Director, Development and External Affairs

Job Description

Position Title: Director, Development and External Affairs

** See application instructions below**

Department: Development/Advancement

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer

Location: Washington, DC metro area (hybrid/onsite as needed)

Status: Full-time, exempt

Expected Start: Mid-July 2026

Annual Salary: $155,000 -165,000

Benefits

• Employer contribution towards comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance 
• Generous paid time off, in addition to federal holidays 
• Professional development stipend 
• Hybrid/remote work flexibility, with no required physical office presence. 

About Us

National Urban Fellows (NUF) develops accomplished and courageous professionals of ALL ethnic and racial backgrounds—particularly people of color and women—to become leaders and change agents in the public and nonprofit sectors. For almost six decades, NUF has equipped leaders to lead organizations to drive transformative change in communities across the nation. 

NUF is initiating a period of strategic growth, marked by intentional shifts in both program design and revenue generation. This includes growing revenue by 50% over the next 3-5 years and expanding its impact through new and evolving initiatives such as the Alumni Program, Residency Program, and the NUF Alumni Consulting Collective (NACC), which are designed to deepen alumni engagement while advancing diversified, earned revenue strategies. Learn more about us at www.nuf.org. 

Position Summary

The Director, Development & External Affairs, leads and drives revenue-generation strategies across institutional and individual fundraising channels, with a primary focus on securing large institutional gifts and grants. This role develops, cultivates, solicits, and stewards major gifts from foundations, nonprofit partners, government entities (local, state, federal), and mission-aligned institutional funders, while also supporting individual donor engagement strategies. The Director will build and manage a high-impact development plan and pipeline, advancing organizational sustainability and long-term strategic growth. 

The Director, Development & External Affairs is primarily responsible for leading and executing the organization’s development and growth strategy. Their role in communications is secondary and focused on providing strategic oversight of the function, ensuring alignment with fundraising priorities and effective management of staff and external partners. 

The Director, Development & External Affairs will be a hands-on leader who thrives in both building and executing (i.e., a builder and a doer). This individual will design and implement effective processes, systems, and policies while actively engaging in the day-to-day work of donor cultivation, stewardship, and fundraising. Success in this role requires a rare combination of strategic thinking and operational follow-through. This is a leader who can build the development infrastructure while also driving results on the ground. 

Key Responsibilities

Institutional Fundraising & Strategy

• Collaborate with CEO to develop and execute the institutional fundraising strategy emphasizing foundation, corporate, and government gifts/grants and contracts. 
• Lead all institutional fundraising operations, from prospecting, to award and stewardship.  
• Identify, research, qualify, and prioritize institutional funding prospects to meet organizational revenue objectives. 
• Manage the development of compelling proposals, concept notes, budgets, and reports that reflect organizational priorities, impact, and outcomes. 
• Collaborate with program and finance leadership to align funding priorities and ensure compliance with institutional and government requirements. 
• Supervise external development consultants, providing clear direction, setting priorities, and ensuring high-quality execution of development plans, campaigns, and materials. 

Major Gifts & Donor Cultivation and Stewardship

• Cultivate and manage a portfolio of institutional and major gift prospects (foundations, nonprofits, government agencies, and select high-capacity individuals). 
• Conduct high-level prospect meetings and solicitations, personally advancing relationships and converting prospects into committed funders. 
• Create tailored engagement strategies for institutional leadership, program staff, board members, and other key stakeholders. 

Individual Giving Support

• Contribute to strategies that expand individual giving, including major gifts from individuals, donor circles, and leadership in annual giving. 
• Partner with communications and events teams to support cultivation activities and stewardship touchpoints. 

Communications Oversight

• Partner with the CEO and communications professionals to refine and execute NUF’s communications strategy. 
• Oversee the organization’s communications function, ensuring that messaging, branding, and storytelling effectively advances the organization’s brand, reputation (organizational visibility), and fundraising while aligning with broader institutional priorities. 
• Supervise communications staff and external consultants, providing clear direction, setting priorities, and ensuring high-quality execution of communications plans, campaigns, and materials without owning day-to-day content production. 

Data, Reporting & Metrics

• Establish meaningful development goals, key performance indicators, and metrics for institutional and individual fundraising streams. 
• Track pipeline progress through the organization’s CRM database (e.g., DonorPerfect) and produce regular progress reports for the CEO and Board. 

Team Leadership

• Partner with President & CEO for high-level donor meetings and board engagement. 
• Supervise and mentor junior development staff, consultants, or interns. 
• Foster a collaborative, high-performing fundraising culture across the organization and amongst Alumni. 

Required Qualifications

• Committed entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to adapt in a growth-stage environment, along with a demonstrated commitment to NUF’s mission and vision; NUF alumni experience is a plus. 
• Minimum 5+ years required and 10 years of experience preferred in fundraising and development with proven success securing six- and seven-figure gifts through institutional fundraising (major grants, foundations, government). 
• Deep knowledge of foundation, government, and nonprofit grantmaking ecosystems, especially for both national-level and Washington, DC portfolios. 
• Familiar and capable of providing strategic oversight of the communications function, demonstrating strong understanding of both communications strategy and execution. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication, especially in proposal writing and high-level solicitations. 
• Strong tactical planner, with demonstrated success, closing multi-year gifts and grants. 
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain strong, trust-based relationships with colleagues, partners, and donors through clear communication and collaborative engagement. 
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred 
• Experience designing and implementing development plans that integrate institutional and individual donor strategies. 
• Experience with CRM/donor management systems (e.g., DonorPerfect) 
• Experience working with a Board and senior leadership on fundraising activities. 

Our Approach & Culture

For over 55 years, NUF has been dedicated to removing barriers and creating opportunities for everyone to thrive. NUF is an equal opportunity employer providing for employment or advancement without discrimination because of race, color, religion creed, political association, ancestry, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, domestic violence or stalking victim status, national origin, citizenship, age, veteran status, pregnancy, handicap disability, genetic, genetic characteristics, or other protected status. We strongly encourage women, people of color and all marginalized voices to apply to this and all available positions at National Urban Fellows. 

Application Process

Instructions: To apply for the Director, Development & External Affairs position, apply via LinkedIn. Please submit a single PDF that combines your resume and cover letter and responds to the questions below, not to exceed 4 pages (minimum 10-point font).

In your cover letter, please clearly and concisely address the following questions and include your salary requirement:

1. How have you successfully developed and executed institutional fundraising strategies, particularly in securing six to seven-figure gifts or grants from foundations, corporations, or government entities? 
2. Can you describe a time when you built and managed a high-value donor or funder pipeline that resulted in measurable revenue growth? 
3. How have you collaborated with senior leadership, boards, and cross-functional teams to advance fundraising goals and support long-term organizational sustainability? 

These questions are intended to help you demonstrate your strategic thinking, relationship-building capabilities, and proven track record of driving revenue and core competencies for success in this role. 

Candidates who advance in the selection process will participate in two additional rounds of interviews: one with a selection committee and a final interview with the CEO. As part of the committee interview, candidates will be asked to deliver a verbal presentation. For the final interview, candidates will be required to complete and submit a written assignment. 

Applications are due April 30, 2026, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.