POSITION: Development Director
LOCATION: Los Angeles
REPORTS TO: Executive Director, LA
SUPERVISES: Development staff, including the Development Manager
FLSA STATUS: Exempt
SALARY RANGE: $95,000 - $130,000/year
TRAVEL & SCHEDULE:
- Non-local: 0% except once a year for approximately 3-4 days for LIFT’s annual All Staff Retreat in one of its regional cities (no non-local travel if retreat is in home city)
- Local In-Person External Meetings: 15%
- Some evenings and occasional weekend work to attend events
ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION
LIFT’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty by investing in parents. Through direct work with families, engaging technical assistance partnerships, and by advocating for policies that drive systemic change, we’re fighting poverty by lifting two generations at once.
Our team culture is rooted in deep respect for the parents we partner with and for each other. We’re looking for dedicated team members who share our vision that, 25 years from now, LIFT is no longer needed because we have helped build a social service system grounded in Hope, Money, and Love, where all families can thrive. We’re guided by mission- and strategy-aligned leadership grounded in kindness, curiosity, relationships, and a commitment to equity. Explore our benefits and what it’s like to work at LIFT below – or visit our Benefits & Culture Overview to learn more.
*LIFT operates sites in Chicago, Los Angeles, DC, and New York. LIFT operates as a hybrid work environment. Accordingly, this role will be expected to work in the LA office approximately two days a week.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Reporting to the regional Executive Director, the Development Director owns and builds LIFT-LA’s revenue strategy to ensure the region’s long-term sustainability and growth. Co-leading regional development strategy with the Executive Director, the Development Director carries full revenue accountability in service of the organizational strategic plan: setting revenue projections, identifying gaps, making trade-offs across revenue streams, and adjusting strategy to close shortfalls.
This is a strategic, future-oriented role. The Development Director thinks in three-year horizons, sees revenue as a system rather than a set of activities, and builds fundraising capacity beyond themselves — across staff, board, and systems. They independently manage a pipeline of 100+ prospects, activate the board for fundraising accountability, supervise development staff, and design scalable fundraising infrastructure in partnership with Program, Finance, and Communications. Success for the Director looks like a healthy, diversified, and growing revenue base that gives our members and programs the resources they need — and creates space for the Executive Director to operate at a higher level.
AS THE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, YOU WILL…
Revenue Strategy & Ownership
- Co-lead regional development strategy with the Executive Director, aligning fundraising with LIFT-LA’s growth plan and the organizational strategic plan
- Set strategy across revenue streams, build annual and multi-year projections, identify gaps, and adjust to close shortfalls
- Advise the ED on revenue risk and growth opportunities, making trade-offs across revenue streams
- Ground fundraising in race, equity, and social justice, advancing a community-centric model
Pipeline, Relationships & Board
- Own full pipeline health and independently manage a portfolio of individual, corporate, and institutional prospects
- Set the giving level structure, retention strategy, and upgrade pathways
- Lead funder meetings, site visits, and events, and advise the ED on prospect strategy
- Expand LIFT-LA’s external fundraising network (e.g., AFP, philanthropy networks)
- Activate the board for fundraising accountability and manage the board pipeline with the ED
Systems & Team Leadership
- Set the vision for fundraising tools and systems, designing scalable processes with Program, Finance, and Communications
- Ensure Salesforce supports decision-making and establish stewardship standards by giving level
- Supervise and develop development staff, building fundraising capacity beyond yourself
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
- Thinks in three-year horizons and builds a revenue plan that sustains growth, not just the current fiscal year
- Sees revenue as a system, not a set of activities, and manages pipeline, retention, and upgrades accordingly
- Can clearly explain pipeline math: how many prospects, at what stages and conversion rates, are needed to reach revenue goals
- Builds fundraising capacity beyond themselves across staff, board, and systems
- Creates space for the Executive Director to operate at a higher level
OUR IDEAL CANDIDATE…
- Has 6-10 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, including ownership of revenue goals and managing a diversified pipeline of major gift prospects
- Has managed a fundraising pipeline over $1 Million
- Has a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
- Has knowledge of Los Angeles’s fundraising landscape
- Has strong strategic and analytical skills, using data and pipeline math to set strategy and make decisions
- Has experience supervising fundraising staff and engaging boards in fundraising
- Salesforce experience (preferred) or experience with another fundraising database
- Communicates a clear and compelling vision, verbally and in writing, and inspires others to act on it
- Is committed to LIFT’s mission and demonstrates LIFT’s values: We let brilliance shine; We root change in learning; We build deep relationships; We strive for social justice; We create thriving environments.
LIFT’S COMPETENCIES
All LIFT employees embrace and demonstrate our organization-wide core competencies:
- Communication: You share information with relevant parties in a clear and timely manner; effectively engage with and present to others; and write and verbally communicate in a manner that conveys understanding of relevant information and issues.
- Accountability: You take responsibility for the quality and timeliness of work and achieve results with appropriate levels of oversight. You receive feedback in a constructive manner.
- Inclusiveness: You help create a work environment that appreciates diversity and encourages equity by treating others with respect, listening to, and demonstrating appreciation for others’ perspectives, and using culturally sensitive language.
- Teamwork: You work effectively with others throughout the organization and promote cooperation and commitment within your team to achieve goals and deliverables.
- Results-orientation: You focus on results and desired outcomes, keeping team and organizational goals in mind. You use sound planning to achieve goals and get the job done.
- Problem-solving: You take the initiative to solve problems. You exhibit resourcefulness, innovation, and adaptability to new situations.
All LIFT people managers embrace and demonstrate our management core competencies:
- Management and Coaching: You manage staff in ways that improve their ability to thrive in their role. You empower coworkers to grow and succeed through feedback, instruction, coaching, and encouragement.
- Decision-making: You analyze issues and use good judgement to make sound decisions in a timely manner, even when under pressure and/or in times of ambiguity. You listen to and consider others’ perspectives in making decisions.
All LIFT directors embrace and demonstrate our leadership core competencies:
- Strategic vision: You see the big, long-range picture and plan accordingly. You adopt a broad view, consider the organization, and generate ideas for the direction and activities of the organization.
- Business alignment: You align the direction, services, outputs, and performance of your department with the rest of the organization. You align actions with team and organizational goals.
- Inspirational leadership: You inspire others, instill confidence both internally and externally, and galvanize others around a central vision. You maintain relevant professional networks outside of LIFT and are an influencer in these spaces.
Don’t think you have everything for this role but are still interested? Please don’t hesitate to apply. We’d love to hear from you!
LIFT is an equal opportunity employer and believes that diversity in all dimensions of the organization supports and bolsters the innovative thinking essential to its success and is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all qualified applicants. LIFT’s goal is for our people to reflect the communities in which we live and serve and to ensure representation of people of color, those who identify as women, veterans, and individuals with disabilities in our organization.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Salary Range: $95,000 - $130,000/year. LIFT’s compensation philosophy is to pay competitively for our non-profit sector and ensure equity across the organization. The compensation range we offer represents a good faith estimate of what we may pay for the position at the time of posting. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as qualifications and experience, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information at the time of hire, but not based on a candidate’s protected status.
- Benefits:
- Employer-paid health care coverage (100% for employees, 75% for dependents)
- 403(b) retirement savings plan including an employer match contribution of up to 5% after one year
- Generous paid-time-off policy starting with 4 weeks in the first year (5 weeks in years 2-4, 6 weeks at 5+ years), Federal holidays, the day after Thanksgiving, Cesar Chavez Day, and wellness days including a one-week organization-wide paid closure over the winter holidays (the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays), and a one-week organization-wide paid closure over the summer fiscal year transition (the week in which Independence Day is celebrated)
- 12 weeks paid parental leave
- Partial cell phone coverage
- Pre-tax accounts for transit, health, and childcare benefits
- Please see LIFT’s Benefits & Culture Overview for a more in-depth overview of LIFT’s Benefits and Culture.
TO APPLY
Please visit www.whywelift.org/careers to apply and submit a resume.