Senior Director of Advancement

Senior Director of Advancement

Full-Time | Charlotte, NC 

Our Mission

ourBRIDGE for KIDS fosters the wellbeing, acculturation, and education of newly arrived refugee and immigrant children and their families. Our values, which are core to our collective work, are Love, Education, Respect, and Diversity (LERD). 

Why You'll Love This Role

The Senior Director of Advancement is a new senior leadership role, reporting to the Executive Director, who will expand and nurture ourBRIDGE's ability to grow and sustain its mission. The core purpose of this role is to strengthen and sustain the financial health of ourBRIDGE by shaping our individual giving program, building and stewarding meaningful relationships with major donors, overseeing private and federal grant funding, and leading a team that brings our community-centered story to life for the donors, partners, and funders who make this work possible. You will do this by developing and leading a thoughtful, strategic approach to fundraising across major gifts, the annual fund, and grants management, while guiding the Engagement and Marketing teams.

If you are a relationship-driven fundraiser who believes in equity-centered philanthropy and brings cultural humility to everything you do, you’ll join a growing organization at a pivotal moment, helping shape how our community shows up for immigrant and refugee families across Charlotte.

What You'll Do

Individual & Major Gift Giving Strategy

• Refine, sustain, and grow ourBRIDGE's individual giving program, including major gifts, mid-level giving, recurring donors, and annual fund campaigns
• Build and manage a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors, leading cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship in partnership with the Executive Director
• Oversee the use of Bloomerang (CRM) to manage donor data, ensuring accuracy, integrity, and timely updates, while establishing and reinforcing best practices for consistent use across the development team.
• Partner with the Marketing & Communications Manager to create community-wide communications, and giving / stewardship campaigns
• Establish fundraising metrics, reporting systems, and dashboards to track progress toward annual revenue goals
• Within six months, establish meaningful relationships across our network and community to strengthen and expand our development efforts
• By the end of the first year, identify and activate new opportunities that drive a measurable increase in donor giving

Grant Management & Compliance

• Partner with the Executive Director to steward federal and private foundation grants, ensuring timely reporting, compliance, and renewal
• Support the Finance Director in ensuring accurate grant budgets and expenditure reporting
• Identify and pursue new grant opportunities aligned with ourBRIDGE's programmatic priorities
• Oversee grant writing (through our internal staff, contracted writers, or directly) ensuring proposals reflect the organization's values and impact
• Maintain a grants calendar tracking deadlines, reporting requirements, and renewal timelines

Community Engagement & Partnerships

• Provide strategic direction to the Engagement Team as they build and deepen partnerships with mission-aligned organizations that expand opportunities for the families ourBRIDGE serves 
• Oversee strategies that grow public awareness of and community support for ourBRIDGE's mission 
• Support efforts to expand and diversify ourBRIDGE's volunteer base, ensuring volunteers are recruited, trained, and stewarded in ways that reflect the organization's values

Team Leadership & Supervision

• Supervise, coach, and develop the Director of Engagement and the Marketing & Communications Manager, totaling 2 direct reports
• Set clear performance goals and provide regular feedback aligned with the organization's LERD values and advancement priorities
• Integrate community engagement and communications strategies with development goals to ensure consistent, compelling storytelling
• Model ourBRIDGE's commitment to cultural humility, inclusivity, and equity within the advancement and leadership team

Strategic Leadership & Organizational Presence

• Serve as a member of the leadership team, contributing to organizational strategy, planning, and culture
• Represent ourBRIDGE at external events, donor gatherings, and community functions
• Build and steward relationships with Charlotte's philanthropic community, corporate partners, and civic leaders
• Partner with the Board of Directors on fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and resource development

What We Offer

• Inclusive, welcoming, and mission-driven workplace
• Supportive and collaborative team environment
• Ongoing professional development and growth opportunities
• Generous paid time off plus 12 observed holidays
• Flexible scheduling and an optional remote work day
• Benefits will include Health Benefits through QSHERA, and Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program for staff and household family members
• Salary range: $85,000–$100,000, based on experience and qualifications

What We're Looking For

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive nonprofit development experience, including demonstrated success in individual major gifts ($5,000+) fundraising
• Meaningful experience managing and reporting on federal or private foundation grants
• Proven experience supervising staff, developing team members, and sustaining culture 
• Ability to provide strategic leadership while maintaining a hands-on approach to execution.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling narratives for diverse audiences
• Deep commitment to equity, justice, diversity, and inclusion — and the ability to apply an equity lens to fundraising practice
• Demonstrated cultural humility and genuine openness to learning from and about the ourBRIDGE community
• Proficiency with CRMs and/or donor management systems (e.g., Bloomerang or equivalent)
• Demonstrated flexibility and the ability to adapt quickly to evolving opportunities and priorities
• Demonstrates a friendly, optimistic approach that fosters trust, collaboration, and strong relationships across teams and community partners
• Ability to collaborate in a team environment
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced team environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience fundraising for education, youth development, or immigrant- and refugee-serving organizations
• Bilingual or multilingual candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
• Existing relationships within the Charlotte philanthropic community
• Familiarity with federal grant compliance (e.g., 21st Century, DHHS, or similar programs)

Conditions of Employment

• Valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and current vehicle insurance
• Ability to travel locally for donor meetings, events, and community functions
• Ability to work occasional evenings or weekends for fundraising events

Hiring Process

The hiring process includes an initial virtual interview followed by in-person meetings.

Equal Opportunity Employer

ourBRIDGE is committed to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, pregnancy, parental status, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.

ourBRIDGE actively seeks to build a team that reflects the communities we serve. We strongly encourage applications from people with lived experience as immigrants or refugees, first generation, people of color, and individuals from historically marginalized communities.