Chief Development Officer

ABOUT JFF 

Jobs for the Future (JFF) is a leading national nonprofit focused on accelerating the alignment, transformation and reimagination of the American workforce and education systems to to achieve equitable economic advancement for all. 

Uniquely situated at the intersection of education and workforce, for nearly 40 years, JFF has led the way in designing innovative and scalable solutions to ensure that all Americans have the skills, resources, and credentials they need to achieve economic advancement. JFF works with partners across the field to improve labor market outcomes for youth and adults—particularly for individuals who face barriers to economic mobility and populations that have been historically denied opportunity.   

JFF operates at the national, state, and local levels to bridge education, workforce, and policy within regions of all sizes. The organization employs a staff of more than 300 across the U.S., both fully remote and in offices in Boston (headquarters); Washington, DC; and Oakland, CA. The organization has a $105 million operating budget and is on a path of continued scale and impact. JFF has developed powerful partnerships and networks across the public, private and non-profit sectors and is funded by dozens of leading government agencies, foundations and corporations. JFF’s work is guided by a set of five strategic priority areas.  

Learn more about JFF and join us as we build a future that works.  

DEVELOPMENT AT JFF  

JFF is funded by grants and contracts from dozens of leading public and private organizations. In the most recent fiscal year, JFF submitted more than 200 competitive and noncompetitive proposals, securing more than $100M in new awards, the vast majority of which are restricted to specific programs and initiatives. JFF has begun to raise capacity investments and unrestricted operating funds to strengthen the organization and invest in innovation. To date, most capacity investments have come from institutional funders. As JFF continues to grow and to refine its strategy and capacity for impact, we seek to build a robust individual giving program to secure flexible and unrestricted investments from high-net-worth individual (HNWI) donors. 

The growing development team reports to JFF’s Chief Development Officer. JFF’s development team currently consists of 9 full-time staff positions. The team is largely devoted to funding pursuit (proposal development, prospect research), award processing, and reporting for restricted programmatic awards from government and institutional funders (e.g., private and corporate foundations), as well as managing the data, systems and processes necessary to support this work.  JFF recently added a Senior Director and Coordinator for Individual Giving & Engagement to build a robust individual giving program to secure flexible and unrestricted investments from high-net-worth individual (HNWI) donors.  Additional positions are planned to support the growth of JFF’s fundraising activities.  

The development team supports JFF and JFFLabs, our nonprofit subsidiary which creates a bridge to social entrepreneurs, tech innovators, and impact investors who are building new solutions to the challenges JFF is tackling. 

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY 

JFF has experienced a period of exciting and unprecedented growth as a result of three highly successful development years, resulting in its significantly expanded reach and impact. The organization is poised to continue and to deepen its market leadership with creative thinking and bold action that transcends the traditional education and workforce space and bridges to the fields of technology, innovation, and investment. In light of this, JFF is strategically organizing both to scale its impact and to support the wellbeing of our staff. As a result, we've recently created several new positions and departments to build a solid foundation for growth in support of our mission to drive equitable economic advancement for all. 

One position that was created out of this organizational redesign is JFF’s new Chief Development Officer (CDO) who will report to the Chief Executive Officer and serve on the Executive Team. As the inaugural full-time, dedicated CDO, this leader will play a strategic role alongside the Executive Team and position the development department for success throughout its growth transition. The successful candidate will embody an entrepreneurial spirit and inspire their team through collaboration and enthusiasm for greater impact.  

The CDO will have primary accountability for developing, driving, and executing the development and fundraising strategies that propel JFF's impact and continued growth objectives. The CDO will lead the implementation of fundraising strategy and oversee securing gifts, grants, and contracts from corporations and foundations, government sources, and individuals. They will also partner closely with executive and program colleagues to ensure strong alignment of fundraising efforts across the organization leading to sustainable income generation in line with the strategic plan for JFF. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO  

Strategy   

• Partner with the CEO, Executive Team, the Development team, and senior program staff to develop and execute fundraising and business development strategies, ensuring strong alignment of efforts across the organization 
• Collaborate with the Strategy & Growth team to create, monitor, and update a long-range development plan that supports JFF’s strategic plan and goals 
• Spearhead the strategy for the acquisition of grants and contracts from private foundations, corporate philanthropy/CSR, government agencies (federal, state, local), and high-net-worth individuals 
• Organize the development team to staff and support JFF and JFFLabs program leaders to identify, qualify, solicit, close, and steward gifts, grants and contracts  
• Ensure JFF’s development work is inclusive and responsive to the needs of local communities and populations that we seek to impact 
• Collaborate with fellow Executive Team members on organizational strategy, priority-setting, and decision making  

Relationship Management 

• As a key ambassador for JFF, establish and foster new external relationships and expand existing relationships with funders and partner organizations, building an internal account services operation as appropriate  
• Cultivate, solicit and steward a portfolio of HNWI, corporate and foundation prospects to support JFF’s ambitions  
• Deepen funder engagement through creative and effective stewardship of current major grantors and donors 
• Staff and support the CEO on donor and prospect engagement 
• Build relationships across the organization to develop a keen understanding of the current work and programs, priority areas and needs, and provide support and guidance necessary to drive fundraising success 

Process and Execution  

• Lead the planning and execution of efforts to secure unrestricted operating funds and core organizational capacity building support from HNWI and institutional funders 
• Oversee the teams executing funding proposal processes, including proposal development, funder reporting, funder research, analyses of funding awards and pursuit, and award review and approval 
• Design and implement a process and set of criteria for evaluating the pursuit of funding opportunities, promoting internal coordination and resolving any conflicts by assigning ownership to the appropriate team or staff member 
• With the support of the team, provide internal and external thought leadership on major trends among funders and overall shifts in the market, including monitoring and identifying funding sources and trends, with foresight, to successfully position JFF 

Team Leadership and Operations 

• Lead, shape, motivate and inspire a growing team and offer support through regular communication and development opportunities  
• Oversee the development team, responsible for proposal development, funder reporting and compliance, funder and prospect research and pipeline development, prospect strategy, data capture and analysis, and executing award review and approval processes 
• Provide a clear team vision, inspire and motivate team members to perform well, and recognize and celebrate successes  
• Steward a team culture that values and nurtures diversity and inclusion 
• Strengthen performance development and people management across the development team  

WHO YOU ARE 

• You have 15+ years of experience as a fundraising and/or business development leader
• You have evidence of driving a complex fundraising strategy and securing six and seven figure gifts and grants from a variety of sources including institutional funders, corporations, and high-net-worth individuals
• You have superior communication skills with the ability to influence and engage a wide range of donors across sectors and build long-term relationships 
• You are an authentic relationship manager who can manage multi-faceted initiatives with high-level stakeholders - from prospects to donors to partners to JFF leadership  
• You have prior experience with change management, including success in helping teams, functions, and organizations navigate transformative change and growth 
• You have demonstrated an ability to support, direct, develop, coach, and inspire staff and leaders 
• You have strong collaboration and interpersonal skills; you are able to maintain open and effective communication with staff at all levels across the organization and have experience supporting and coaching senior leadership on fundraising activities 
• You are a compelling speaker and facilitator with the ability to energize others around an organization’s purpose, aspirations, and work  
• You know how to effectively express complex ideas, engage with stakeholders, build consensus, and ensure alignment on shared goals  
• You are a curious and adaptive learner, with a willingness to take in new information, perspectives and data to inform your work 
• You bring a flexible and adaptable leadership style and can positively impact both strategic and tactical initiatives  
• You possess high energy and passion for JFF’s mission; you believe in JFF's core values and can apply those values to all areas of your work    
• You are a solutions-focused self-starter with an ability to thrive in a busy environment 
• You model inclusive leadership, working effectively with diverse staff, and building and stewarding an organizational culture that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion.  
• You demonstrate a growth mindset with the ability to create and maintain standards of high performance and accountability while fostering innovation, continuous learning, and improvement.  
• You are able and willing to travel up to 30%. (Note: JFF requires Covid vaccination for all work-related travel.)   

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at JFF:  

JFF is committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. JFF fosters a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience. As part of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, JFF strongly encourages people impacted by the criminal legal system to apply. 

COMPENSATION 

JFF offers a competitive salary and benefits package, commensurate with experience and skills.  

TO APPLY 

JFF is partnering with Korn Ferry to manage this search. As part of your application, please include your resume and a thoughtful cover letter, addressed to the Korn Ferry team, outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position. Please apply directly to the posting on JFF's job board and also email your materials to the Korn Ferry team ([email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]) for consideration. Any questions should also be sent to Divina, Dayna, and Traci. 

Positions at JFF are not eligible for employer-visa sponsorship or open to F-1 student visa holders.   

All JFF employees are required to be fully up to date on their vaccinations against COVID-19, unless a medical or religious exemption has been requested and a reasonable accommodation approved.