Sr. Director, Fund Development

Why Join Mandela Partners

This is a senior leadership role where fundraising directly sustains community impact. You'll set the strategy that funds our mission, serve on the Executive Leadership Team as a true partner to the Executive Director, and build a development function with the opportunity to hire your own coordinator, at an organization where philanthropy is relationship-centered, community-accountable, and equity-driven.

We back that work with real benefits and balance: a full week off in June for Juneteenth and another at year-end, a professional development stipend, a weekly paid team lunch on Thursdays, health insurance and retirement, accrued sick, vacation, and holiday pay, access to wholesale produce at cost, and a 50% discount on weekly produce boxes. The pay range is $130,000–$135,000, aligned with our compensation philosophy and nonprofit market practices.

About the Role

Mandela Partners works in partnership with local residents, family farmers, and community-based businesses to improve health, create wealth, and build assets through food enterprises in disinvested communities. Our systems model supports local economic investment, entrepreneurship, food sovereignty, and health equity — building on local assets to cultivate thriving communities.

The Senior Fund Development Director leads a fundraising strategy that builds community-grounded and institutional revenue to grow our $3.2MM annual budget. Reporting to the Executive Director and serving on the Executive Leadership Team, this hands-on, community-embedded fundraising leader partners with staff, board, donors, and community supporters to ensure our fundraising reflects our mission and values. This position is a hybrid role located in Oakland, offering a flexible work schedule.

What the First Year Looks Like

Within your first 90 days, you will assess our fundraising portfolio and recommend a strategic direction based on experience across multiple revenue streams. You will lead grant renewals, substantially expand individual giving, and engage the board in a more structured fundraising role. This position requires established expertise in all these areas and the ability to apply it in a new community context.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead annual fundraising strategy across foundations, government, corporate, nonprofit, and individual giving
• Partner with the Executive Director and Finance Director on goal setting, revenue forecasting, and reserves
• Collaborate with the Board of Directors to strengthen fundraising engagement and donor stewardship
• Manage and support a small development and engagement team, fostering growth and accountability
• Steward major funder and donor relationships across the Bay Area and California
• Lead grant prospecting, proposals, and reporting
• Strengthen individual giving programs and donor relationships at all levels
• Partner with the Storytelling and Community Engagement Manager to align fundraising with organizational storytelling
• Ensure effective use of Salesforce CRM and fundraising data

Preferred Experience and Qualifications

We recognize that fundraising experience takes many forms — community organizing, mutual aid coordination, resource mobilization in faith communities, and informal network-building all develop transferable skills. We encourage candidates whose experience reflects community-based pathways to apply.

• 5–10+ years of fundraising experience, bringing a diversified fundraising portfolio: direct, hands-on ownership of multiple revenue streams
• Has designed and executed fundraising strategies from inception, including building cases for support, setting revenue targets, and holding accountability for results
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills: has independently cultivated, solicited, and stewarded donors and funders at the five- and six-figure level
• Experience managing and mentoring people with varied lived and professional experiences
• Familiarity with CRM systems and fundraising operations
• Lived and/or professional experience working alongside communities impacted by systemic disinvestment strongly valued
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission and values of Mandela Partners.
• Centers the leadership, knowledge, and self-determination of limited-resource communities in all our work.
• Commitment to honest, equity-grounded communication and ongoing reflection, community accountability, and collective learning.
• Comfort with navigating disagreement or conflict with care and diplomacy.

About Us

Mandela Partners is a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, CA, that works in partnership with local residents, family farmers, and community-based businesses to improve health, create wealth, and build assets through local food enterprises in limited-resource communities.

Mandela Partners actively recruits candidates from Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asian, and low-income communities, and from communities most impacted by food injustice and systemic disinvestment. We believe our team should reflect the communities we work alongside.

Mandela Partners is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions on the basis of merit and job performance. Mandela Partners policy prohibits discrimination based on sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, pregnancy and breastfeeding), race (including traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, national origin, ancestry, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming), sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality), age (40 and over), marital status, military or veteran status, genetic characteristic or genetic information, physical or mental disability, medical condition, reproductive health decision making, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you would like to request an accommodation in the application process, please email jobs@mandelapartners.org.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, retirement, accrued sick, vacation, and holiday pay in accordance with our internal policies and California state law.

We also offer unique benefits that support work-life balance and professional growth: offices close for a week in June for Juneteenth and again at year-end; all staff receive a professional development stipend; a weekly paid team lunch on Thursdays; at-cost wholesale produce; and a 50% discount on weekly produce boxes.