Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Ma

Our Mission  

At New Leaders, we develop transformational, equity-minded school leaders and advance policies and practices that ensure high academic achievement for all children—especially students of color and students from communities with lower incomes. 

Position Details 

The Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Major Gifts will be based out of a home office located anywhere within the contiguous United States (Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern time zones) or United States territories that fall within the Atlantic time zone.    

Position Overview 

The Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Major Gifts (“Senior Executive Director”) is a senior external representative for New Leaders and plays a critical role in accelerating the growth and impact of the organization by working directly with the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and the Chief External Relations Officer (“CERO”) to raise philanthropic gifts and grants from national and regional foundations, corporations, individuals, and government sources.  

The Senior Executive Director will establish the annual strategic direction, priorities, and objectives to meet annual fundraising goals for their individual portfolio, raising at least $2 million - $4 million+ each year through new or reengaged donors. The Senior Executive Director will also be accountable for establishing the annual strategic direction for the Development Team and their respective prospect portfolios, and will manage and support the team in stewarding, renewing, and expanding a multi-million-dollar portfolio of existing donors.  

The Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Major Gifts will assume a leadership position on the External Relations Team and serve as a strategic thought partner to the CEO and CERO on giving priorities and longer-term strategy. 

The Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Major Gifts will report directly to the CERO. 

Specific Responsibilities 

Leadership and Strategy  

• Develop a proactive approach to strategic planning for the organization’s philanthropy work, including anticipating impact on New Leaders’ philanthropic giving revenue or programmatic services resulting from competition, industry trends, etc. and pivoting strategies and tactics accordingly. 
• Determine the annual strategic direction, priorities, and objectives for their individual portfolio and the annual strategic direction of their team’s portfolios.
• Set annual and multi-year fundraising goals in partnership with the CEO, CERO, and Development Team.
• Engage with local advisory boards as needed.
• Maintain an understanding of philanthropic giving industry trends, current events, competitive offerings, funding sources and notable developments by reading professional publications, researching all available resources and participating in professional organizations.

Business Development and Pipeline Growth 

• Lead efforts to create and build a robust pipeline of high-capacity prospects by identifying new opportunities across individual, corporate, foundation, and government sources.
• Develop and execute strategies to source new leads, qualify prospects, and engage decision-makers, ensuring alignment with New Leaders' mission and funding priorities.
• Oversee and execute the prospect research process to identify high-value opportunities, leveraging tools, networks, and insights to continually expand the donor base, .ensure the ongoing discovery of new major gift prospects, and identify existing donors who may have greater capacity.
• Approach donor cultivation with a sales mindset, strategically navigating stakeholder relationships to secure funding commitments and renewals.
• Significantly increase individual, corporate, and foundation prospects to build an ever-expanding pipeline of major gift donors.
• Communicate pipeline updates with regular cadence to management team and other critical stakeholders throughout the organization.
• Partner with the CEO and CERO to develop customized strategies for high-potential donor opportunities, focusing on advancing prospects through each stage of the giving cycle.
• Work with the CEO and CERO to develop and execute the strategy for donor cultivation and solicitation opportunities that involve the CEO, national Board of Directors, and local advisory boards. Manage select connections between prospective and current donors and these leaders.

Donor Relations, and Stewardship 

• Manage a personal portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and donors, including individual, corporate, and foundation sources, moving them through the stages of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop and implement fundraising strategies and tactical plans to identify, pursue, and meet annual and long-term individual fundraising goals, directly closing at least $2 million - $4 million+ annually from new and/or reengaged donors and prospects. 
• Oversee strategic preparation of donor communications, briefings, proposals, and stewardship materials to support cultivation efforts for both your individual portfolio as well as cultivation and solicitation opportunities that involve the CEO, national Board of Directors, and local advisory boards.
• Ensure alignment of prospects with volunteer leadership opportunities, committees, activities, and/or events that are appropriate to their interests or potential interests.

Federal Grants 

•  Oversee the federal grants portfolio, including the preparation and submission of competitive proposals, to diversify funding sources.

Team Management 

• Provide strategic guidance, mentorship, and oversight to Development Team members in managing their respective prospect portfolios and achieving measurable goals.
•  Manage team performance through clear metrics, regular evaluations, and skill development opportunities, fostering accountability and motivation.
• Provide leadership, mentorship and strategic support across the External Relations Team and the wider organization, which may include: participation in strategic planning sessions such as the Senior Leadership Team; contributing to product ideation and content development processes; informing market research initiatives; collaborating with the Program Implementation Team on client engagement cycles; serving as an ambassador for the Development Team across the organization; and sharing relevant industry data as required.
• Collaborate with colleagues on the External Relations Team to support cohesion in the overall External Relations strategy in support of the organization’s goals around scale, impact, and sustainability.  
• Act as a thought leader and ambassador within the organization, contributing to initiatives such as strategic planning, content development, and market research.

Operations 

• Partner with the Executive Director, Strategy and Operations to ensure the optimization of processes, systems, reports, and infrastructure essential to development programs, including the appropriate integration of technologies that can streamline operational processes.
• Ensure the Development Team supports accurate data management and reporting by: 
• Following the outlined data entry and quality assurance processes for accuracy of data related to progress to goal and fundraising outcomes for reporting to internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintaining accurate and functional internal databases and reports including cash reports, overdue payment reports, progress to goal reports, development dashboards, and opportunities and next steps.  

The Senior Executive Director, Advancement and Major Gifts will perform other duties as assigned in pursuit of the organization’s overall mission and goals. 

Skills, Experiences, and Competencies 

• Educational Background: Bachelor’s degree required. 
• Professional Experience:
  • 10 - 12 years of professional experience required.

• Proven experience in business development, lead generation, or major gift fundraising, with a focus on identifying and closing high-value opportunities.
• A minimum of 5 years of experience achieving/surpassing annual fundraising goals.
  • Demonstrated success in portfolio development, pipeline building, and donor cultivation, including experience closing $2+ million annually.  
• Exceptional business development skills, with the ability to identify and engage prospective donors and funding sources.
• Proven experience developing foundation relations; national grant writing experience strongly preferred.

• Equity-driven: Demonstrated ability to work well with people from a wide diversity of demographic and cultural characteristics. The ideal candidate must be capable of achieving results while maintaining an inclusive, collaborative leadership style.
• Mission Alignment: Passionate belief in academic excellence for every student, aligned with New Leaders' mission.
• Strong data analysis capabilities, with a demonstrated ability to synthesize compelling narratives from a wide range of sources and data points.
• Demonstrated proactive approaches to problem-solving with strong decision-making capability.
• Demonstrated ability to achieve high performance goals and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Forward looking thinker, who actively seeks opportunities, proposes solutions, and is able to adapt to change.
• Flexibility in a dynamic environment and demonstrated ability to work independently on assigned work with minimal supervision.
• Proficient in MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Experience working with Salesforce, HubSpot, or another CRM tool preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic and operational management, with at least three years of team management experience.
• Superior communication skills, including active listening and the ability to compellingly articulate what is inspiring about our work and why it is critical to the broader education reform movement.
• Energetic, self-motivated, and a team player.
• Must be energized by external communications, fundraising, and relationship management.
• Experienced in leading in-person funder meetings and highly comfortable working with foundation executives and program officers.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and strong at prioritization and time management.

• Demonstrated ability to influence laterally and manage “down”/ “up” to execute on tight timelines; able to operate with purpose, urgency, nimbleness, and accuracy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Demonstrated comfort level with ambiguity in an ever-changing context.
• Must excel at planning, writing, storytelling, and creating compelling collateral.
• Must be able to travel up to 40% annually aligned to New Leaders’ Travel and In-Person Activities policy.
• Must be able to participate in regular team meetings via phone/video conference.
• New Leaders requires each employee to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccination (i.e., at least two weeks have passed since the employee received the dose of a single-dose vaccine or the second dose of a two-dose vaccine with at least the minimum recommended interval between doses) or to obtain an approved exemption or reasonable accommodation through the People Development & Human Resources team within six weeks of their start date as a term and condition of employment.      

Physical Requirements 

• The employee's routine activities involve sitting, talking, and hearing, as well as using hands for tasks such as typing, filing, and handling objects. Visual acuity is necessary for keyboard use, data analysis, transcribing, computer terminal viewing, and extensive reading. The role may involve ordinary ambulatory skills for visits to other locations or the ability to perform activities like standing, walking, lifting, carrying, and moving light-weight items. Proficiency in hand-eye coordination, along with dexterity in arms, hands, and fingers for tasks like grasping, operating standard office equipment, and learning technical information, is essential. 

What We Offer 

• Note: Salaries vary based on geographical location. After applying, candidates who move forward in the hiring process are provided with a salary for their geographical location.  
• Employees regularly scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week are eligible to participate in the New Leaders Health Benefits and Wellness Program. 
• Medical plan options, dental care, and vision
• 401K plan for eligible employees
• Generous paid-time-off (PTO) benefits