As the leader of the Development vertical, the Senior Director’s role is wide ranging and encompasses both internal and external components:
Internally, the Senior Director is responsible for:
Strategy and Goal Setting: developing and executing fundraising and donor retention strategies that align with the organization’s goals. This includes setting and achieving annual fundraising and donor stewardship targets.
Team Management and Department Oversight: The Senior Director manages Fund Development team members and oversees the department’s budget.
Executive Partnership: Providing department leads and the Executive Leadership Team with ongoing insight into the health of our client’s major donor relationships, the fundraising pipeline, and recommended actions to capture opportunities or mitigate risks.
Externally, the Senior Director’s role centers on major donor retention and acquisition.
Existing Donor Retention: Leading and growing relationships with the organization’s major ‘non-child welfare’ donors (including the 14 Audacious Project funders, who account for $42.5M or 66% of the organization’s booked revenue)
New Donor Acquisition: Managing and growing the prospect pipeline, developing pitches, and ultimately meeting annual fundraising targets.
Communications & Representation: Leading one-on-one meetings with major donors and the Quarterly Investor Roundtable (in close partnership with the CDO); Developing donor-facing communications and reports,andrepresentingthe organization in major donor and partner forums.
The Senior Director reports directly to the CDOand is expected to support the CDO’s fundraising and donor engagement.
Key Competencies
Strategic Vision: Translates organizational mission into compelling philanthropic strategies that drive sustainable growth and systems change impact.
Relationship Leadership: Builds and maintains complex stakeholder relationships with foundation leaders, corporate partners, and high-net-worth individuals who share the organizations' commitment to child welfare transformation.
Cross-Functional Integration: Ensures development strategies are deeply integrated with program delivery, organizational operations, and impact measurement across all departments.
Innovation Mindset: Continuously identifies opportunities to enhance development effectiveness through technology, process improvement, and strategic positioning within the sector.
Systems Thinking: Approaches fundraising as part of broader organizational capacity building and social change strategy rather than transactional revenue generation.
Experience & Qualifications
Leadership Experience
Proven track record leading major gift fundraising strategies in mission-driven organizations, with experience managing portfolios of $1M+ annually
Demonstrated success in institutional fundraising, including foundation relations, corporate partnerships, and complex proposal development
Experience building and leading development operations, including CRM management, process development, and team supervision
Strategic Capabilities
Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills with ability to identify trends, opportunities, and organizational positioning within competitive philanthropic landscapes
Excellent communication and narrative development skills, particularly in translating complex systems work into compelling donor-facing content
Deep understanding of philanthropic dynamics in social justice, child welfare, or adjacent sectors
Mission Alignment
Commitment to the organization’s values of lived experience leadership, equity, and systems transformation
Understanding of child welfare sector challenges and opportunities for philanthropic engagement
Passion for innovative approaches to social change funding and partnership development