Director of Development

Description

Director of Development 

Magnify of Central Florida | Full-time | Central Florida

Annual base salary: $100,000–$115,000

Build relationships. Grow giving. Expand opportunity.

Magnify of Central Florida seeks a Director of Development to grow philanthropic support and lead communications that advance opportunity for people with disabilities. This is a fundraising-first leadership role for someone who enjoys developing donor relationships, making direct asks, building strategy, and leading a focused team.

Reporting to the Executive Director, you will help build and lead a department designed to include a Manager of Marketing and Communications and a Development Operations Coordinator. These complementary roles separate communications production, donor administration, and event coordination from your primary focus on fundraising and relationship growth.

Why this opportunity stands out

- Connect donors, businesses, foundations, parishes, and community partners with work that advances opportunity for people with disabilities.

- Shape a more deliberate fundraising operation: strengthen major and recurring giving, build reliable donor follow-through, and guide the team’s next chapter.

- Partner directly with the Executive Director and volunteer leaders while developing complementary marketing and operations roles.

What you will lead

- Personally qualify, cultivate, solicit, renew, and steward donors, including gifts and commitments of $25,000 or more. Lead asks independently and alongside the Executive Director and volunteer leaders.

- Develop and implement the annual fundraising strategy, budget, calendar, and forecast. Use donor insights and results to set priorities and adjust the plan.

- Advance major, recurring, corporate, parish, grant, and legacy-giving opportunities. Prepare credible proposals and cases for support with Finance and program leaders.

- Coach staff, delegate meaningfully, and strengthen donor stewardship and reporting. Use Salesforce or comparable systems to make decisions—not simply store contacts.

- Drive organization-wide marketing and communications objectives, priorities, and evaluation. Empower the Marketing Manager to deliver the hands-on production.

Harvest Ball: lead the fundraising and the results

You will own Harvest Ball’s fundraising goals, budget and forecast, sponsorship strategy, donor experience, and post-event cultivation. The Coordinator maintains the integrated operational plan and logistics; the Marketing Manager leads creative and communications production; Finance retains independent accounting and reconciliation. You will ensure clear assignments, a qualified day-of lead, and adequate coverage.

Requirements

What you will bring

- Five or more years of progressively responsible professional fundraising or philanthropic advancement experience required; seven or more years preferred.

- Demonstrated success personally cultivating and leading or materially co-leading direct asks that resulted in philanthropic gifts or committed pledges of $25,000 or more. Direct solicitation must be a regular, substantive part of the work.

- Experience developing and implementing fundraising strategies, managing donor relationships, setting goals, forecasting results, and making adjustments based on evidence.

- Demonstrated staff supervision and delegation required; two or more years of staff-management experience preferred. Fundraising and management experience may overlap.

- Ability to set, oversee, and evaluate marketing and communications strategy while leading a skilled marketing manager. Hands-on design, video editing, website coding, and technical advertising expertise are not required.

- Bachelor’s degree or a relevant combination of education and experience is required. A master’s degree, fundraising certification, and Salesforce or comparable donor-system experience are preferred; disability-services experience is a plus.

- Candidates must be based in Central Florida or willing to relocate to meet the role’s local work, donor-engagement, travel, and event requirements.

What success looks like

Success means progress on qualified donor relationships, thoughtful asks, renewals, recurring support, and agreed fundraising goals, supported by credible forecasts, reliable stewardship, effective delegation, and a well-executed Harvest Ball. Goals are established with the Executive Director against approved priorities and available resources.

Mission and work environment

Requires an appreciation and respect for the Catholic Church and its teachings. Church employees must conduct themselves in a manner that is consistent with and supportive of the mission and purpose of the Church. Public behavior must not violate the faith, morals, or laws of the Church or the policies of the Diocese.

Work includes the Magnify campus, program sites, donor meetings, community events, periodic travel, and occasional evenings or weekends. Applicable background screening, Safe Environment training, confidentiality requirements, and assignment-specific clearances apply. Magnify/Diocese driving and insurance requirements apply when driving on organizational business. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Apply

Apply through this posting with your résumé. We welcome experience across charitable settings, including human services, healthcare, education, arts, faith-based organizations, and foundations. Be prepared to discuss anonymized examples of major gifts, your personal role in direct asks, and a strategy you developed. Please do not submit confidential donor information.