• Corporate engagement
• Technology and emerging opportunities
• Organizational capacity
• Talent and leadership
• Entrepreneurship
• Market and sector trends
• Strategic risk
• Long-term organizational positioning

Priorities may evolve as MAP grows.

Role Boundaries & Governance

The Business Advisory Board is distinct from MAP’s governing Board of Directors.

Members provide advice, expertise, relationships, perspective, and constructive challenge. They do not exercise fiduciary authority, supervise MAP leadership or volunteers, independently direct organizational divisions, or approve budgets, policies, contracts, personnel decisions, or executive actions.

The CEO and other duly authorized MAP leaders retain organizational decision-making and executive authority.

Advisory Board Members influence MAP through the quality of their judgment, expertise, questions, relationships, and strategic insight—not through operational authority.

The strongest members know how to advise without managing, challenge without undermining, contribute without controlling, and influence without overstepping.

Ideal Member Profile

This opportunity is particularly well suited for accomplished current or former:

• CEOs, Presidents, and C-suite executives
• Entrepreneurs and founders
• Corporate executives
• Strategy and management consulting leaders
• Finance and investment leaders
• Technology executives
• Growth and innovation executives
• Marketing and communications executives
• Operations and organizational leaders
• Philanthropic and social-impact leaders
• Experienced board and advisory-board members
• Senior subject-matter experts

Strong candidates will demonstrate:

• Significant professional or senior leadership experience
• Exceptional strategic and business judgment
• Ability to contribute sophisticated perspectives to executive discussions
• Willingness to challenge assumptions constructively
• Strong professional relationships and willingness to make thoughtful introductions
• Executive maturity balanced with humility
• Curiosity and openness to different perspectives
• Respect for nonprofit governance and executive decision-making boundaries
• Genuine commitment to MAP’s mission and the communities we serve

What Success Looks Like

Success means:

• MAP’s executive leadership receives thoughtful, relevant, and actionable counsel.
• Members actively contribute rather than simply hold an advisory title.
• Leadership assumptions are constructively tested.
• Diverse professional expertise strengthens strategic decision-making.
• Members identify meaningful opportunities, risks, relationships, and resources.
• Strategic introductions create valuable connections and opportunities.
• Members understand MAP’s mission, priorities, and organizational context.
• The Board helps leadership think further ahead and make stronger decisions.
• The Business Advisory Board creates meaningful strategic value without becoming another layer of organizational bureaucracy.

Why This Role Matters

The strongest executive teams do not assume every answer already exists inside the organization.

They intentionally surround themselves with people who have built organizations, led through uncertainty, navigated difficult decisions, recognized opportunities, made mistakes, learned from them, and developed judgment worth sharing.

MAP’s Business Advisory Board brings those perspectives into the room.

The purpose is not to run Mentor A Promise.

It is to help the people responsible for leading Mentor A Promise think more clearly about where the organization is going and what it will take to get there.

Commitment

• Approximately 2–4 hours per month, with additional participation around relevant strategic priorities
• 1-year commitment preferred
• Participate in scheduled Business Advisory Board meetings
• Review relevant materials when appropriate
• Contribute expertise to strategic discussions
• Support thoughtful introductions and opportunities where appropriate
• Maintain confidentiality, professionalism, integrity, and appropriate advisory boundaries

What You’ll Gain

• Opportunity to advise the CEO and Executive Leadership Team of a growing mission-driven nonprofit
• Collaboration with accomplished professionals across industries
• Opportunity to apply business expertise to meaningful social impact
• Exposure to emerging nonprofit strategies, programs, technologies, and initiatives
• Opportunity to develop cross-sector relationships
• Meaningful opportunity to strengthen an organization serving children and families experiencing housing instability

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit:

• Resume or Executive CV
• Brief Statement of Interest

Please highlight relevant experience in executive leadership, business strategy, entrepreneurship, finance, technology, innovation, organizational growth, consulting, partnerships, corporate leadership, advisory boards, or other areas where your expertise could strengthen MAP.

We are particularly interested in leaders who understand that great advisors do not need to run the organization to influence its future. They ask better questions, challenge thinking, share hard-earned perspective, open meaningful doors, and help leaders see what may be coming next.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Mentor A Promise. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, compliance, and programmatic requirements.

Bring your experience. Challenge our thinking. Expand what we can see. Help us build what comes next.