Chief Development Officer

Position Title: Chief Development Officer

Position Location: CPD/A has offices in NYC and DC, but for this role, we will consider candidates who live outside our office areas but within the U.S.

The Center for Popular Democracy/CPD Action is seeking a Chief Development Officer. This is a full-time, exempt position.

About CPD + CPDA:

The Center for Popular Democracy and CPD Action (together, CPD/A) work to promote equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. We work with nearly 50 affiliates in over 30 states and Puerto Rico to build the strength and capacity of democratic organizations that envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda. We are a rapidly-expanding, changing organization that partners with organizations across the country to build political power and win tangible victories that improve the lives of low-wage workers, immigrants, and communities of color.

About the Position:

We are seeking a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to drive and oversee the execution of the development strategy for CPD, CPDA, and Popular Democracy PAC (referred to as CPD/A), acting as a key relationship builder and generator for foundation, individual major giving, and corporate partnerships. The CDO is responsible for the organization’s income generation strategy and success, and will work with the Co-Executive Directors, COO, and Senior Leadership Team to ensure that fund development strategies and the organization’s work put it on a continued path for evolution and impact. This role will also be responsible for institutionalizing philanthropy and fund development within CPD/A, and will focus on building a diverse, strong, and expanding base of funding from foundations, unions, and partner organizations, while significantly growing independent revenue from individual major and small donors. Additionally, this position will also be responsible for the performance and growth of Development Department staff, and overseeing the improvement and implementation of systems that advance fundraising work across the organization. COVID-depending, it is expected that this position will travel one to two times a quarter for staff, team, and leadership retreats, fundraising events, and other situations as needed.

We estimate that candidates will have about 15 years of relevant experience for this position, but our review of candidates for this role will focus on whether they can fill the needs of the position, not years of experience.

This position will report to the Chief Operating Officer and will supervise the Director, Institutional Giving, Director, Donor Organizing, and the Development Operations Associate, and leads the entire Development department, which includes a staff of five on the Institutional Giving team, and a staff of three on the Donor Organizing Team.

Primary Responsibilities:

The Chief Development Officer is responsible for:

• Setting Development Strategy: 
  • Design and oversee the execution of fundraising strategy to grow and sustain CPD/A’s fundraising. This includes establishing plans and goals, and overseeing fundraising efforts from foundations and other institutional sources, stewarding current funders, and growing revenue from new sources; strengthening and overseeing the execution of our major gifts program; and overseeing the building of an expanding base of low-dollar individual donors.
  • Set strategy for short- and long-term development plans and advising on policy positions that may impact fundraising ability. Advise and help build CPD/A’s business model for funding its work. 
  • Establish performance measures, monitor results, and support all fundraisers and the Board in evaluating the effectiveness of CDP/A’s fundraising program. 
  • Develop and regularly update organizational income projections, accurately track progress towards those goals, and ensure that the goals are met and that the organization operates with a positive net operating income and continues to grow.
• Fundraising: 
  • Partner with key fundraisers in the organization to build the pipeline, steward donors, and secure gifts. 
  • Directly manage a portfolio of major donors & funders to steward, make solicitations, and secure gifts ranging from five-figure annual support to eight-figure transformational gifts.
  • Oversee the creation and maintenance of standard CPD materials, such as CPD concept papers, high-quality overview text on the organization, 2-pagers on CPD departments or projects, and any other materials regularly used to publicize CPD's work or solicit funding.  
  • Oversee all operational aspects of development including reporting, stewardship, database management, and financial accounting. 
  • The ability to travel as needed, approximately 1-2x a quarter. 
• Leadership & Management: 
  • Establish strong internal systems for coordinating and tracking development work across the organization and overseeing tracking and transparent reporting of progress towards goals
  • Provide consistent supervision and support to development staff. This includes modeling leadership to grow and develop the team to their maximum potential, and providing coaching to fundraisers across the organization
  • Build and maintain cross-functional collaboration and alignment, coordinating fundraising initiatives across different teams, and building a culture of philanthropy and connecting staff to mission impact. 
  • Serve as a member of the Senior Leadership Team and contribute to strategy and overall organizational management.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

• Significant experience effectively managing large teams and across teams, and will be able to build rapport within their team while challenging staff to achieve ambitious goals
• A high level of emotional intelligence and awareness of interpersonal dynamics to work with a diverse group of colleagues, building support and consensus around fundraising priorities
• At least 10 years of demonstrated successful fundraising experience with a proven track record of raising upwards of $10M+ annually and a strong familiarity with the progressive funding universe. Particular expertise or knowledge in one or more of the following is highly desirable: foundation fundraising, major gifts, low-dollar individual fundraising, C4/political fundraising
• Extremely strong writing and editing skills, and a track record of supporting others in their development of these skills is preferred
• Solid financial management knowledge, is comfortable developing and navigating budgets, and is familiar with basic nonprofit financial management & reporting practices
• An ability to multitask and prioritize while being on top of details and be able to set and meet realistic deadlines
• Experience working closely with senior management and Boards, and ideally in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic work environment
• A demonstrated commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and a deep understanding of challenges facing low-wage workers, immigrant communities, communities of color, disabled people, LGBTQ+ folks, and people at the intersections of the above communities.

Application Deadline:

Application materials will be reviewed on a rolling basis through October 11. 

Salary and Benefits:

CPD/A is a unionized workplace. This is a supervisory position, not included in our bargaining unit. Salary will be determined according to a salary scale which takes into account years’ experience, job category, and other factors, but is expected to be $150,000-$165,000.

We have a generous benefits package, including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, 15 vacation days your first year, 12 sick days per year, additional PTO, including holidays, and contributions to individuals’ 401K plans. 

CPD/A is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and actively recruits people of color, womxn, individuals with disabilities, and members of the LGBTIQAA+ community.