Director of Development

Reports to: Deputy Director, Head of Philanthropy & Financial Strategy

Department: Development and Communications

Salary: $120,000 - $140,000

Schedule: Hybrid - 2 Days in office (W/Th) 9:30am – 5:30pm

FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

ABOUT HER JUSTICE

Her Justice is a nonprofit organization that advocates for and with women and gender diverse people living in poverty in New York City. We recruit and mentor volunteer lawyers to provide free legal help in the areas of immigration, family, and matrimonial law to address individual and systemic legal barriers.

100% of our clients are living in poverty in the five boroughs of New York City. In FY2025, 93% of our clients were women of color, 87% were survivors of intimate partner violence, 70% were mothers, and 50% spoke a primary language other than English.

Since 1993, we’ve provided life-changing free legal help to over 45,000 women and children and we’ve pursued policies that have bettered the experiences and outcomes for hundreds of thousands more. Her Justice is committed to creating a more fair and functional civil justice system for New Yorkers, so they can build safer, freer futures for themselves, their families, and their communities.

POSITION SUMMARY

Her Justice is seeking a strategic and relationship-driven Director of Development to help power its next stage of growth. The position reports to the Deputy Director, Head of Philanthropy & Financial Strategy, a seasoned fundraising leader with a strategic vision for growth who will rely on the Director to drive execution with a high degree of autonomy. The Director of Development will partner with our Director of Campaigns & Events and Director of Communications to co-lead the Department of Development and Communications at a time of significant growth and opportunity, and work closely with colleagues across Legal Programs, Finance, and Operations to align fundraising priorities with organizational goals and mission impact.

This role serves as a key ambassador for Her Justice, building meaningful relationships with supporters, and translating organizational priorities into compelling fundraising opportunities. This position is responsible for developing and executing strategies that strengthen and diversify support from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and other institutional partners outside of our Annual Benefit.

This is a senior, high-visibility position for an accomplished fundraiser who brings significant major gifts and campaign strategy experience and is excited by the opportunity to build out a robust development program and help Her Justice enter its next stage of philanthropic growth. The Director will bring experience cultivating and closing significant five- and six-figure gifts, along with the strategic perspective to help Her Justice build toward that level of giving. The successful candidate will strengthen fundraising infrastructure, expand and deepen the organization's donor pipeline, develop the team's capacity, and position Her Justice to substantially grow philanthropic revenue over the next five years.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and Leadership

• Partner with the Deputy Director, Head of Philanthropy & Financial Strategy, to design and execute the organization’s roadmap for growing annual revenue from $8 million to $10-12 million over the next five years.
• Build strong working relationships with the Board of Directors, engaging Board members as active partners in advancing the organization’s philanthropic goals.
• Serve as a senior fundraising leader within Her Justice, bringing fundraising expertise to organization-wide strategic planning, revenue forecasting, and donor strategy. Responsible for assessing, developing and executing opportunities for transformational fundraising growth and translating organizational revenue goals into annual strategy and benchmarks for the department.
• Partner with the Director of Campaigns & Events and the Director of Communications to support a collaborative team culture within the Department.

Individual Giving

• Build and significantly grow Her Justice's individual giving and major gifts program, strengthening the current pipeline of $25,000+ donors while developing strategies to cultivate, solicit, and close increasingly significant gifts over time.
• Personally manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects, applying sophisticated moves management and major gifts strategies to deepen relationships, increase giving, and move donors toward transformational levels of investment over time.
• Bring demonstrated major gifts and campaign experience to strengthen Her Justice's fundraising practices and build the infrastructure, pipeline, and donor relationships necessary to substantially increase major gift revenue.
• Set the strategy and metrics for individual giving growth, including pipeline development, donor retention, and upgrade strategies.
• Partner with the Director of Campaigns & Events and Director of Communications on stewardship strategy.

Corporate and Foundation Giving

• Grow and diversify Her Justice's corporate and foundation partnerships, leveraging experience developing and advancing significant five- and six-figure institutional relationships to identify new opportunities and deepen existing partnerships.
• Oversee the corporate giving portfolio outside of Her Justice's Annual Benefit, developing strategies to grow significant philanthropic investments and strategic partnerships.
• Oversee the foundation and government grants portfolio, ensuring a healthy pipeline of new prospects alongside strong stewardship and reporting for current funders.
• Guide proposal strategy and positioning to align funder priorities with Her Justice’s programs and growth goals.

Management and Supervision

• Directly supervise, coach, and develop two direct reports: the Grants Manager, responsible for foundation and government grants, and the Senior Development Manager, responsible for a portfolio of individual and corporate donors. Provide experienced fundraising leadership and mentorship to strengthen their capabilities, elevate fundraising strategy and execution, and support their continued professional growth.
• Establish clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with departmental and organizational objectives. Provide ongoing feedback, support professional development, and conduct performance evaluations.
• Manage performance against revenue targets and pipeline metrics across team portfolios.
• Build the team's capacity to cultivate and manage increasingly sophisticated donor and funder relationships, providing strategic guidance on major gifts, institutional fundraising, solicitation strategy, and portfolio management.

Systems, Data, and Operations

• Ensure disciplined use of Raiser’s Edge for pipeline tracking, moves management, and reporting.
• Establish and monitor metrics and dashboards that give organizational leadership real-time visibility into fundraising performance and pipeline health.
• Utilize donor data and insights to inform fundraising strategies and decision-making.

SKILLSET AND QUALITIES

Relationship Builder

You understand that successful fundraising is rooted in authentic relationships. You are skilled at cultivating trust with donors, foundations, law firm partners, corporate supporters, board members, and colleagues. You know how to engage stakeholders in meaningful ways and inspire long-term investment in an organization's mission.

Strategic Fundraiser

You can translate organizational priorities into fundraising opportunities. You understand how to identify revenue-generating strategies, build fundraising pipelines, and align donor interests with mission-driven outcomes. You are comfortable balancing long-term planning with day-to-day execution.

Persuasive Communicator

You know how to tell compelling stories that connect people to impact. Whether through donor conversations, written proposals, presentations, or stewardship communications, you can clearly articulate organizational needs, opportunities, and results in ways that motivate philanthropic support.

Revenue & Results Driven

You understand the importance of setting goals, measuring progress, and adapting strategies based on results. You are comfortable working with fundraising metrics, forecasting revenue, and using data to inform decision-making while maintaining a focus on relationship-centered fundraising.

Collaborative Partner

You recognize that fundraising is a shared organizational responsibility. You work effectively across departments, partnering with leadership, program staff, communications professionals, and board members to develop strategies, gather information, and create meaningful engagement opportunities for supporters.

Organized & Accountable

You are able to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and stakeholder relationships simultaneously. You bring strong project management skills, attention to detail, and a commitment to follow-through, ensuring fundraising activities are executed effectively and donor commitments are stewarded appropriately.

Mission-Driven Leader

You are motivated by the opportunity to advance social justice and expand access to resources for underserved communities. You bring sound judgment, professionalism, and a commitment to equity, inclusion, and client-centered practices in your work and leadership approach.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive fundraising, development, advancement, or philanthropic partnership experience.
• Demonstrated track record of cultivating, soliciting, and securing significant philanthropic commitments in the five- and six-figure range.
• Demonstrated experience developing and executing major gifts and fundraising strategies that have resulted in measurable revenue growth and support organizational revenue goals.
• Demonstrated experience supervising, coaching, and developing fundraising professionals and building the capabilities of high-performing development teams.
• Demonstrated experience with capital campaigns or other multi-year comprehensive campaigns.
• Proven ability to manage donor portfolios and cultivate relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders.
• Demonstrated experience partnering with and engaging Board members and executive leadership in fundraising strategy, donor cultivation, and solicitation.
• Experience working collaboratively with senior leaders, board members, volunteers, and cross-functional teams.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience developing donor-facing materials, proposals, reports, and presentations.
• Experience utilizing donor databases, CRM systems, and fundraising reporting tools to manage relationships and track fundraising performance.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work effectively in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and client-centered practices.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in legal services, social justice, gender equity, human rights, poverty alleviation, or other mission-driven nonprofit organizations.
• Knowledge of the New York City philanthropic, legal, and nonprofit landscape.
• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential or other relevant fundraising certification.

Work Environment

• Hybrid with a minimum of two days per week in the New York City office required.
• Regular attendance at donor meetings, fundraising events, board meetings, and organizational gatherings is expected.
• Occasional evening and weekend commitments may be required to support fundraising activities and donor engagement efforts.

OUR COMMITMENT:

HER JUSTICE is an Equal Opportunity Employer. HER JUSTICE does not discriminate due to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender and/or gender identity or expression, marital or parental status, national origin, ethnicity, citizenship status, veteran or military status, age, disability, unemployment status or any other legally protected basis, and to the extent permitted by law. Qualified candidates of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels.

IN-OFFICE WORK:

Her Justice works on a hybrid schedule with in office days being Wednesday and Thursday. We currently do not accept fully remote applicants.