Senior Director of Development

Room To Grow • Boston, MA

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

Room to Grow is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families with young children (ages 0-3) by partnering with parents and caregivers to provide resources and nurture child development. The organization operates in New York and Boston with a team of over 40 dedicated members. The Senior Director of Development is a key leadership role, reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, and is responsible for leading the External Engagement function. This includes overseeing fundraising, visibility, and growth initiatives, managing a cross-functional team, and implementing integrated strategies to drive revenue and enhance the organization's brand. The role requires a collaborative leader with strong people management, communication, and relationship-building skills, along with a proven track record in fundraising and external engagement. The Senior Director will work closely with program, finance, operations, and people & culture teams to advance organizational goals.

Requirements

• A passion for the mission, vision, and core values of Room to Grow.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in fundraising, external relations, nonprofit advancement, or a related field, with demonstrated success in a senior management or leadership role.
• Proven track record leading and developing high-performing teams, including managing multiple direct reports across distinct functional areas.
• Strong people management skills, including setting clear expectations, providing coaching and feedback, fostering accountability, and building a collaborative, values-driven team culture.
• Demonstrated breadth of fundraising and external engagement experience across multiple functions such as individual giving, institutional fundraising, development operations, corporate partnerships, communications, and related functions.
• Strong operational and project management skills; able to manage multiple priorities across teams and maintain clear alignment, follow-through, and accountability.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to engage effectively with staff, senior leaders, Board members, donors, and external partners.
• Experience using fundraising data and performance metrics to monitor progress, inform decision-making, and drive accountability.
• Experience managing fundraising operations systems, including Salesforce or similar CRM platforms.
• Experience in a small or growing nonprofit environment, with comfort operating in a highly collaborative and hands-on setting.
• Experience working closely with a CEO and/or Board of Directors on fundraising and communications planning, reporting, and relationship management.
• Candidates must be based in New York, NY or Boston, MA.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with the New York City and/or Boston philanthropic landscape preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and development for a cross-functional team of six direct reports, with overall responsibility for the performance, alignment, and success of a ten-person External Engagement department.
• Cultivate a collaborative and accountable team culture, ensuring team members consistently demonstrate Room to Grow’s values.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide consistent and actionable feedback, and conduct regular check-ins and performance reviews.
• Partner with the People & Culture team to support hiring, onboarding, professional development, and performance management.
• Represent Room to Grow internally and externally with professionalism, passion, and a strong grounding in our mission, values, and impact.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the CEO in shaping overarching fundraising, brand & communications priorities.
• Act as a key bridge between the CEO and External Engagement functional leads.
• Provide day-to-day leadership and cross-functional oversight across all External Engagement functions.
• Support functional leads as a thought partner and resource, reinforcing best practices and promoting consistent, effective execution.
• Partner with the CEO and other senior leaders on multi-year revenue projections and fundraising goal-setting.
• Support the Brand & Communications function in advancing communication efforts.
• May maintain a limited portfolio of high-priority individual, institutional, or corporate relationships.
• Provide flexible leadership and occasional hands-on support across functions as needed.
• Partner closely with the Managing Director, Boston & Organizational Success to align cross-regional fundraising strategy.
• Ensure fundraising activities in all regions are well-integrated with the broader External Engagement strategy.
• Collaborate with the Manager, External Engagement on cross-functional special projects.
• Lead a department accountable for the fundraising and brand activities that sustain Room to Grow's approximately $6M annual operating budget.
• Establish and maintain team-wide KPIs and systems for tracking, reporting, and optimizing performance.
• Provide regular performance updates to the CEO and Board of Directors.
• Hold team leads accountable for performance against revenue goals.
• Oversee fundraising operations, systems, and workflows.
• Develop and manage the External Engagement expense budget.
• Ensure data-driven decision-making and high standards of donor data integrity.
• Identify and address systemic gaps in External Engagement infrastructure, processes, and coordination.

Benefits

• 8+ weeks of paid time off per year (holidays, vacation, sick time, personal/self-care time)
• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Health FSA
• Dependent Care FSA
• 403(b) retirement savings with matching program
• Wellness reimbursement up to $250 per year

What This Job Offers

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