The client seeks a Senior Director of Development to build, lead, and elevate a high-performing fundraising function that supports the organization’s mission and long-term sustainability. This is a senior leadership role with significant visibility, reporting directly to the Managing Director & COO and serving as a strategic partner to the President & CEO and Managing Director & COO to drive external fundraising and donor engagement. The role also provides leadership and representation externally with major donors, institutional funders, and philanthropic partners.
The Senior Director of Development will design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy aligned with organizational priorities and growth goals. Responsibilities include setting annual revenue targets, department KPIs, and team priorities; monitoring progress and adjusting strategy as needed; and contributing to annual planning and budgeting, strategy setting, and cross-divisional coordination. The role is expected to expand the organization’s philanthropic presence nationally and strengthen foundation, major gifts, and related C4 fundraising, while stewarding a development function that reflects the client’s values, cultural organizing, and racial justice commitments.
Key responsibilities span external engagement and team management, including cultivating and managing a portfolio of foundation partners, major donors, and high-capacity prospects; leading high-level donor meetings (at times with senior leaders); and overseeing the end-to-end process for institutional donors and major gifts from identification and qualification through solicitation and stewardship. The Senior Director of Development will manage and mentor a three-person development team, build systems for performance, donor stewardship, prospect research, and revenue forecasting, and guide the creation of fundraising collateral, digital content, proposals, and reports in collaboration with internal teams. They will also expand foundation support across the organization’s core issue areas, including strengthening democracy, climate/environmental justice, civil & human rights, and economic justice.