Development & Marketing Director

Background

City Parks Alliance is the only independent, nationwide membership organization solely dedicated to urban parks. The mission of the City Parks Alliance is to educate and elevate a diverse constituency to leverage the power of parks in shaping equitable, resilient, and thriving cities.  

Our vision is that everyone in urban America will have access to high quality parks and green spaces that are clean, safe, and vibrant.  

Our membership network includes a cross section of organizations from public, private, non-profit, academic, philanthropic, and community benefit sectors. 

City Parks Alliance believes that parks and recreation services play a critical role in advancing racial equity. Equity is about fairness: Full and equal access to opportunities, power, and resources so all people may thrive and prosper regardless of demographics. Equity is embedded in all of City Parks Alliance’s work, from inclusion of a range of voices and community-based stories in our programs to our research focus on creating more equitable city-wide systems, to our advocacy efforts to increase investment in urban parks and recreation in neighborhoods of greatest need. We continue to learn and grow as an organization to broaden cultural, racial, and ethnic perspectives on our board and staff. See our organizational values on equity and justice for more about our commitment to advancing these principles. 

City Parks Alliance offers a range of programs and service formats, from virtual webinars and peer conversations to in-person workshops and study tours. Every two years, we present Greater & Greener, a 4-day international conference for urban park leaders, city planning and design professionals, public officials, advocates, funders, and local change-makers. The next conference will take place in Austin, TX, in June 2026.  

Position Description

The Development & Marketing Director will oversee implementation of City Parks Alliance’s comprehensive long-term strategy for fundraising to ensure organizational sustainability. The Development Director will oversee fundraising, marketing, and communications to support an annual $2 million budget. 

This position reports to the Executive Director, oversees two direct reports (Assistant Director, Membership and Board Engagement; Digital Communications Manager) and two consultants (development and communications), and works closely with the program and advocacy staff and board members.

Responsibilities

Strategy (10%)

• Work with the Executive Director and relevant staff and consultants to develop and manage a cohesive multi-year strategy for City Parks Alliance’s fundraising (grants, corporate sponsorships, fee for service, membership, and individual giving) and marketing/communications to meet our strategic plan goals through a diverse and sustainable revenue stream. This strategy work would be a priority project for the first year and would include Greater & Greener marketing and fundraising.

Fundraising (60%)

• Lead corporate fundraising based on the strategy developed above to build deeper support from corporate members and prospects. Oversee all aspects of corporate fundraising, including prospect research, cultivation, outreach, proposal preparation and submission, preparation of sponsorship MOUs, donor recognition fulfillment and stewardship, and financial reporting. 
  • Build ladder of engagement and sponsorship pricing structure for corporate members with input from Program and Membership staff.
  • Develop and implement strategy to maximize revenue potential of biennial Greater & Greener conference. 
    • Manage fundraising relationship with Greater & Greener Local Host Team to coordinate outreach to the local funding community, including on-site visits and delivery of partner and sponsor benefits to meet budget goals. 
    • Oversee execution of Greater & Greener sponsored events to ensure fulfillment of sponsor obligations in partnership with the Greater & Greener project team. 
• Oversee continued cultivation of multi-year grants, working with Development Consultant, to secure funds for implementation of strategic plan. Work with Advocacy and Program Directors to explore grants through cooperative partnerships with relevant federal agencies related to City Parks Alliance’s strategic priorities.
• Oversee continued development of Funders Learning Network peer conversations twice annually, working with Development Consultant, Program staff, and Digital Communications Manager to advance program strategy, marketing, and execution of virtual and in-person events. 
• Manage Membership staff to ensure board and non-board contributions budget goals are met. Explore ways to increase individual giving, including through legacy gifts.

Marketing (20%) 

• Lead organization’s messaging and communications strategy and manage the Digital Communications Manager to implement it.
• Oversee development of marketing materials, facilitate opportunities for sponsored content, and development of thought leadership content. 
• Manage media relations.

Administration (10%) 

• Provide direction to and ensure coordination of all fundraising-related and communications staff and consultant positions.
• Work with the Executive Director to create an annual revenue budget.
• Track and provide relevant fundraising and communications updates and metrics for board, committee, and staff reports. 
• Provide strategic direction to technology consultants to ensure efficiency and system integrity as part of technology systems upgrade project. 
• Support Assistant Director of Membership’s leadership of Development & Membership Committee

Requirements

• 10+ years experience in development or corporate marketing, with demonstrated success 
• Strong strategic and entrepreneurial approach to building a sustainable stream of revenue from multiple sources
• Experience raising funds through corporate sponsorships
• Experience working with large scale and special events
• Experience with online fundraising and email marketing
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills; strong attention to detail
• Strong interpersonal, verbal communication, and presentation skills
• Ability to work in a small, collaborative, virtual setting and in partnership with other groups
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Salesforce or similar CRM platforms
• Experience working with mission-driven non-profits in the parks and recreation, environmental, or community and urban development fields a plus
• Strong leadership and management skills, with experience managing a team
• Ability to travel (10% of time)

City Parks Alliance is committed to building a diverse staff and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer.  

City Parks Alliance is headquartered at 1777 Church Street, NW, Washington DC. City Parks Alliance supports a fully remote workforce (Eastern time zone preferred), with a drop-in space for occasional use for those located in the DC area. The City Parks Alliance team connects in-person roughly 3-4x/year for occasional retreats or other work-related events.

To apply for this position, send the following materials as PDF files via email with the subject line “Development & Marketing Manager” to hiring@cityparksalliance.org 

• cover letter
• resume, 
• writing sample, and 
• marketing material used in successful fundraising campaign (i.e. corporate sponsorship package), along with a brief description about the strategy and results

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The preferred start date for this position is December 2024.