Director, Development

Director Of Development

The Director of Development is a senior leader on the Development and External Engagement team, responsible for overseeing and advancing the organization's individual and institutional fundraising efforts. This role provides strategic leadership and day-to-day management of the development team, ensuring strong performance, accountability, collaboration, and professional growth across fundraising functions.

In partnership with the leadership team, the Director develops and implements comprehensive fundraising strategies that drive revenue growth from individual donors, foundations, corporations, and other funding partners. Working closely with development staff, organizational leadership, and external stakeholders, this position strengthens fundraising systems and processes, cultivates a culture of philanthropy, and ensures the successful execution of annual and long-term fundraising goals. The ideal candidate is a collaborative and results-oriented leader with experience managing high-performing development teams, building donor relationships, and overseeing a diverse portfolio of fundraising initiatives, including grants and individual giving.

Key Responsibilities :

• Team Leadership & Management (Primary Focus) :
• Supervise and mentor a team of development professionals focused on grants management and individual giving.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback, and support professional development.
• Create efficient workflows and clear documentation to ensure continuity, accountability, and knowledge sharing.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive team culture with strong attention to detail and deadlines.
• Individual and Institutional Giving :
• Provide strategic guidance for individual giving efforts, including annual fund, donor stewardship materials, and select major gift support.
• Manage portfolio of donors and relationships, including institutions, individual donors, corporate partners, Board of Directors, etc.
• Collaborate with development leadership on revenue forecasting, proposal calendars, and fundraising strategy.
• Partner closely with program, finance, and leadership teams to translate organizational strategy and program outcomes into compelling, funder-aligned narratives.
• Manage the grants staff to successfully execute end-to-end development of institutional funding proposals, including letters of inquiry, full proposals, budgets, and supporting attachments.
• Support funder stewardship strategies.
• Strategy & Collaboration :
• Serve as a key thought partner to senior leadership on fundraising strategy and institutional positioning.
• Contribute to board-facing materials and support board members' engagement with institutional funders as appropriate.
• Represent the organization externally with funders, partners, and stakeholders.

Additional Responsibilities :

This role will occasionally work on nights and weekends for Scholar and Development events and programming. This role is also required to attend and support mandatory all staff events.

Requirements : :

• Education: Bachelor's degree; Master's degree, or equivalent experience preferred
• Experience: 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in fundraising
• Proven experience in Salesforce or comparable CRM tracking donor data
• Must live in the Chicagoland area

Core Competencies : :

• Accountability/Project Management: Effectively manages own work, and work of teams when relevant, ensuring delivery of high-quality work.
• Leadership Intelligences: Ability to meet people where they are at, treat them with respect, and influence them. Ability to effectively represent Chicago Scholars in any environment.
• Communication: Communication is the ability to read and interpret information effectively, clearly articulate a plan of action, and influence others by way of written and verbal mechanisms.
• Decision Making: Effectively structures and facilitates decision-making processes; makes decisions effectively and responsibly to improve organizational health and impact.
• Continuous Improvement Minded: Identifies strategies to improve organization's impact; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; sets course and drives implementation.
• Teamwork/Collaboration: Demonstrates awareness and respect of cultural and individual values. Listens to ideas from others, even when different from own. Is careful to ensure all sides are heard reaching a conclusion. Shares time, energy and knowledge with others to ensure they can succeed.
• Technology & AI Fluency: Possess a growth mindset and demonstrate a commitment to learning and effectively utilizing artificial intelligence and other evolving technologies to enhance job performance, collaboration, and organizational impact. Exhibit the ability to identify opportunities where AI can improve efficiency, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and support strategic objectives while maintaining high standards of accuracy, confidentiality, and ethical use.