Managing Director, Development

Title: Managing Director of Development

Team: External Affairs

Location: Flexible - Fully remote position but preference for Bay Area, Los Angeles, TX, Metro-NYC, Metro-DC, Metro- Chicago

Application Deadline - Monday, May 19

ORGANIZATIONAL AND POSITION OVERVIEW

Education Pioneers’ mission is to attract, develop, and mobilize a diverse network of high potential leaders who bring the capacity to address an evolving set of challenges to make education a lever for equity and excellence. As an organization, we’ve grown and learned through a series of challenges and changes, both internal and external, and are excited to be pivoting toward our pre-pandemic aspirations for scale and long-term transformation.

After downsizing and a pandemic pause, Education Pioneers is rescaling towards efficient operating scale and impact. The Managing Director of Development will play a critical role by leading the function primarily responsible for resourcing our growth and transformation, developing and implementing a long-term and sustainable fundraising strategy, and building the approach and practices to authentically and consistently cultivate and steward our champions. Leading EP’s development function is a unique and exciting opportunity to continue to build a best-in-class fundraising function.

This position will report to the MD, External Affairs.

INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE GOALS

The MD, Development will be charged with achieving the following outcomes:

• Ensuring EP consistently reaches its annual contributed revenue targets
  • $5-6M annually
  • Quarterly commitment benchmarks (commitments > or = current YTD budget + 3-6 months)
  • ## / $$ new donors
• Improving sustainability of EP’s contributed revenue stream
  • Growth in $$ and ## of long-term renewable gifts
  • Prioritization, stewardship, and support of Alumni Annual Giving ($$ and ## participating)
  • Growth and diversification of funding streams, decrease percentage of revenue from top 10 donors over time
  • Development and implementation of donor cultivation, acquisition, and stewardship strategy at scale
• Improved efficacy and efficiency of development execution
  • Establish clear annual and quarterly fundraising plans and metrics for managing team performance and progress to goals
  • Establish and implement clear cadences and progress monitoring tools / practices to assess progress and adjust accordingly
  • Develop innovative fundraising strategies including cases for support responsive to current market dynamics
  • Define and manage development operations practices and systems that are effective for EP’s context - scalable approaches that allow a small team to manage a large number of donors with complex, overlapping, strategies
• Manage and motivate a matrixed team of development collaborators toward ambitious goals
  • Build a strong internal development team -
    • Establish and maintain a strong culture as measured by organizational survey data and performance indicators
    • Manage team performance and execution to meet ambitious goals
  • Create conditions for successful matrixed fundraising … (centralized / development driven strategies, practices, and tools + relationship management through a broad set of players)
  • Effectively engage and motivate EP colleagues contributing to external relationship management and development-related strategic projects and priorities

ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The following roles and responsibilities represent broadly what the MD, Development, is responsible for and specific responsibilities that are aligned with our organizational objectives over the next 2-3 years. As our organization evolves, these roles and responsibilities could change or expand.

Produce and implement a dynamic fundraising strategy that can consistently and sustainably produce $5-6M in philanthropic support annually, balancing near term targets with long term growth

• Set vision and direction for how EP will successfully resource its work, building on enterprise level strategy and plans built on a unified EP Case for Support and integrating relevant external factors (education landscape, funder interests, geography, etc.)
• Manage dynamic and evolving strategies across multiple dimensions — balancing near-term fundraising priorities with long-term sustainability, and adapting to shifts in internal priorities and external conditions.
• Leverage strong critical thinking and judgment to integrate external factors with internal factors to produce a coherent strategy that is both internally and externally consistent and motivating.
• Codify and effectively communicate the fundraising strategy – and relevant updates - to a diverse set of internal and external audiences building a culture of philanthropy across the organization and key stakeholders
• Navigate substantial ambiguity to create clarity for how to fully realize the strategy over time.
• Revisit and re-evaluate the fundraising strategy as needed – as a reflection on progress, but also to assess if new information or circumstances warrant adjustments.

Build and manage a high-performing fundraising function capable of consistently and sustainably cultivating and stewarding a broad diversified and funding base (spanning local / national interests and including foundations, corporations, and individuals.)

• Align roles, expectations, and structures to support critical short- and long-term fundraising priorities.
• Serve as both a direct portfolio manager and solicitor — cultivating and stewarding a personal portfolio of donors and prospects — while also overseeing and enabling other portfolio managers and solicitors across the team.
• Strategically manage up to and leverage the CEO as a chief solicitor for major gifts and high-stakes donor relationships.
• Evaluate and align EP’s portfolio management roles and approach to serve a growing and diversifying mix of funders.
• Build the systems and practices to pragmatically and effectively manage both team performance and critical functional outcomes – including dollars raised, funder experience, etc.
• Establish strong data and analytic practices for progress monitoring
• Leverage team and organizational resources to efficiently and effectively source, cultivate, and steward gifts of all sizes (from $10 – 500K), across 10+ geographies, and varied donor profiles.
• Build and develop a high performing and collaborative team of fundraising professionals leveraging EP team members beyond the development team
• Partner with internal team members and / or consultants to define and build the necessary tools, systems, and supports for scalable execution.

Extend EP’s reach, relevance, and relationships – ensuring we are reaching new audiences as well as building strong communication and engagement practices with existing supporters

• Develop and implement pragmatic strategies (aligned to EP’s impact and resources) to reach new potential donors.
• Design and implement stewardship and engagement opportunities and systems at scale that allow EP to build stronger relationships with current supporters and build proximity to potential donors.
• Create scalable and replicable signature experiences and ongoing engagement opportunities to inspire and motivate our supporters.
• Model and develop strong and compelling communication of EP’s impact, model, and unique value to the field.

CORE COMPETENCIES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS ROLE

What is outlined below is an articulation of the most important competencies you’d need to excel in to be successful in your role. It’s not necessarily an articulation of all the skills you’ll lean into or even a reflection of your “superpowers,” but we want to transparently communicate the areas we feel are most important and that we will likely come back to repeatedly over the course of the year.

• Establish Strategic Clarity & Direction - You establish strategic clarity for your team and the functions you’re responsible for in alignment with EP’s goals and develop teams and activities to maintain alignment with this direction.
• Managing Team Execution - You know how to assign, track/monitor progress, and prioritize work appropriately to ensure high quality results from your team(s)
• Influencing Others to Achieve Outcomes - You demonstrate adaptability in approaching and communicating with others to cultivate support and inspire action
• Synthesizing, Integrating, and Developing Strategies - You recognize patterns and relations in data, identify the critical points, develop insights and strategic options based on that information, and create strategic action plans in response
• Making Decisions and Demonstrating Judgment - You use appropriate breadth and depth of context and data to make sensible and timely decisions, and display sound judgment when faced with opportunities/challenges
• Coaching and Developing Others - Embrace opportunities in multiple situations to further the growth and development of others throughout multiple levels of the organization

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree in business, public administration, or policy preferred but not required.
• 7–10+ years of leadership experience in fundraising and development, ideally within nonprofit or education-focused organizations. Experience fundraising for organizations focused on social impact, equity, and community-driven outcomes.
• Proven success leading and managing high-performing teams — setting direction, managing execution, and achieving strong results across complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to adapt strategies and approaches in response to evolving needs and challenges.
• Strong organizational and planning abilities, with experience managing workflows, resources, and timelines across strategic initiatives.
• Demonstrated ability to use data and metrics to drive decisions, assess progress, and adjust strategy in real time.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire teams and engage diverse stakeholders.
• Skilled at clearly articulating an organization’s vision and value proposition to external audiences, including funders and supporters.
• Deep understanding of the education sector and its role in advancing equity and systemic change.
• Demonstrated commitment to and alignment with EP’s culture and values.

Note: Education Pioneers reserves the right to add additional duties, as needed. All Education Pioneers employees are encouraged to be flexible and responsive to changes in scope of duties.