The Head of Development (HOD) leads fundraising for Swing Left and Vote Forward’s annual operating budget to ensure our organizational mission and objectives are met. The HOD also oversees fundraising strategies for Swing Left’s target candidates and civic organizations, in close partnership with the political and communications and digital teams.

The HOD directly manages the development team to meet fundraising goals with an emphasis on stewardship and impact. The HOD is a member of the organization’s senior leadership team and works closely with the Executive Director to develop and drive fundraising strategy. Duties include but are not limited to:

Drive cross-cutting fundraising strategies to meet goals in service of impact

• Lead fundraising and donor stewardship strategy in close coordination with Executive Director––including for Swing Left and Vote Forward’s annual operating budget, and fundraising for targeted candidates, campaigns, and organizations
• In accordance with the strategic direction and priorities set by the Executive Director, create department goals, objectives, and plans to execute fundraising strategies
• Own the bottom line for annual goals; manage goals and projections for fundraising; define systems and processes to measure success and track progress toward goals
• Directly supervise the development team, including consultants and full-time staff
• Collaborate with stakeholders on strategy for cross-cutting fundraising projects and programs
• Collaborate cross-functionally to support digital fundraising strategies with the communications and digital team

Oversee and lead fundraising programs and donor stewardship

• Oversee and lead the major donor program, including donor engagement, cultivation, and stewardship by developing and executing comprehensive strategies for prospective, new, and current donors
• Manage the Executive Director’s time and capacity spent on fundraising activities––including donor meetings, events, and asynchronous communication–– assessing and adjusting as necessary to increase effectiveness
• Effectively leverage networks––both personal and those of the Executive Director and Board––to cultivate fundraising and stewardship opportunities
• Assess, create, and oversee additional fundraising workstreams, including mid-tier donor, grants, and other opportunities
• Develop fundraising messaging and collateral that are compelling to potential donors and consistent with the Swing Left and Vote Forward brands; iterate as necessary to maintain relevant, high-quality written materials
• Expertly represent Swing Left and Vote Forward publicly to donors and partners
• Oversee the tracking and maintenance of donor information records and ensure the accuracy of donor information through tight systems for tracking and management; identify and implement improvements to systems for tracking fundraising data

Qualities of the Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a mission-driven, dynamic fundraiser, and effective manager of people and projects who is ready to lead our development operation to drive results with precision and urgency while prioritizing stewardship and customer service. The right candidate has deep organizational fundraising experience and can expertly manage all levels of work, from high-level strategy and donor meetings to the nuts and bolts of project execution. They can create and refine effective systems to manage evolving priorities within a rapidly changing political environment.

The ideal candidate will model non-transactional, relational donor stewardship in service of our year-round long term organizational model and approach; foster strong relationships to maximize support; have the ability to receive and enact supporter feedback; model excellent project management and execution skills; and contribute to an internal culture rooted in impact, innovation, ambition, and constant learning.

Mission and Culture Alignment

• A strong interest in and alignment with the missions and values of Swing Left and Vote Forward
• Comfort setting and managing to ambitious goals and high expectations for performance; demonstrates and inspires accountability
• Commitment to equity and belonging across all identities, including but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and ability; ability to hear, reflect, act on, and learn from feedback related to identity and equity

Fundraising and Leadership Skills and Experience

• Mastery of donor, principal, and key stakeholder relationship-building and management in organizational contexts; experience in electoral fundraising environments is a plus
• Demonstrated experience with increasing responsibility in a fundraising environment, with a proven track record of securing significant gifts from individuals, organizations, foundations, etc.

Systems Management Skills

• In addition to being organized personally, ready to start creating, refining, and customizing systems to manage the team, principal, and cross-functional stakeholders
• Comfortable managing a varied workload and using systems to keep track of tasks and priorities, ensuring everything stays on track
• Experience using a CRM (e.g. NGP, Coda) for fundraising data management

Essential Baseline Skills

• Exceptional interpersonal and management skills, both in person and in a virtual environment
• Very strong attention to detail in both written and verbal communication, relationship management, and project management

Hiring Process

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis
• The priority deadline to apply is February 6 2025, but applications will be accepted until the posting is closed
• We aim to begin interviews in February and make an offer as soon as possible
• We will communicate about our expected timeline as the process progresses, and all candidates will receive communication from our team regarding their application status

Logistics

Compensation:

• The pay range is $155,000 - $165,000/year (starting salary)
• We provide an annual cost of living compensation increase

Benefits for Full-Time Employees:

• Medical, dental and vision insurance: 100% of the premium paid for employees and 50% for dependents
• FSA and Dependent Care FSA accounts
• Employer-paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability insurance
• Retirement plan
• Professional development, remote work and technology stipends
• An unlimited time-off policy + a flexible medical and parental leave policy
• Our office is closed for approximately 25 business days each year

Location and Working Hours:

• This position is a full-time, exempt, and remote position based in the United States. We are an entirely remote team with staff located across the country
• We expect employees to be available for virtual meetings and asynchronous collaboration during our core working hours
• There is an expectation for this role to attend in-person meetings and events in various locations around the country. Candidates should have the ability to travel regularly––approximately 2-5 days per month. Travel ebbs and flows throughout the year and isn’t necessarily a regular occurrence every month, but candidates should have the flexibility to travel as needed

We are happy to answer any questions you have about our benefits and policies in interviews.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and seek applications from all qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas at this time. We use E-Verify during onboarding to complete the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification.

We welcome all applicants regardless of age, citizenship, gender identity or expression, national origin, pregnancy status, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other differences.