Development Manager

ABOUT ROCKWOOD

Rockwood supports leaders to transform themselves, their communities, and the world towards equity, liberation, and sustainability for all. We do this by providing powerful and effective training to individual leaders and cohorts, thereby strengthening the organizations and movements they represent. Since 2000, we’ve trained 11,000 alum—of which 68% are people of color, 78% are women or non-binary, and 32% LGBTQ-identified.

Rockwood does not do business as usual. Our commitment to values influences every aspect of our organization—what we do and how we do it. Rockwood’s core values include:

• Trust and integrity
• Love, laughter, and holding each other in community
• Transformation
• Healing, sustainability, and self-care
• Equity

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Development Manager is an excellent opportunity for candidates who love organization and systems, can effectively balance competing projects, work efficiently, and write proficiently. If you love details, deadlines, and tracking progress along the way, this may be the role for you. Our ideal candidate has at least 1-2 years’ experience in grant writing and administration, and is ready to take their skills and the volume of their work to the next level.

Rockwood is embodying a Pro-Black, Pro-Indigenous, anti-white-supremacy culture framework across the organization. We are seeking candidates that are enthusiastic about this vision and committed to resourcing this vital work.

The Development Manager is a critical member of the Resource team, reporting to the Director of Strategic Initiatives. Our team practices values-based fundraising integrated with Rockwood core values. We focus on relationships combined with high quality standards. Recognizing that being responsive to the needs of our funders and partners is critical to our success, we move at a fast pace and place a high value on timely responsiveness and thorough tracking of details and deadlines. We are looking for someone who can learn quickly, contribute to projects that are already underway, and become a reliable member of our team.

The full-time, exempt salary for this position is $75,000. Rockwood offers a 32-hour full-time Monday through Thursday work week with occasional work on Fridays as needed, and a competitive benefits package. This is a remote position with a requirement that candidates live in the U.S. and have U.S. work authorization. Annual travel for a team retreat and occasional travel within the continental US are required. Because we work remotely, it is crucial that you have access to a place from which you can work with a reliable internet connection and no disruptions.

We care about your growth and success. Aside from professional development opportunities we provide for everyone (including attendance at one of our own Art of Leadership programs), we’ll offer you a $1,000 stipend/year for professional development specific to your needs, as well as a $1,000 bonus to support health/wellness.

What You’ll Do

Administration and Operations

• Grant Deadlines: Manage proposal and reporting calendars. Ensure deadlines for grant reports, grant renewals, and all required and requested processes from funding partners are calendared and followed.
• Filing: Maintain and improve administrative and filing systems for all incoming grants and donations.
• Liaison: Serve as primary liaison with the program team to gather impact and evaluation data for proposals and reports. Serve as primary liaison with the finance team and consultants for foundation income forecasting and budgets for proposals and reports.
• Database: Maintain and improve team use of Salesforce database, alongside Authorize.net payment system, including management and reporting for individual donor records and support for donor outreach. (Salesforce experience is preferred, but this system can be learned on the job.)
• Project Management: Manage projects and tasks consistently through Asana, as well as reminders and follow-up needed for other contributors. (Asana experience is preferred, but this can be learned on the job.)
• Process Documentation: Own and maintain a handbook for the crucial functions of the Development Manager role, and update periodically with current systems and processes.
• Donor Relations: Provide support for individual donor management in coordination with the Director of Institutional Advancement.

Team Support

• Scheduling: Book calls with funders and team members as requested.
• Briefings: Prepare briefings for external meetings, ensuring team members are prepared with background information.
• Note-Taking: Take comprehensive and organized notes during external calls, specifically noting next steps and ensuring actions are noted in systems.
• Team Participation: Participate in other Resource team functions as needed, in a changing and flexible team environment.
• Fiscal Sponsorships: Primary Resource Team point of contact for fiscally sponsored projects; coordinate with fiscal project staff on grant reports and proposals, acknowledgement letters, and other systems.
• Event Support: Support for fundraising and donor events as requested.
• Board Support: Support for board member fundraising as requested.

Writing

• Reports: Primary team member responsible for writing grant narratives and reports.
• Proposals: Support the creation of Rockwood concept papers and proposals for partners, donors, and potential donors to Rockwood.
• Content Directory: Own and maintain a directory of all standard development language at Rockwood, including edits, refreshes, and restructuring, to ensure it is optimally organized and up-to-date.
• Campaigns: Provide support for email fundraising campaigns as needed, including the annual End of Year campaign.

Your Must-Haves

• Administration and Operations:
  • High attention to detail and integrity to commitments—you know how to design systems of managing tasks and future follow-ups so nothing slips through the cracks
  • Reliable and efficient project management—you keep your tasks moving in a timely manner and work collaboratively with other staff across the organization to get things done
  • Proven ability to learn quickly, work independently, meet multiple deadlines, and perform under pressure
  • Technological proficiency and learning orientation—you bring a strong skill set in technology systems and an eagerness to learn how we utilize these systems at Rockwood. (Our core systems include the MS Suite, Google Suite, Asana, Authorize.net, and Salesforce.)
• Grant Writing:
  • Strong writing skills—you’ll be able to synthesize and translate program impact into compelling and concise language
  • Impeccable editing and proofing skills using standard English conventions
  • Openness to improve—you welcome feedback and corrections in your writing, and work collaboratively to learn how to write in Rockwood voice
  • Ability to customize language to the audience as needed
• Team Support:
  • Desire to work within a very diverse workplace and relate to a broad spectrum of people outside of Rockwood
  • Eagerness to do what is necessary to support the team toward results, including administrative tasks
  • Practices personal wellness and self-care to manage stress in the workplace

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

Please submit your resume and answers to the three questions below to jobs@rockwoodleadership.org by Wednesday, September 17, 2025.

Application Questions:

1. In 200 words or less, please share your experience in development including grant writing, fundraising, and other areas if applicable.
2. In 200 words or less, please share what embodying a Pro-Black, Pro-Indigenous, anti-white-supremacy culture means to you in a development context.
3. In 200 words or less, please describe the systems or methods you use to manage a grant portfolio or other applicable work.

You can expect to hear back about the status of your application by the end of September 2025.

Rockwood Leadership Institute is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit. In accordance with applicable law, Rockwood prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Black, Indigenous, people of color, trans, GNC, non-binary and people of all gender identities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this job description. We’re looking forward to getting to know you.