Vice President, Development

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Vice President, Development based in the United States.

The Vice President of Development will establish and lead the organization's first dedicated Development function, creating the strategy, infrastructure, and relationships needed to grow sustainable philanthropic revenue. Reporting to the Executive Director, this executive leader will shape organization-wide fundraising priorities while building a major and principal gifts program from the ground up. The role combines hands-on donor cultivation and solicitation with strategic leadership, team development, and cross-functional collaboration. A central priority will be securing unrestricted and broadly restricted operating support, alongside philanthropic investment in initiatives focused on democracy, climate justice, immigration, gender equity, and reproductive health. The Vice President will work closely with senior executives, board members, Philanthropic Strategists, Program Officers, and external partners to turn relationships into meaningful funding opportunities. This is a high-impact, entrepreneurial opportunity requiring both near-term fundraising results and the development of long-term systems that strengthen the organization's resilience and influence in progressive philanthropy.

Accountabilities

• Build and lead the Development function: Design and implement an organization-wide fundraising strategy, establishing the systems, donor pipeline, portfolio practices, and moves-management processes needed for a sustainable contributed revenue program.
• Secure operating support: Lead efforts to raise unrestricted and broadly restricted funding that supports organizational capacity, innovation, and long-term priorities.
• Grow philanthropic investment in strategic initiatives: Develop and execute fundraising strategies for pooled grantmaking initiatives in democracy, climate justice, immigration, gender equity, and reproductive health, in partnership with senior leadership and Program Officers.
• Deliver major and transformational gifts: Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual and institutional donors, with particular emphasis on major and principal gifts and donors of color. Establish donor onboarding, giving, engagement, and retention strategies.
• Build and manage the donor pipeline: Set ambitious, data-informed fundraising targets; establish rigorous systems to track donor progress and portfolio performance; and work toward at least doubling the major donor pipeline by activating the organization's partner database.
• Strengthen donor relationships and engagement: Build authentic relationships across high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, donors of color, foundations, corporate philanthropies, and other philanthropic stakeholders. Support funder learning and long-term engagement.
• Mobilize senior leaders and board members: Partner with the CEO, Executive Director, executive team, and Board of Directors to prepare for high-value donor engagements, develop cultivation and solicitation plans, and turn networks and introductions into funding opportunities.
• Develop the wider fundraising network: Mentor Philanthropic Strategists and Program Officers, building their capacity to contribute to donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship alongside their existing advisory and program responsibilities.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team: Manage the existing development team, including a Major Gift Officer and Prospect Researcher, establish additional roles as needed, and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, excellence, and follow-through.
• Contribute to organizational leadership: Participate in the Senior Leadership Team, align fundraising goals with organizational strategy, and collaborate with Marketing, Business Development, Programs, and the future External Affairs and Strategic Communications leadership.
• Improve fundraising effectiveness: Monitor philanthropic trends and donor behavior, strengthen processes and reporting, and ensure the organization can adapt to changing political, economic, and funding conditions.
• Establish early momentum: Work with the Executive Director during the first 90 days to define portfolio size and revenue goals, while delivering credible near-term progress and meaningful gifts within the first several months.

Requirements

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in philanthropy, strategic partnerships, or major and principal gifts fundraising within a complex organization.
• Demonstrated success meeting or exceeding fundraising goals and advancing through increasingly senior leadership roles.
• Comprehensive knowledge of fundraising programs, including donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and long-term relationship development.
• Strong track record engaging high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, institutional funders, foundations, and corporate philanthropies.
• Direct experience engaging donors of color, with an understanding of the philanthropic behaviors, motivations, and relationship dynamics relevant to these communities.
• Experience developing fundraising campaigns and programmatic strategies in partnership with organizational and program leaders.
• Significant experience building, managing, hiring, supervising, and developing high-performing teams in organizations of comparable scale.
• Demonstrated ability to engage board members and senior volunteers as active partners in fundraising.
• Understanding of nonprofit organizational structures, financials, and management; experience with multi-entity structures, including 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) entities, is strongly preferred.
• Credibility and sophistication when working across progressive philanthropy, including major donors, foundation officers, movement leaders, and institutional partners.
• Strong strategic planning, project management, decision-making, and change leadership capabilities, with a focus on measurable outcomes.
• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to navigate complex partnerships and build trust across functions.
• High integrity, emotional intelligence, political acuity, discretion, and sound ethical judgment.
• Entrepreneurial, self-directed approach, with the ability to prioritize effectively, maintain momentum, and deliver results in a fast-moving, high-stakes environment.
• Genuine commitment to social justice, progressive social change, and values of respect, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and equity.
• Proficiency with Salesforce or a similar CRM platform. Familiarity with Microsoft Office Suite and NetSuite is a plus.

Benefits

• Competitive starting salary based on geographic pay tier:
  
  • National GeoTier: $191,200-$238,800.
  • Moderate GeoTier: $208,400-$260,500.
  • High GeoTier: $229,100-$286,400.
• Remote work arrangement across the United States.
• Location-based compensation structure that considers skills and relevant experience.
• Pay equity commitment, with no request for salary history.
• Opportunity to establish and lead a new Development function and shape long-term organizational fundraising strategy.
• Executive-level collaboration with senior leaders, board members, philanthropic partners, and influential networks.
• Opportunity to contribute to social justice initiatives and support funding for systemic change.
• Reasonable accommodations available for applicants with disabilities during the interview process.

How Jobgether works:

We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team.

We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!

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