Director of Development and Communications

Career Opportunity – Top Fundraiser

Director of Development and Communications

The Anacostia Watershed Society seeks a full-time Director of Development and Communications—a top fundraiser and member of the AWS leadership team—to lead a high-performing team of development, marketing, and communications professionals in formulating and implementing a creative multi-year strategy aimed at expanding the organization’s donor base, revenue, visibility, and influence, while maintaining benchmark best practices. The Director is a lead ambassador to high-level partners and donors, works cross functionally with all departments and serves as an important partner to the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors and Board Development Committee.

The Director is an integral part of the organization and contributes to the watershed’s restoration and the engagement of diverse communities, partners, and other stakeholders to deliver on our mission to protect and restore the Anacostia River and its watershed.

About the Anacostia Watershed Society

The Director of Development and Communications is a great opportunity to help lead and grow one of the most effective grassroots, community-based non-profit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Since our founding in 1989, the Anacostia Watershed Society has worked to protect and restore the Anacostia River and its watershed for all who live here and for future generations. Over the past 35 years, AWS has grown from a small group of concerned individuals into an award-winning, $3 million+ non-profit with a staff of 20 that is deeply involved in a cause that affects many different Washington, D.C. area communities within the 176 square-mile watershed.

This is an especially exciting time to join the Anacostia Watershed Society’s team of professionals as we embark on a new and ambitious strategic plan and prepare for the opening of our state-of-the-art environmental education center at Washington, D.C.’s 11th Street Bridge Park in 2026. The Anacostia Watershed Center will be an enriching resource for the diverse communities who live along both sides of the Anacostia River and will house our award-winning education programs for youth and adults of all ages in the District of Columbia, and Prince George’s and Montgomery counties in Maryland.

The Anacostia Watershed Society’s mission is to protect and restore the Anacostia watershed for all who live here and for future generations. We envision the Anacostia River and its watershed renewed, its water quality restored, its wildlife and natural habitats revitalized, its ecology made resilient to a changing climate. We envision a healthy freshwater ecosystem in the heart of the DC metro region, nurtured by current and future generations of watershed stewards, where the economic, social, and spiritual benefits it provides are equitably enjoyed by all who live here. We envision the Anacostia watershed as an inspiring model of urban river conservation and management. Pursuing this broad mission, the Society takes on issues of nature resources conservation and management, environmental protection, sustainability, community health and welfare, and environmental justice. We collaborate with diverse stakeholders to advocate at all levels of government for policies that promote greater watershed protection and restoration investments. Our field programs work to restore habitat and wildlife, and to connect local communities to the watershed through volunteer activities, boat tours, and canoe and kayak adventures. Our award-winning education programs work with schools, students, and adults throughout Washington, D.C. and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, engaging them in the classroom and on the river and its banks, providing hands-on experiences that contribute to current restoration projects and prepare the next generation of environmental stewards. In addition, the Anacostia Watershed Society serves as the voice for the river, educating, alerting, cajoling, and, when necessary, challenging government officials, business interests, thought leaders, and the public to go to greater lengths to protect the ecological health of the watershed, improve water quality, and mitigate the negative effects of habitat loss, pollution stormwater, and climate change.

Key Accountabilities

• Develop and lead implementation of a multi-year strategic fundraising plan.
• Cultivate and identify new individual, foundation, corporate, and government donors and grantors with capacity to give and interest in forwarding the Anacostia Watershed Society’s mission. Sustain and grow new and existing donor relationships to deliver on our mission.
• Collaboratively develop, implement, and evaluate organizational and programmatic fundraising and communications plans.
• Ensure that donor stewardship, financial tracking, and grant tracking systems are expertly managed.
• Participate in other special projects, organization-wide efforts, and tasks as assigned.

Immediate Priorities:

In addition to the full breadth of accountabilities in this key management role, the Director of Development and Communication’s immediate priorities are:

• Fundraising Program: Identify opportunities for growing and diversifying our funding sources, leveraging new opportunities to address organizational resource challenges, including meeting operations and program needs, as well as the launch and sustainability of the Anacostia Watershed Center at the future 11th Street Bridge Park in Washington, D.C.
• Pipeline Management: Take a data-driven approach to revenue forecasting, evaluating fundraising potential by identifying and rating prospects, prospect and grant management, and reporting on progress.
• Donor Relations: Cultivate and secure opportunities to grow revenue and partnering relationships. Actively engage in meeting and cultivating current donors, new donors, and prospects, including foundations, corporations, individuals, government, and organizations. Steward and continue to grow our relationships with our current donors. Direct the production, coordination, and implementation of campaign and solicitation materials/technologies. Manage and ensure the coordination of volunteer donor activities to cultivate and request new and renewed gifts.
• Grants Management: Work with program staff to identify, draft, and secure grants providing funding integral to delivery on our mission. Oversee grant request and proposals process, including strategies and timeline for completion and ongoing grant reporting requirements. Draft and/or edit and approve grant proposals, reports, and correspondence.
• Team Leadership & Administration: Provide strategic direction, guidance, and professional development support for a team of fundraisers and communicators accountable for executing our fundraising and communications programs. Accountable for the management of a quality donor relations database, including the update and accuracy of volunteer and donor records.
• Board and Executive Office Relations: Serve as a leader in Board development, engagement, and cultivation. Provide support for and staff CEO to act as a lead fundraiser for the organization.
• Communications: Oversee our brand consistency and organization-wide external communications strategy; engage as the internal leader for the design and execution of organization-wide communications plans and projects.

Key Requirements

• Progressive experience in non-profit fundraising from individual, foundation, government, and corporate sources; comfort in outdoor recreation (on the water and in the field); and demonstrated knowledge, commitment, and passion for environmental sustainability and environmental justice.
• Demonstrated experience and expertise in prospecting and pipeline management to produce highest results, develop relationships and raise funds from donors, and to coach and lead others (staff, CEO, and board members) in donor cultivation. Experience working with both regional and national funders.
• Experience conceiving and implementing a successful sustainable capital campaign of +$5-$20M is a plus.
• Effective management and leadership skills, including the ability to manage people to success, motivate team members to work well together, and work together collaboratively with other parts of the organization.
• Excellent written/verbal communication, interpersonal skills, including persuasive and effective communication that forwards the purpose and mission of the organization. Demonstrated ability to strategically communicate the “ask” to persuade donors of the need.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented self-starter. Proven ability to prioritize even during periods of peak activity and meet deadlines in a timely manner.
• Ability to work with and provide excellent customer service internally and externally, especially experience working in a metropolitan area.
• Self-motivation, innovation, resourcefulness, and cooperative team player.
• Willing, motivated, and able to work a flexible schedule that includes some evenings and weekends, and travel to visit donors/prospects.
• Physical work may be required (i.e. ability to lift and carry up to 30 pounds).

Required Qualifications and Experiences

• Seasoned leader with 5-10+ years of progressively responsible experience and proven success in developing and sustaining a comprehensive multi-year fundraising program that focuses on all philanthropic sectors.
• Progressive experience leading teams of fundraisers and communications professionals; non-profit team management experience across foundation, corporate, government, and individual funding sources is a plus
• Ability to craft compelling narratives and complex budgets, with demonstrated experience in successful grant-writing and end-to-end grant management across a variety of donor types and award sizes (up to $1M+)
• Experience leading communications campaigns across multiple channels (social media, digital, print) and setting high-impact branding and communication strategies aligned with organizational goals
• Experience in donor stewardship best practices and partnering with diverse communities to drive and build effective relationships and partnerships.
• Comprehensive understanding of development data systems and associated analytics, and leading the implementation, design, and effective use of CRM systems at scale. Serves as a strategic partner in reporting needs, turning data into knowledge to inform fundraising strategies, financial planning, and business decisions. Experience with wealth screening tools is a plus.
• Bachelor’s degree and/or additional experience/education in non-profit management, business administration, financial development, communications, public relations, and/or environmental/conservation field.
• Experience in MS Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) required.
• Valid driver’s license and clean driving record.

We are offering a competitive compensation package that includes a competitive base salary and benefits package with generous flexible leave program. Salary range is $110K-$125K and will be commensurate with experience.

Interested applicants should email a résumé formally expressing your interest to askhr@anacostiaws.org.

AWS encourages and embraces diversity.

We seek qualified applicants that reflect the rich diversity of the communities we serve.