ROLE TITLE: Senior Managing Director, Development
POSITION REPORTS TO: Vice President, Field Fundraising
PRIORITY APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, June 29th. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
LOCATION: Nashville or Chattanooga (In-Person Hybrid schedule)
WHAT YOU'LL DO
All Prospect & Donor Management roles on our Field Fundraising teams are responsible for cultivating, stewarding, and managing a portfolio of donors within our local communities who share our commitment to ensuring that all children have access to an excellent and equitable education.
As a member of the Field Fundraising team, you will contribute to a collaborative, team-based effort to develop and execute a long-term vision and strategy for achieving our private fundraising goals.
In this role, you will partner closely with the Memphis and Nashville/Chattanooga Executive Directors, regional advisory board members and other frontline fundraisers to maximize giving-playing a key role in donor strategy, cultivation, and acquisition over the next three to five years.
Reporting to the Vice President, Field Fundraising, you will be responsible for raising $5-10 million or more from a complex portfolio of high-potential donors across multiple funding streams, typically individuals or institutions capable of giving $100,000 or more annually. You will serve as the primary relationship manager, working directly with the Executive Director to cultivate, solicit, and steward these donors. In addition, as a senior portfolio manager, you will also oversee a select portfolio of statewide donors whose partnerships advance our broader regional and statewide impact.
We are seeking a seasoned, senior-level development professional who can independently design and implement long-term strategies to acquire, cultivate, retain, and diversify our local funding base. As a subject-matter expert in fundraising and development, you may also mentor or manage other development staff, providing coaching, strategic guidance, and collaborative problem-solving in partnership with the Vice President, Field Fundraising.
WHAT YOU'LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
20% - Build a comprehensive, multi-year vision and plan for cultivating complex, high giving potential donors in local contexts with the goal of maximizing revenue to the organization as a whole
40% - Directly manage, cultivate, steward, and solicit (a portfolio of high-potential donors across a variety of funding streams
20% - Work in close partnership with the Memphis and Nashville/Chattanooga Executive Directors to build the long-term strategy, develop and maintain a keen understanding of the political landscape and its relationship to public and private donors and funding opportunities, and build and maintain critical relationships in the public and private sphere necessary to advance fundraising efforts, including local advisory board members
10% - Depending on the size and scope of your portfolio, manage a team of 2+ development staff members, holding accountability for their individual fundraising in addition to the goals for the portfolio you manage
5% - Consistently maintain donor, prospect, and fundraising activity information in our customer relationship management system (currently SalesForce) and leverage this information in tracking progress, monitoring gaps, and adjusting strategy and approach
5% - Steward team and organizational initiatives, effectively manage cross-functional stakeholders, align diverse teams around shared objectives, and drive collaboration to achieve organizational outcomes.
YOUR EXPERIENCE
Your areas of knowledge and expertise that matter most for this role (minimum qualifications):
Relationship Building and Management
Exceptional relationship builder, particularly with external stakeholders
Orientation and desire to seek out and develop new relationships and partnerships
Experience cultivating executive level donors and partners
Influence others by uniquely tailoring approaches that appeal to the motivations and perspectives and executing sophisticated relationship management of a diverse group of donors
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, particularly when working with external audiences
Fundraising and Development Strategy
Subject matter expert in advanced development practices and the art and science of fundraising
Comprehensive experience and success working with high-potential donors across a variety of streams (individual, corporate, foundation, public)
Adept at building multi-year cultivation and stewardship plans that maintain exceptional donor retention and build pathways to diversifying pipelines and securing new donors
Understands current trends in philanthropy at both a local and national level and leverages up-to-date information and/or best practices
Portfolio Management
Ability to autonomously steward a complex portfolio of donors and prospects at various stages of the donor life cycle towards successful closing of gifts
Monitor progress across the portfolio to ensure continuous donor stewardship
When appropriate, serve as the primary relationship holder and/or primary solicitor for opportunities and donors
Mentorship/Management of Fundraising Staff
Manage and or mentor fundraising staff by giving feedback, coaching, and fundraising-related resources and learning experiences
Prior experience
Required: At least 10+ years of related experience in a highly complex development and fundraising context
Required: Track record of meeting and exceeding ambitious goals as a donor portfolio manager
Required: Bachelor's Degree
Preferred: Teach For America development experience
Nice to Have: Fundraising certification (i.e. CRFE/CRFM or the equivalent) and/or related Master's Degree (e.g. MBA, M, Non-Profit Management)
Work Demands
Occasional weekend or evening work hours required.
Must be able to travel across the state to engage with local donors
YOUR FUTURE TEAM
The Revenue and Development team at Teach For America inspires donors and champions to contribute to shaping the future of our country by investing in Teach For America's work with students nationally and regionally. We aim to source investments that fuel our work and impact with a revenue growth trajectory to raise $300 million annually. This role will be an essential part of the Field Fundraising arm of the Revenue and Development team, maximizing the contributions of local donors across multiple regions of the country.
YOUR COMPENSATION
The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. The expected salary ranges for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.
Tier A (Nashville- Chattanooga): $108,900 - $148,700
You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work here.
About Teach For America
Teach For America (TFA) is a selective leadership development program that’s committed to achieving educational equity in the U.S. We work in partnership with 51 communities across America to achieve the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn and thrive. With TFA, you can redefine the possibilities for students while growing immeasurably as a leader.
We’re currently looking for outstanding and diverse leaders to become TFA “corps members.” As a corps member, you’ll commit to teaching for two years in a low-income community, where you’ll be employed by a local school and work full-time as a teacher in a pre-K through 12th grade class.
Being a corps member is just the start of a lifetime of impact, leadership, and advocacy. After two years, you will become an alumnus of TFA. You may choose to continue working in education, whether as a classroom teacher or in school leadership. Inspired by your students, you may decide to enter a different career in which you will continue advocating for equity. Our alumni go on to become attorneys, CEOs, small business owners, doctors, and countless other professions. No matter what path you choose after the corps, you will be continuously supported by the large, diverse TFA alumni network, with more than 56,000 leaders.
Education influences everything, from income to healthcare to our environment. As a corps member, you’ll be able to apply the skills and experience you gain in the classroom toward creating a more equitable nation for generations to come. Submit your application to join our movement today.