Senior Managing Director, Development

ROLE TITLE: Senior Managing Director, Development

POSITION REPORTS TO: Vice President, Field Fundraising

PRIORITY APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday, June 29th. Applications received after this date will be reviewed on a rolling basis. 

LOCATION: Nashville or Chattanooga (In-Person Hybrid schedule)

WHAT YOU’LL DO

All Prospect & Donor Management roles on our Field Fundraising teams are responsible for cultivating, stewarding, and managing a portfolio of donors within our local communities who share our commitment to ensuring that all children have access to an excellent and equitable education.

As a member of the Field Fundraising team, you will contribute to a collaborative, team-based effort to develop and execute a long-term vision and strategy for achieving our private fundraising goals. 

In this role, you will partner closely with the Memphis and Nashville/Chattanooga Executive Directors, regional advisory board members and other frontline fundraisers to maximize giving—playing a key role in donor strategy, cultivation, and acquisition over the next three to five years.

Reporting to the Vice President, Field Fundraising, you will be responsible for raising $5–10 million or more from a complex portfolio of high-potential donors across multiple funding streams, typically individuals or institutions capable of giving $100,000 or more annually. You will serve as the primary relationship manager, working directly with the Executive Director to cultivate, solicit, and steward these donors. In addition, as a senior portfolio manager, you will also oversee a select portfolio of statewide donors whose partnerships advance our broader regional and statewide impact.

We are seeking a seasoned, senior-level development professional who can independently design and implement long-term strategies to acquire, cultivate, retain, and diversify our local funding base. As a subject-matter expert in fundraising and development, you may also mentor or manage other development staff, providing coaching, strategic guidance, and collaborative problem-solving in partnership with the Vice President, Field Fundraising.

WHAT YOU’LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

• 20% - Build a comprehensive, multi-year vision and plan for cultivating complex, high giving potential donors in local contexts with the goal of maximizing revenue to the organization as a whole 

• 40% - Directly manage, cultivate, steward, and solicit (a portfolio of high-potential donors across a variety of funding streams

• 20% - Work in close partnership with the Memphis and Nashville/Chattanooga Executive Directors to build the long-term strategy, develop and maintain a keen understanding of the political landscape and its relationship to public and private donors and funding opportunities, and build and maintain critical relationships in the public and private sphere necessary to advance fundraising efforts, including local advisory board members 

• 10% - Depending on the size and scope of your portfolio, manage a team of 2+ development staff members, holding accountability for their individual fundraising in addition to the goals for the portfolio you manage

• 5% - Consistently maintain donor, prospect, and fundraising activity information in our customer relationship management system (currently SalesForce) and leverage this information in tracking progress, monitoring gaps, and adjusting strategy and approach 

• 5% - Steward team and organizational initiatives, effectively manage cross-functional stakeholders, align diverse teams around shared objectives, and drive collaboration to achieve organizational outcomes. 

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Your areas of knowledge and expertise that matter most for this role (minimum qualifications): 

• Relationship Building and Management

  • Exceptional relationship builder, particularly with external stakeholders 

  • Orientation and desire to seek out and develop new relationships and partnerships

  • Experience cultivating executive level donors and partners   

  • Influence others by uniquely tailoring approaches that appeal to the motivations and perspectives and executing sophisticated relationship management of a diverse group of donors  

  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, particularly when working with external audiences

• Fundraising and Development Strategy 

  • Subject matter expert in advanced development practices and the art and science of fundraising  

  • Comprehensive experience and success working with high-potential donors across a variety of streams (individual, corporate, foundation, public)

  • Adept at building multi-year cultivation and stewardship plans that maintain exceptional donor retention and build pathways to diversifying pipelines and securing new donors 

  • Understands current trends in philanthropy at both a local and national level and leverages up-to-date information and/or best practices

• Portfolio Management 

  • Ability to autonomously steward a complex portfolio of donors and prospects at various stages of the donor life cycle towards successful closing of gifts

  • Monitor progress across the portfolio to ensure continuous donor stewardship

  • When appropriate, serve as the primary relationship holder and/or primary solicitor for opportunities and donors 

• Mentorship/Management of Fundraising Staff

  • Manage and or mentor fundraising staff by giving feedback, coaching, and fundraising-related resources and learning experiences 

Prior experience

• Required:  At least 10+ years of related experience in a highly complex development and fundraising context

• Required:  Track record of meeting and exceeding ambitious goals as a donor portfolio manager 

• Required: Bachelor’s Degree

• Preferred:  Teach For America development experience 

• Nice to Have:  Fundraising certification (i.e. CRFE/CRFM or the equivalent) and/or related Master’s Degree (e.g. MBA, M, Non-Profit Management) 

Work Demands

• Occasional weekend or evening work hours required.  

• Must be able to travel across the state to engage with local donors  

YOUR FUTURE TEAM

The Revenue and Development team at Teach For America inspires donors and champions to contribute to shaping the future of our country by investing in Teach For America’s work with students nationally and regionally.  We aim to source investments that fuel our work and impact with a revenue growth trajectory to raise $300 million annually.  This role will be an essential part of the Field Fundraising arm of the Revenue and Development team, maximizing the contributions of local donors across multiple regions of the country.  

YOUR COMPENSATION

The applicable salary range for each U.S.-based role is based on where the employee works and is aligned to one of 3 tiers according to a cost of labor index in that geographic area. Starting pay for the successful applicant will depend on a variety of job-related factors, which may include education, training, experience, location, business needs, or market demands. New hires are typically brought into the organization at a salary between the range minimum and the salary range midpoint depending on qualifications, internal equity, and the budgeted amount for the role. The expected salary ranges for this role are set forth below. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Tier A (Nashville- Chattanooga): $108,900 - $148,700

You can view which tier applies to where you plan to work here.