Senior Director, Government Development

JFF • Columbia, WA

6d • Remote

About The Position

The Senior Director, Government Development is a senior leader on JFF’s Development team, advancing mission-aligned public sector revenue in support of JFF’s goal that by 2033, 75 million Americans facing barriers to economic advancement will have quality jobs. The role leads strategy, capture, proposal development, and team operations across federal, state, and local government grants and contracts, particularly at the intersection of workforce development, education, and economic development.

The Senior Director strengthens and grows JFF’s government funding portfolio by identifying high-potential public funding opportunities, building relationships with public agency clients and external partners, leading competitive capture strategies, and ensuring proposal teams have the structure and support needed to submit strong proposals. The role also helps prepare successful project launches and transitions following new awards.

Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Senior Director works closely with the Development Leadership Team, program leaders, Finance, Operations, and other colleagues across JFF. The position leads a Government Development team of two and manages cross-functional teams of staff and consultants assembled for specific opportunities. The team analyzes funding data, identifies and assesses opportunities, develops relationships with prospective funders and partners, facilitates go/no-go decisions, and manages proposal development from concept through submission. The ideal candidate is located in Washington, D.C., or close to the region.

Requirements

• At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience in public sector business development, nonprofit leadership, capture, grants, contracts, fundraising, consulting, or a related field.
• Demonstrated record of leading successful federal and state grant and contract pursuits, including complex cross-functional proposals in workforce development, education, economic development, or adjacent policy and systems-change contexts.
• Understanding of federal and state procurement and grant processes, with the ability to translate requirements, solicitation terms, and eligibility criteria into strategies, workplans, and submissions.
• Proven experience building relationships in federal agencies and with key stakeholders in the Washington, D.C.–Maryland–Virginia region, with a track record of cultivating networks that surface opportunities and advance government development goals.
• Skill in building relationships with government clients, partners, subcontractors, subrecipients, and other external stakeholders.
• Experience developing or overseeing competitive pricing, budgets, cost proposals, and level-of-effort assumptions for government opportunities, including alignment with applicable government cost requirements defined in the FAR.
• Ability to identify, qualify, and prioritize opportunities based on mission alignment, competitiveness, revenue potential, organizational capacity, risk, and impact.
• Excellent writing and editing skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information into clear, persuasive, audience-centered content.
• Experience managing and developing staff through setting expectations, providing feedback, coaching performance, and supporting career growth.
• Inclusive leadership skills and the ability to foster a workplace where people can contribute, learn, grow, and do their best work.
• Effective project and people leadership, including bringing structure to complex work, clarifying ownership, anticipating bottlenecks, and keeping teams on schedule.
• Ability to influence without formal authority and collaborate with program leaders, subject matter experts, Finance, Legal and Contracts, Resource Management, and external partners.
• Strong process and systems improvement orientation and experience using CRM, project management, and proposal management tools.
• Sound judgment in balancing strategic priorities, technical requirements, people, resources, risk, and impact.
• High energy and genuine commitment to JFF’s mission and North Star goal.
• Curiosity and adaptability, with openness to new information, perspectives, and data.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Salesforce, Asana, or similar platforms.

Responsibilities

• Develop and manage JFF’s strategy for outreach, engagement, and relationship development with current and prospective public agency clients.
• Contribute to Development strategy, goals, and key performance indicators, ensuring Government Development priorities and resource decisions support the broader fundraising portfolio.
• Cultivate external strategic and project-specific partnerships that strengthen JFF’s ability to pursue and deliver public sector work.
• Develop and execute a government grants and contracts strategy aligned with JFF’s mission, priorities, and revenue goals, with emphasis on federal and state funding.
• Lead market research and identify opportunities across federal, state, and local agencies, especially in education, workforce, and economic development.
• Establish and manage opportunity assessment and go/no-go practices, including criteria, decision rights, timelines, risk analysis, and resource implications.
• Build and manage capture plans for high-priority opportunities, covering client strategy, competitor analysis, positioning, partners, pricing, and proposal planning.
• Maintain a government funding calendar and pipeline forecast aligned with revenue goals, procurement timelines, recompetes, and strategic priorities.
• Track public sector funding trends, agency priorities, and procurement calendars, and use proposal outcomes and lessons learned to improve future pursuits.
• Lead responses to complex federal, state, and local government procurements, including contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements.
• Assemble and manage cross-functional proposal teams, including program leaders, subject matter experts, Finance, Resource Management, Legal and Contracts, Communications, external partners, and consultants.
• Set proposal workplans, roles, decision rights, timelines, review cycles, and escalation paths.
• Work with program leaders and subject matter experts to shape technical responses and service delivery models responsive to public needs and grounded in JFF’s expertise.
• Serve as lead writer, editor, strategist, and quality assurance partner for high-priority proposals.
• Oversee compliant, persuasive proposals, including narratives, technical approaches, management plans, past performance materials, staffing plans, partner documentation, budgets, and cost proposals.
• Guide competitive pricing and level-of-effort strategies with Finance and program leadership.
• Guide partner exploration, negotiation, and documentation for prime, grant recipient, subcontractor, subrecipient, and other partnership roles.
• Pursue or update relevant Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) agreements.
• Ensure submissions meet requirements and allow sufficient time for meaningful review and approval.
• Advise program and business unit leaders on client management and launch readiness after awards, including handoffs, staffing assumptions, partner commitments, budgets, and reporting expectations.
• Build and lead the Government Development team, setting expectations for roles, ownership, decision-making, communication, quality, and follow-through.
• Coach and mentor staff, support career development, and create opportunities for increasing responsibility and expertise.
• Manage internal and external consultants supporting capture, proposal development, pricing, research, and related work.
• Partner with Development, Finance, and Operations leaders to align staffing and capacity with the government pipeline and broader fundraising portfolio.
• Design and deliver training on government capture, proposal development, pricing, partnership strategy, and effective participation on proposal teams.
• Strengthen government development systems and infrastructure, including Salesforce opportunity management, Asana workflows, SharePoint content, templates, procedures, and reusable content.
• Promote consistent project management, shared documentation, review protocols, and post-submission learning.
• Model JFF’s values through ethical public sector fundraising, inclusive collaboration, clear communication, timely decisions, transparency, adaptability, and sound judgment.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• Retirement benefits through a 403(b) plan, including employer contributions for eligible employees.
• Paid time off and paid leave benefits.
• Professional development opportunities.
• Flexible work hours, balanced workloads, and career advancement opportunities.
• Use of JFF office space in Boston, Oakland, or Washington, D.C., with in-person, hybrid, or fully remote work options.
• Office equipment for new employees as needed.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed