Development Director, NYC

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one and small group tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy, and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that truly works. Join our stellar, committed team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about the mission and core tutoring work of Reading Partners.

The high level:

The Director of Development (DD) leads the development department for our New York City region. The DD is responsible for developing and implementing the fundraising strategy for Reading Partners New York City to raise $3.8M in private revenue in FY27 and continue the region’s annual growth trajectory. The Director of Development will design and execute a strategic and diversified development plan to raise funds through foundations, individuals, corporations, local government, and events. As a trusted advisor, strategic thought partner, and director, you will report to the New York City Executive Director. 

The Director of Development is a senior leader in the region who catalyzes regional growth and elevates the Reading Partners brand. They manage the Development Manager for the NYC region.

What you’ll do:

Fundraising:

• Serve as an external ambassador
• Proactively develop and implement strategies to effectively engage individual, institutional, and local government funding streams by maintaining high renewal rates, maximizing upgrade opportunities and generating new leads.  
• Lead the planning and execution of fundraising events  
• Ensure high-quality external communications, including grants and grant reports
• Deliver on a comprehensive and strategic development plan with a $3.8M private revenue goal, with actions taken toward future growth

Board Management: 

• In partnership with the executive director, engage the local advisory board to meet critical financial and advocacy goals for the organization
• In partnership with the executive director, coordinate board meetings, sub-committees and ad-hoc committees, including meeting scheduling, creation of pre-read materials and meeting materials, and any relevant follow-up or next steps
• Maintain engagement (both financially and otherwise) to ensure board member retention and satisfaction
• Partner with executive director to recruit diverse new board members 
• Support development manager in leading regional associate board, including managing meetings and individual member initiatives

Regional Leadership/Partnership: 

• Help shape regional strategy and play a leadership role in implementing the region’s operating plan as a member of the senior leadership team; 
• Work collaboratively with regional and national departments and staff;
• Directly supervise and coach the development team, which currently includes a development manager;
• Represent, respect, and role-model Reading Partners’ organizational culture and values on a daily basis, both internally as a member of the senior leadership team, and externally as a primary representative of the organization.

Development Operations: 

• Lead the development manager moves management process from donor identification, through collections, to stewardship, ensuring accurate maintenance of records and donor information in the Salesforce database 
• Direct regular pipeline meetings with executive director and development manager to provide updated revenue figures, pipeline reports, and progress toward monthly/quarterly goals;
• Support collection of partnership and direct service revenue in partnership with development manager and partnerships and program team;
• Identify areas for operational improvements and drive continual improvements of processes

Other duties as needed. 

How you’ll do it:

Strategy Development 

• Demonstrate an ability to devise innovative regional strategic fundraising plans, create action steps, and mobilize many stakeholders to achieve fundraising goals. Build sustainable plans to maximize market opportunities, meet goals and significantly grow funding. In addition, leverage systems, people, and resources to drive processes and track progress against goals to report on progress to senior leadership and board. Execute work in a highly organized, analytical, and data-informed manner.

External Relations and Communication

• Demonstrate advanced experience in external relations, corporate alignment, board management and communication, and strategic stewardship and cultivation of donors. Deliver convincing messaging and demonstrate a genuine joy in connecting with donors, and all external stakeholders that reflects Reading Partners’ culture and values. 
• Serve as an ambassador of Reading Partners. Quickly establish credibility when promoting Reading Partners to external audiences. Demonstrate a high degree of comfort and poise with donors, corporations, and prospects. Develop strategic corporate partnerships. 

New Revenue Generation

• Demonstrate a strong track record in driving development efforts in rapidly growing organizations particularly in New York City. Demonstrate ability to hit fundraising goals, generate new funding sources, and run sophisticated corporate and individual giving campaigns. Demonstrate success in cultivation. Show a strong hunger and drive to not only drive strategy internally, but also to heavily participate in external relationship building and fundraising. 

People Leadership

• Positively collaborate with the executive director, cross-organizational teams, and lead an internal team to meet and exceed aggressive fundraising goals. Consistently coach, grow, and create stretch assignments to grow future fundraising leaders from within.

What we offer:

Reading Partners’ compensation and benefits programs are designed to attract, motivate, engage, and retain top talent to propel our mission forward. 

Compensation: This is a full-time, exempt, and salaried position. The pay range for this position is  $98,007 - $122,508 per year. We aim to set salaries based on objective, external, high-quality market data. Our salaries are adjusted for candidates in different geographic regions. We do our very best to ensure that we’re bringing our best offer - therefore we do not engage in salary negotiations.

Our benefits:  We offer a comprehensive benefits program intentionally crafted to support employees and their families with physical, mental, and financial health:

• Health & Insurance Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision insurance with substantial employer contributions toward both employee and family premiums; life and disability insurance at no cost to employees; and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Pre-Tax Medical Support: Significant pre-tax employer funding to help offset employees’ out-of-pocket medical expenses, including providing first dollar coverage for some plan options.
• Mental Health Support: Spring Health for easy access to therapy, coaching, and wellness resources, including six sessions provided at no cost to employees.
• Inclusive Health Support: Carrot for guidance and support related to hormonal health, fertility, family-building, and gender-affirming services.
• Retirement Benefits: 403(b) retirement plan with immediate eligibility to participate and to receive employer matching contributions.
• Paid Time Off: Flexible Paid Time Off (Unlimited PTO) and Paid Parental Leave for up to 8 weeks for birth and non-birth parents.
• Holidays & Office Closures: 14 paid holidays annually, plus one week of office closure in early July and two weeks in late December.
• Culture & Growth: A dynamic, mission-driven culture with a strong commitment to employee development and career growth.

The other things you need to know:

• This role is hybrid, with 2-3 days in the office as needed, and travel to school sites for funder visits and board meetings, etc.
• Travel: This position travels regularly throughout NYC. This position may also involve occasional travel to Reading Partners’ National Headquarters in Oakland, CA. 

Reading Partners is an Equal Opportunity Employer

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• Have 5+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role, including 3 years of team management or leadership
• Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally 
• Have strong relationship-building skills and are a savvy collaborator 
• Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals 
• Demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment.
• Display a deep belief in our mission and root your work in our core values.
• Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S. and that you are at least 18 years of age.
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Bonus Points if you:

• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna
• Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations