Friends of the Children

Friends of the Children is seeking a passionate, committed leader with strong relational skills to advance our national fundraising efforts. Are you a driven development professional who thrives on building meaningful relationships, working on and managing high-impact teams, and engaging donors in transformative work? Is working for a mission-centered organization that inspires you a critical part of your career journey? If so, we may have the perfect opportunity for you.

Our mission is to impact generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships with paid professional mentors for 12+ years no matter what. Our work is powered by our belief in our values. We put children first; build relationships on love; commit to empowerment; pursue goals relentlessly; and unlock all potential. The Deputy Director reports to the Chief Officer of Development & Sustainability.  The ideal candidate will have proven experience cultivating relationships with top-tier national donors and influencers representing wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. They will bring to the role a strong, developed equity lens and a commitment to advancing asset-framed narratives as they steward engagement in our work. They will also have demonstrated skill and comfort working at the national and community levels to build champions and raise funds.

Are you this amazing leader? Here's what we have to offer you:

• Opportunity to help grow and support an organization that empowers youth to set and achieve their goals.
• A team of talented employees who are passionate about working together to create an extraordinary and impactful organization.
• Respect for work-life harmony. Allowing for and encouraging personal well-being and balance is a priority for Friends of the Children.
• Compensation commensurate with experience and geographical location: $120k-$140k

Curious to learn more? The job description is below:

The following statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work to be performed by individuals assigned to this position. They are not intended as a comprehensive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

Basic Function/Position Overview:

The Deputy Director of Development is a strategic leader and executor of all thing’s development—serving as a thought partner to the Chief Officer of Development and Sustainability and overseeing the technical and operational aspects of our growing national fundraising efforts. This role includes managing frontline fundraising, supervising team members, engaging directly with donors, and working closely with the Board and network partners to ensure organizational and financial sustainability.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Oversight

• Serve as the strategic lead on fundraising execution, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and sustainability goals.
• Oversee technical and operational aspects of development, including systems, pipelines, reporting, and campaign infrastructure.
• Develop and manage multi-year fundraising plans in partnership with the Chief Officer of Development and Sustainability.
• Contribute to the development and execution of national campaigns with a focus on transformational gifts and long-term funding partnerships.

Fundraising and Donor Management

• Manage a personal portfolio of current and prospective donors.
• Cultivate and solicit major gifts directly and through strategic deployment of the CEO and board members.
• Lead network-wide efforts to support regional and national major donor strategies, including coaching and supporting chapter development staff.

Team Supervision and Management

• Supervise and support frontline fundraisers and database managers, providing clear direction, coaching, and accountability.
• Build a high-performing, inclusive team culture that emphasizes learning, collaboration, and results.
• Facilitate regular strategy sessions and individual check-ins with direct reports.

Board Engagement and Internal Collaboration

• Partner with the Board and Development Committee to drive engagement, stewardship, and peer-to-peer fundraising efforts.
• Provide strategic support and training to non-development staff to help them act as fundraising ambassadors.
• Collaborate with Communications and Program teams to produce compelling donor materials and reports.

Network Development Support

• Support efforts to strengthen development capacity across Friends of the Children’s national network.
• Support site-level leaders in cultivating regional funding, including major gift strategy and relationship-building.

 Essential Skills and Abilities:

• Self-motivated leader who excels in a team environment.
• Strong, developed equity lens.
• Possess - and inspire others to develop - a strategic mindset with respect to donor stewardship and cultivation.
• Demonstrated skill and comfort in cultivating relationships with top-tier national donors and influencers representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
• Demonstrated skill and comfort working at the community level to build champions and raise funds.
• Ability to passionately and effectively communicate with funders and the public about our work using an asset-framed lens.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to operate as strategic thinker and tactical implementer.
• Team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills at all levels.
• Positive and collaborative attitude when managing groups and overseeing initiatives.
• Strong decision-making, organizational, time management and follow-up skills.
• Demonstrated success leading, managing, inspiring, motivating others and being flexible within a fast-paced, constantly changing, work environment.
• Proven ability to meet deadlines and budgets.

The ideal candidates will have the following Education, Experience, and Abilities

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, or 10 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising. 
• Direct experience managing major gifts ($100K+).
• Demonstrated success in strategic fundraising execution and donor pipeline development.
• Strong team leadership and supervisory skills.
• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation abilities.
• Technical knowledge of fundraising processes, systems and CRMs (preferably Salesforce).
• Experience working with boards, senior leaders, and high-net-worth individuals.

Preferred:

• Experience in youth development, mentoring, child welfare, or education.
• Familiarity with national or federated nonprofit structures.
• Event planning and campaign execution experience.

Culture of Belonging:

Friends of the Children endeavors to create a culture where each and every staff knows they belong.  From our policies to our procedures and practices, we aim to create an environment that is healthy, safe, accepting, supportive, and kind. Our benefits are one way to depict our value for work harmony, empowerment, health, and happiness.

Benefits: 

Our competitive compensation, benefits package, and employee engagement demonstrate our values to families, children, healthy relationships, love, empowerment, goal achievement, and equity.  We are continuously seeking feedback and researching best practices to meet the needs of staff and their families. Below are ways we actualize a culture of care for each and every staff member.

• Health: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only health premium for 2 of the 4 plans
• Dental: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium
• Vision: Friends of the Children covers 100% of employee only premium
• Basic Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment: 100% paid by Friends of the Children
• Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability: 100% paid by Friends of the Children
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA): Employees may contribute to an FSA account: Healthcare FSA minimum of $100 maximum of $3,300.
• Employee Assistance Program
• Voluntary Benefits such as Critical Illness, Hospitalization, Legal, etc.
• 401(k) savings plan with a company match of up to the first 4% of earnings that the employee contributes.
• Cell phone and/or Internet Reimbursement: Employee is eligible for cell phone and/or internet business expenses up to $75/month ($37.50/pay period), maximum.
• Office reimbursement of $150 per year on anniversary date.
• Time off:
  • Vacation: Full-time employees of Friends are eligible for up to three weeks of paid vacation annually for the first 4 years.  The first year the time is pro-rated and vacation increases to honor length of service.
  • Sick Time: Regular, full-time employees are awarded two weeks/80 hours of sick time on January 1 of each year. New employees are awarded prorated sick time, not less than 48 hours. Sick time can be used to care for your own physical and mental wellbeing or that of a family member.
  • Holidays: Eleven paid holidays. Three of which are Floating holidays to help honor how people choose to celebrate their cultural and religious holidays.
• Flexible work schedule/Remote/Hybrid work. (In collaboration with Management and as the duties of the role necessitates.)
• Career Development and Wellness Reimbursement of up to $1000 after the first year of employment. Up to $200 can be used for Wellness. 
• Summer hours and end of year holiday gift of time off. (Assessed annually by Executive Management.)
• Employee Perks and Discount Programs including savings on hotels, rental cars, travel, entertainment, streaming services, electronics, eCommerce, and so much more.

Benefits start at the first of the month on or following employee start date.

Compensation:

• Salary Range: $120k-$140k (Compensation commensurate with experience and geographical location)

Location:

• Remote/Virtual - This is a remote position with up to 20% travel expected. Your home office must be located within 30 miles of a major airport. This role can be performed within the contiguous United States

What You Bring

• Strategic vision with a hands-on, operational mindset.
• Ability to build and lead teams with empathy and accountability.
• Entrepreneurial drive and comfort with a fast-growing, evolving organization.
• A commitment to long-term impact and relationship-based work.
• Passion for our mission and belief in the potential of every child.

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a transformative movement to empower youth who face the greatest adversity.
• Help scale a model that’s gaining national and global recognition.
• Join a mission-aligned and deeply relational team.
• Lead at the intersection of innovation, community, and impact.

Applications without cover letters will not be considered; please use this as an opportunity to convey why you want to be the Deputy Director of Development at Friends of the Children!

Friends of the Children is growing rapidly as communities across the country are experiencing the power of how “One” changes a child's story: One Friend. One Child. 12+ years. No matter what. #ThePowerOfOne 

 Friends of the Children is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to addressing discriminatory practices. The equal employment opportunity policy of Friends of the Children provides fair and equal opportunities for all employees and job applicants. Friends of the Children hires and promotes individuals solely based on their qualifications for the job to be filled. 

To learn more about Friends of the Children go to: https://friendsofthechildren.org/