Development Manager

About Maharat

Founded in 2009, Yeshivat Maharat is the first institution to ordain Orthodox women as members of the clergy. Maharat’s vision is a world in which Jewish communities are educated, dynamic, and relevant, where diverse and impactful leaders inspire Jews to live spiritually engaged lives. Learn more at

Position Overview

The Development Manager is a high-impact, newly created role designed to scale Yeshivat Maharat’s external engagement and fundraising infrastructure during a period of significant strategic growth. Reporting to the EVP & Chief of Staff, this individual serves as the central engine for Maharat’s resource development, ensuring the continued financial strength of the institution and that its mission resonates with a global audience. The Development Manager will be responsible for the day-to-day execution of grant management, donor communications, and CRM management. They will support senior leadership to meet annual fundraising goals and bring in new funding opportunities. They will identify funding prospects, write and manage grant proposals and renewals, and ensure strong funder engagement and stewardship. In addition, the Development Manager will be a strong partner on external communications and take the lead on funder briefings and donor communications.

The successful candidate is a strategic thinker and an expert storyteller with cultural fluency in the Modern Orthodox Jewish landscape, feminist space, and global funding, possessing the unique ability to translate Maharat’s work into compelling narratives that inspire donor investment and engage the broader public. They will bring a track record in development and have an ability to collaborate effectively across internal teams and external stakeholders.

Core Responsibilities

Development & Grant Management

• Grant Lifecycle: Lead the full research, writing, and submission process for grant proposals and ensure 100% on-time, high-quality reporting for all institutional partners, coordinating with internal stakeholders as needed.
• Individual Giving: Execute a data-driven annual appeal strategy, including direct mail, digital campaigns, and the coordination of donor events to maximize donor retention and growth.
• Donor Stewardship: Develop and execute a comprehensive stewardship calendar that creates regular, meaningful touchpoints with supporters.
• Pipeline Support: Proactively conduct prospect research to identify new funding opportunities aligned with Maharat’s strategic priorities and support the President to cultivate those relationships.

Systems & Operations

• CRM Administration: Serve as the lead administrator for the donor database, maintaining impeccable data hygiene and producing monthly reports to track progress against fundraising goals.
• Analytics & Optimization: Track and analyze metrics across all communication channels to identify trends and refine strategies for donor conversion and audience growth.

Strategic Communications & Marketing Support

• Communications Support: Partner with the Communications Manager on content creation, brand stewardship, and Maharat’s digital marketing presence, ensuring that donor communications reflect the organization’s standards of excellence.

Core Competencies

• Autonomy: Proactively manages the development function; identifies departmental needs and implements solutions independently.
• Problem Solving: Uses data and institutional knowledge to resolve complex challenges in donor engagement.
• Project Leadership: Successfully leads cross-functional projects (e.g., grant proposals or major campaigns) from conception through completion.
• Collaborative Influence: Works effectively with the Senior Leadership Team to align external messaging with organizational strategy.
• Project Management: Manages multiple high-stakes deadlines simultaneously without sacrificing attention to detail.

Qualifications

• 3-5+ years of professional experience in nonprofit development or a related field.
• Ability to craft messages that resonate with the Modern Orthodox and global Jewish community.
• Exceptional grant-writing and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate Maharat’s work into compelling narratives for donors and supporters.
• Experience with CRM systems required.
• Experience with WordPress, email marketing tools, and social media management suites preferred.

Requires work on occasional evenings and weekends. Flexible schedule. Candidates within commuting distance of Riverdale, NY for in-person schedules preferred (we are remote on Fridays), but fully remote candidates will also be considered (though occasional travel to New York will be required).