Job Announcement
Title: Chief Development Officer
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: DC based or open to remote location
Updated: November 2024
ABOUT NATIONAL SKILLS COALITION
National Skills Coalition (NSC) fights for a national commitment to inclusive, high-quality skills training so that more people have access to a better life, and more local businesses see sustained growth. Since 2000, through expert analysis and technical assistance, broad-based organizing, targeted advocacy, and cutting-edge communications, NSC has changed hundreds of state and federal skills policies that have changed thousands of lives and grown local businesses and economies.
POSITION SUMMARY
The Chief Development Officer (CDO) at National Skills Coalition (NSC) is a key executive leader responsible for driving organizational growth and aligning development strategies with NSC's long-term objectives. The CDO will develop and implement a multi-year fundraising plan, leveraging diverse revenue streams such as individual giving, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants, while exploring new approaches such as fee-for-service models. This role involves working closely with the CEO, Director of Institutional Giving, and executive team to cultivate relationships with major donors, corporate partners, and foundations to secure sustained support for NSC’s mission, while also collaborating on sponsorship strategies and marketing efforts. The CDO oversees donor engagement, manages the development team, ensures effective donor database management and leads special campaigns. This position focuses on financial sustainability, innovative fundraising, and building long-term relationships to enhance NSC’s impact.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Strategic Leadership
- Serve as a key member of NSC’s executive leadership team, contributing to overall strategy and organizational growth.
- Align development goals with NSC’s strategic objectives, ensuring that fundraising efforts support annual revenue goals, increased capacity, and long-term sustainability.
- Collaborate with the CEO, executive team, Director of Institutional Giving, and staff to assess funding needs and create a fundraising strategy that supports organizational priorities.
Fundraising Strategy and Innovation
- Work with executive team and Director of Institutional Giving to develop and execute a comprehensive multi-year, multi-phased fundraising plan—rooted in an overarching fundraising framework—that drives growth through diverse revenue streams, including individual giving, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants.
- Drive innovative approaches to increase unrestricted funding, strengthen financial flexibility, and diversify revenue streams by exploring and implementing new funding sources and revenue-generating approaches such as fee-for-service and membership models, online fundraising, fundraising events, grassroots fundraising strategies (such as crowdfunding), and government fundraising in alignment with NSC’s mission.
- Maintain a portfolio of key donors, focusing initially on individual, corporate, and foundation relationships to ensure long-term sustainability.
- Collaborate with the Director of Institutional Giving and Managing Director of Communications to create customized fundraising marketing materials and content, integrating philanthropic elements into all of the organizational print and digital strategies, including advertising, earned media, direct mail, video, online donation pages, social media, mobile donations, and more.
- Develop and implement funder and donor recognition strategies that boost engagement, demonstrate impact, and build long-term relationships through tiered programs, personalized acknowledgments, and public recognition across events, communications, and digital platforms.
Donor Engagement and Stewardship
- Collaborate with the CEO, Director of Institutional Giving, and Chief Strategy Officer to cultivate and steward relationships with foundations, corporate partners, major donors, and other funders, ensuring strong, sustainable support through personalized stewardship and long-term engagement.
- Work with the CEO, executive team, and Director of Institutional Giving to assess existing fundraising practices to identify strengths, risks, and areas for improvement, ensuring alignment with best practices and funder expectations, while recommending enhancements to strengthen relationships and mitigate challenges.
- Partner with the board of directors to support direct fundraising efforts and expand NSC’s funder and donor networks.
- Work with the CEO, Director of Institutional Giving, and Chief Strategy Officer to provide leadership in developing new partnerships with corporate sponsors and foundation funders.
Team Leadership and Development
- Lead and manage the development team, fostering a culture of accountability, incentives, innovation, and professional growth—ensuring they are equipped to meet their targets and contribute to NSC’s fundraising success.
- Assess the current team structure and capacity, making recommendations to scale and adjust as necessary to meet revenue goals—both annually and in the long term.
- Foster a culture of philanthropy across the organization, working with staff and board to enhance donor engagement and support mission-driven fundraising initiatives.
Operations and Financial Management
- In collaboration with the Director of Institutional Giving, oversee the management of donor databases and fundraising systems to ensure efficient operations, accurate tracking of donor interactions and giving history, and data-driven decision-making, enabling timely follow-up and strategic outreach.
- Provide accurate, timely fundraising reports to the CEO, executive team, Board, and funders (as appropriate) by analyzing data, measuring campaign success, and informing strategy adjustments, while collaborating with the Chief of Staff to create an evaluation plan and KPI monitoring tool specific to fundraising.
- Develop and manage the development department’s budget, working with the Chief Operating Officer to ensure resources are allocated effectively to meet fundraising goals.
- Ensure compliance with grant reporting requirements and secure certifications from transparency organizations such as GuideStar, Charity Navigator, Better Business Bureau, and Wikipedia, among others, to enhance credibility and facilitate donations.
- Lead the strategic assessment, planning and execution of special fundraising campaigns tied to programmatic goals and aligned with existing and new fundraising strategies.
QUALIFICATIONS
§ Minimum 10 to 15 years of relevant management experience in a nonprofit organization, preferably in the workforce development and educations fields or those adjacent to NSC’s mission.
§ Proven success in developing and executing multi-year, diversified fundraising strategies, including individual giving, corporate partnerships, and foundation grants, among other approaches.
§ Ability to align fundraising strategies with organizational goals, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth.
§ Strong relationship-building skills with a track record of cultivating and stewarding relationships with major donors, corporate sponsors, and foundations.
§ Experience leading innovative approaches to diversify revenue streams, including fee-for-service models, membership programs, crowdfunding, and government fundraising.
§ Demonstrated ability to manage a development team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and growth.
§ Expertise in donor database management, data-driven decision-making, and ensuring compliance with grant reporting requirements.
§ Strong collaboration skills, working effectively with CEO, executive leadership, boards, and cross-functional teams to achieve fundraising goals.
§ Proven ability to work cross-functionally with executive leadership, board members, and other teams to advance fundraising efforts.
§ Strong ability to analyze data and use metrics to inform strategy, optimize campaigns, and drive organizational success.
§ Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to create compelling fundraising marketing materials and donor recognition strategies that build long-term relationships.
ORGANIZATIONAL CORE COMPETENCIES
§ Collaboration, Partnership and Coalition Building The ability to work cooperatively and inclusively with others, cultivate positive and trusting relationships, and generate necessary buy-in to achieve shared goals among partners
§ Communication The ability to understand audiences and communicate productively, effectively, and inclusively
§ Project Management and Goal Execution The ability to effectively manage time, resources, and priorities to achieve desired project and task outcomes and strategic goals
§ Racial Equity and Inclusion The ability to create, maintain, and improve a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace and partner community where all can thrive; the ability to ensure that our work reflects our commitment to racial equity and inclusion
§ Problem-Solving and Strategic Thinking The ability to anticipate and respond to problems that may not have obvious answers with creativity and a solutions-oriented mindset and to see the big picture and anticipate opportunities, environmental changes and challenges to guide the organization toward its objectives
§ Technical Expertise The technical abilities to be successful in a role and the growth mindset to continue developing those abilities
COMPENSATION: Salary range for this position is $160,000-$190,000; salary depends on relevant experience and new staff rarely start at the top of the range. Excellent benefits package, including employer-paid health and dental, retirement plan, life and disability insurance and generous vacation policy.
National Skills Coalition is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and people of color are strongly encouraged to apply.
