Managing Director of Development, Roosevelt Institute

Working Location: 

Hybrid - New York City or Washington, DC; Approx. 1–2 days onsite/3–4 days offsite

To apply, please submit a resume, click "Apply Now", and respond to three short-answer questions in lieu of uploading a cover letter. We must receive your responses to the questions for your application to be reviewed*.

• Please tell us why you are interested in this role and working for the Roosevelt Institute, and how this role aligns with your professional trajectory up to this point (250 words max).
• Walk us through your approach to building and expanding individual giving programs - how do you develop and cultivate donor relationships? (250 words max)

• This role will manage a four-person development team - how do you lead and support staff to foster high-functioning development teams? (250 words max)

Roosevelt’s Work

The Roosevelt Institute takes on today’s greatest public policy challenges by advancing bold, cutting-edge research and policy ideas. We believe that the future of the American economy and our democracy depends on a new way of thinking about markets and government—and have successfully engaged with policymakers and the media to inform and shape public debate. Too few people hold too much economic and political power today, and we know that a stronger society is possible if we rectify this imbalance between private actors and the public. With a commitment to restructuring markets, transforming corporations, reviving democratic institutions, and reimagining the role of government, our work moves our nation toward a more resilient, equitable, and green future.

The Roosevelt Institute is a think tank, a student network, and the nonprofit partner to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum that, together, are learning from the past and working to redefine our collective future. Focusing on corporate and public power, labor and wages, and the economics of race and gender inequality, the Roosevelt Institute unifies experts, invests in young leaders, and advances progressive policies that bring the legacy of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt into the 21st century.

What You’ll Do

Reporting directly to the Chief Development Officer, the Managing Director of Development (MD) will lead fundraising strategy for the Roosevelt Institute’s think tank and people development programs as well as Roosevelt Forward, with a primary focus on building a robust major individual giving program and a secondary focus on providing strategic oversight of institutional/foundation fundraising. 

Roosevelt has strong, long-standing foundation relationships but has not yet built a dedicated individual giving function, and the organization is in the final stages of rolling out a new strategic plan. This role will leverage that new strategic plan to build an individual giving program largely from the ground up, in service of a three-to-five-year goal of growing individual giving from a portfolio of 5 percent of annual income to 25 percent or close to $5 million annually and diversifying the organization’s revenue base. The MD will partner closely with the Chief Development Officer in shaping the program’s direction and design, will personally cultivate their own portfolio of major individual donors and prospects, and will lead the development team in executing that shared vision. 

Responsibilities include: managing and continuously building a robust pipeline of donors and prospects to support the organization’s work; cultivating and managing relationships with funders; managing the team toward excellent grant writing, project management, and stewardship; partnering with organizational leadership and program staff on new program development and strategy; and other related activities. The MD will oversee a team of four staff: director of foundation relations, donor engagement manager, grants manager, and development associate.

This is a full-time, nonunionized, people management role.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

• In partnership with the Chief Development Officer, shape the strategic design of expanding Roosevelt’s major individual giving program—then manage its execution and build its infrastructure, including prospect research, moves management, solicitation, and stewardship, to ensure strong systems and practices.

• Manage the overall fundraising pipeline for both the Roosevelt Institute (c3) and Roosevelt Forward a (c4), including advising on strategy, tracking progress toward goals, and leveraging data to inform decisions, employing a combination of strategic thinking and tactical execution. 

• Develop and drive a comprehensive donor engagement strategy to steward donors and attract new prospects, including elements like strategic communications, cultivation events, and funder briefings.

• Directly cultivate and manage their own portfolio of major individual and donor prospects identifying and pursuing opportunities.

• Manage the Donor Engagement Manager in growing Roosevelt’s existing mid-level giving pipeline (currently approximately $400,000 annually) toward $1 million, in service of a broader goal of building Roosevelt’s individual giving portfolio to at least $5 million within three-to-five years.

• Oversee Roosevelt’s foundation relations function (managed day to day by the Director of Foundation Relations) to sustain strong institutional fundraising performance.

• Regularly engage Roosevelt’s program and communications teams to identify programmatic work, projects, and events to leverage as opportunities to engage donors and prospects.

• Coordinate closely with the Managing Director of Library Philanthropy for the FDR Presidential Library and Museum (FDRL), who is responsible for leading fundraising strategy for the FDRL (currently being hired), to ensure and optimize seamless donor experiences for supporters across the Roosevelt Institute, Roosevelt Forward, and the FDRL.  

• Keep abreast of current events and other important items related to Roosevelt’s work on political economy to seek out opportunities to highlight our work to key audiences.

• Manage the team toward excellence, including guiding and mentoring staff to be successful in their roles and supporting their ongoing development, promoting a strong and collaborative team culture, and hiring and onboarding new talent as needed. 

What You’ll Have

• Minimum of 8–10 years experience in fundraising for nonprofit organizations. This role does not have an education requirement.

• Experience building, or substantially growing, an individual giving program, ideally including cultivation of political donors.

• Experience managing and supporting staff from a diversity of backgrounds and levels.

• Understanding of the philanthropic and political environment, best practices in fundraising, and the field in which Roosevelt works. Familiarity with the progressive policy ecosystem strongly preferred.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

• Proven experience managing, prioritizing, and meeting multiple deadlines in a fast-paced environment. 

• Ability to present complex programmatic strategies and activities in narratives and messaging that are approachable for and tailored to specific funder audiences.

• Strong organization skills, including outstanding attention to detail.

• Experience using donor databases like Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, etc.

The salary for this position is $162,000–175,000 plus benefits. This is a full-time, nonunionized management role.