Head of Development

About the National Trust for Local News

The National Trust for Local News is a non-profit dedicated to rebuilding civic life by renewing local news. We acquire and reinvest in long-trusted local newspapers, harnessing them into a scalable and innovative social enterprise for media. Our goal is to quickly prove our model and then scale to become America’s leading source of local journalism, serving thousands of communities and uplifting civic life, nationwide. Today six million people in Georgia, Colorado, and Maine count on our 45 newspapers and 150 local journalists to tell the truth, hold power accountable, and chronicle every kind of community life from food to sports.

We are a remote-first organization but spend the majority of our time in the communities that we serve. Our team comes from places like Bain & Company, Creative Artists Agency, Texas Tribune, and the Robin Hood Foundation. Our leading funders include MacArthur Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Knight Foundation, Google, and the largest foundations in Georgia, Maine, and Colorado.

Overview of the Role

The National Trust raises roughly $15 million per year - to date, with one full-time fundraiser and limited operational infrastructure. As we look to drive growth in our newsrooms and national scale for our organization, we’re hiring for our first-ever Head of Development. The Head of Development will be a key partner to the Chief Growth Officer and responsible for building out a highly effective fundraising function that can vault over the organization’s annual goal.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a disciplined and entrepreneurial professional who wants to build the team, capabilities, and storytelling that will drive fundraising outcomes for the organization. The Head of Development will play a leadership role in all aspects of fundraising – from developing an overall strategy and building the infrastructure to realize it, to engaging donors who range from the world’s largest foundations to people joining as members of our local publications. As part of the Growth team, you’ll also play a role in partnerships, acquisitions, and community engagement.

To some degree, we prefer experience in fundraising, ideally for a media organization. But we absolutely want to hear from anyone who sees themselves embodied in the entrepreneurial scope of this role and feels drawn to help build the future of media and social enterprise in America.

Main Responsibilities

Development Leadership & Strategy:

• Develop a comprehensive development strategy aligned with NTLN's strategic goals.
• Develop, and execute, an operational roadmap to enable this strategy.
• Develop KPIs to track and report on progress against the fundraising strategy and roadmap.

Organizational Strategy & People Management:

• Develop a 24-month scale-up strategy for the fundraising org, assessing hiring needs and roles & responsibilities of team members.
• Hire and manage a team of development professionals in alignment with this strategy, providing ongoing guidance and coaching, and ensuring maximal output of the growing fundraising org.
• Contract with and provide oversight to external consultants and contractors as needed.

Development Execution:

• Manage and mature development capabilities end to end, spanning donor research, outreach, cultivation, prospecting, and stewardship.
• Build standardized processes to optimize above activities whenever sensible and accretive.
• Contribute to all forms of donor engagement, including events, cultivation opportunities, and virtual/in-person fundraising efforts.

Development Infrastructure & Operations:

• Gauge the systems and tools necessary to meet the Trust’s fundraising targets.
• Implement and spearhead adoption of all necessary systems and tools required to enable the Trust’s fundraising targets.

Qualifications/Skills

• Minimum of 5 years of experience in non-profit development, and/or translatable experience in other sectors (e.g., business development / fundraising for a start-up, investor relations for an asset manager, etc.).
• Exceptional execution skills — track record of managing teams and projects to success and building structure in the process.
• Exceptional strategic planning skills.
• Not afraid to roll up your sleeves; desire to work in a scrappy, entrepreneurial environment.
• Ability to identify priorities, work independently, and develop tactics for addressing issues.
• Strong people leader, ideally with a proven track record of hiring, building, and leading high-performing teams.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly articulate NTLN’s mission and impact.
• Passion for social enterprise, local news, and community impact.

Why Work With Us

We value our team and provide competitive salaries and benefits, including a 401k and fully-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance. The salary range for this position is $200,000-215,000. We have a flexible paid-time-off policy for all full-time exempt employees as well as up to 11 paid federal, company-wide holidays. We provide a home office set-up stipend and support for professional development. While this is a remote role, we are looking for candidates comfortable with a 20% travel expectation.

The ideal start date for this role is August 2025. To apply, fill out this form, where you will attach a resume.

Applicants requiring accommodation in the job application process should contact info@ntln.org. The National Trust for Local News is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to sustaining a culturally and ethnically diverse working environment and to principles that promote inclusive practices. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, age, marital status, domestic partner status, pregnancy, caregiver status, gender stereotyping, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, AIDS/HIV status, handicap or disability, or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran, or any other legally protected category. The organization will provide reasonable accommodation for individuals protected by Section 503 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.