Lead Director of Philanthropy (26-27)

IDEA Public Schools•El Paso, TX

19d•$108,100 - $128,600

About The Position

The Lead Director of Philanthropy is a senior frontline fundraising leader responsible for driving performance, operational rigor, and consistency across IDEA’s major gifts team. Overseeing a cohort of Directors of Philanthropy, the Lead Director provides coaching, portfolio strategy support, and operational oversight to ensure IDEA’s multi-region major gifts pipeline delivers sustained, predictable revenue growth. Reporting to the Sr. Managing Director of Development, the Lead Director translates organizational fundraising strategy into clear execution plans for the major gifts team, supporting Directors in portfolio segmentation, donor strategy development, impactful stewardship, and rigorous pipeline management. This role ensures that IDEA’s major gift practices are aligned, data-informed, and relationship-centered across all regions. In addition to people leadership, the Lead Director maintains a select portfolio of high-capacity donors, modeling best-in-class cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices. They partner closely with Development leadership to ensure major gifts fundraisers have the clarity, coaching, and operational support needed to achieve annual revenue targets.

Requirements

Extensive experience securing and overseeing transformational gifts ($50,000–$500,000+), with mastery in multi-year, endowed, and planned giving strategies.
Demonstrated success managing your own high-value portfolio while coaching and developing major gift officers to strengthen performance and pipeline health.
Ability to design and implement portfolio strategy, prospect assignment, and revenue plans across multiple regions
Confident thought partner to senior leaders—able to shape fundraising strategy, guide messaging, and represent the department at the highest levels
Skilled at aligning diverse teams around shared donor strategies and organizational priorities
Advanced ability to use analytics, forecasting, segmentation, and performance dashboards to drive strategy and accountability
Deep understanding of IDEA’s mission and long-term vision, with the ability to translate organizational priorities into a cohesive philanthropic strategy across regions
Experience designing training, coaching, and performance systems for fundraisers
High confidence managing up, across, and down—especially in distributed or multi-region environments
Strong judgment, discretion, and problem-solving in complex donor and organizational scenarios
Ability to navigate ambiguity and lead through change with clarity and confidence
Willingness to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings and weekends during peak fundraising periods; must be comfortable working independently while traveling
Bachelor’s degree required
7+ years of major gifts experience, including securing six- or seven-figure gifts and managing fundraisers or cross-functional teams

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree
CFRE/CFRM

Responsibilities

Personally manage a select portfolio of high-capacity individual and institutional donors, leading cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that secure transformational and multi-year major gifts.
Directly supervise and coach Directors of Philanthropy across multiple regions by setting clear expectations, guiding major gifts portfolio strategy, and ensuring consistent execution and performance standards.
Oversee major gifts portfolio segmentation, revenue planning, and strategy across multiple regions to ensure alignment with IDEA’s major gifts fundraising model and annual goals.
Lead pipeline management, forecasting, and progress-to-goal reviews for the major gifts team across multiple regions, identifying risks and opportunities and guiding timely course corrections across major gifts portfolios.
Model best-in-class major gifts fundraising practices through personal donor engagement, including complex solicitations, multi-year commitments, and advanced giving strategies.
Partner cross-functionally to ensure coordinated stewardship, strong data integrity, and effective executive engagement in support of major gifts donors.
Strengthen consistency and execution within the major gifts function by supporting training, shared tools, and performance discipline for the Directors of Philanthropy.
In addition to the essential duties outlined above, the Lead Director of Philanthropy contributes to planning, forecasting, and continuous improvement efforts specific to the major gifts function.
This role supports the refinement of portfolio management practices, performance tracking, and fundraising operations across regions; assists with leadership reporting and analysis related to major gifts performance; and participates in special initiatives or pilots that strengthen consistency, effectiveness, and scalability within IDEA’s major gifts program.