Senior Director, Fund Development

TalentRemedy•Washington, WA

About The Position

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, team management and department oversight, and executive partnership. Externally, the Senior Director’s role centers on major donor retention and acquisition, including existing donor retention and new donor acquisition. The Senior Director also leads communications & representation efforts and reports directly to the CDO, supporting the CDO’s fundraising and donor engagement.

Requirements

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.
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.
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.
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.

Responsibilities

Developing and executing fundraising and donor retention strategies that align with the organization’s goals.
Setting and achieving annual fundraising and donor stewardship targets.
Managing Fund Development team members and overseeing the department’s budget.
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.
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).
Managing and growing the prospect pipeline, developing pitches, and ultimately meeting annual fundraising targets.
Leading one-on-one meetings with major donors and the Quarterly Investor Roundtable (in close partnership with the C D O).
Developing donor-facing communications and reports.
Representing the organization in major donor and partner forums.
Supporting the CDO’s fundraising and donor engagement.