Director of Development and Strategic Partner
About The Position
The Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships leads a high-performing team that manages WSP’s fundraising and outreach functions, and plays an essential role in advancing WSP’s mission and achieving strategic plan targets. This role is responsible for oversight and direct engagement in cultivating and stewarding relationships with donors, partners, state & federal government officials, military units, veteran service organizations, and community groups to ensure sustainable funding and strong recruitment pipelines for WSP programs. Success in this role requires demonstrated experience managing development operations, securing significant philanthropic support, and building strategic programmatic partnerships that advance organizational initiatives. The Director will collaborate closely with the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) to design and implement integrated strategies that expand resources, strengthen external engagement, and increase WSP’s ability to reach and serve enlisted veterans.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Minimum of 7 years of development and partnership experience required
- Supervisory experience required; preference for experience managing a remote team
- Experience fostering and maintaining a wide variety of relationships
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and within teams
- Excellent verbal and written communication to diverse audiences
- Attention to detail, time management, and high proficiency in administrative organization skills
- Ability to excel in fast-paced environments, think critically, problem solve and engage in constructive feedback
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google platform (e.g., Google Sheets, Google Docs) required
- Experience working in with a CRM required; preference for Salesforce experience
- Strong commitment to WSP’s Values [https://www.warrior-scholar.org/about-us/]
Nice To Haves
- Experience with Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) or related military experience, desired
- Strong preference for candidates with background in both fundraising and programmatic partnership development
Responsibilities
- Collaborate with CAO and Director of Marketing & Communications to develop the Advancement Division’s annual budget and operational plans
- Manage the development and outreach functions of the organization, measuring progress and metrics in support of the organization’s strategic plan
- Regularly analyze and report on fundraising and outreach performance
- Work across divisions with fellow Directors to collaborate on cross-functional projects and initiatives, as needed
- Manage a portfolio of major donors, high-impact partners and strategic outreach relationships
- Other duties as assigned
- Provide leadership across revenue streams and supervise the staff who manage individual giving, institutional fundraising and special events in order to meet revenue goals
- Collaborate with CAO to ensure successful management of development operations including acknowledgements, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems management, restricted funds tracking, grant reporting and event logistics
- Collaborate with CAO to ensure appropriate donor and partner portfolios for CAO and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and to engage the leadership strategically in relationship-building and solicitations
- Support the CAO in equipping board members for fundraising and partnership engagement
- Collaborate with Marketing & Communications staff on fundraising appeals, annual reports, campaigns, event materials and other marketing initiatives
- Supervise and partner with outreach staff to establish, maintain, and deepen relationships with organizational partners and collaborators, including, but not limited to, Veterans Service Organizations (VSO), Educational Service Officers, Transition Assistance Program/Transition Readiness Seminar (TAPs/TRS) leads, higher education partners, state Veteran Affairs (VA) departments and others who engage with enlisted veterans
- Ensure a robust schedule of outreach meetings and presentations that highlight the value of WSP partnership and the overall benefit of WSP programming for enlisted veterans; conduct virtual and in-person meetings as needed
- Collaborate with Marketing & Communications and Admissions staff on marketing materials, email campaigns, and digital engagement that support outreach efforts
- Support the CAO in equipping board members to leverage outreach connections
- Supervise members of the Development and Outreach teams
- Oversee day-to-day work and long-term projects as outlined in their position descriptions
- Develop, refine, and conduct group and individual training plans to ensure each member of the team is equipped with resources to fulfill their responsibilities
- Conduct regular check-ins
- Conduct employee reviews
- Approve PTO and Expense Reports
- Manage and report out on development and outreach budgets
- Travel 10-20% to steward relationships, execute fundraising events, conduct outreach presentations and meet with team members, including fall and spring staff summits with full WSP team
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
