Director, Nationwide Prospect Development & Portfolio Strategy

The ACLU seeks a strategic and collaborative leader to serve as the full-time Director of Nationwide Prospect Development & Portfolio Strategy, in the Development Department of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY. This is a hybrid position, with in-office requirements of two (2) days per week or eight (8) days per month.

The ACLU’s passionate community of donors and activists is stronger than ever. The mission of the ACLU’s Development Department is to unlock the full potential of donors and the ACLU as partners in the creation of a more perfect union. We pursue our mission by building long-term donor relationships and organizational partnerships, by demonstrating impact in response to threats, engaging donors in our mission, by taking interest in our donors and facilitating personal action, by being accountable stewards of their funds, and by asking donors to consider giving the ACLU their full support.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

As the Director of Nationwide Prospect Development & Portfolio Strategy, you will play a pivotal role in leading a strategic, insight-driven program that powers major gifts fundraising across the ACLU’s national and affiliate network. Reporting to the Senior Director of Nationwide Leadership & Planned Gifts, you’ll oversee a team that identifies and advances high-capacity donors, strengthens prospect portfolios, and delivers the systems, data, and strategy that fundraisers need to build transformative relationships. From five-figure supporters to eight-figure prospects, your leadership will drive the engine behind our pipeline, supporting the people and tools that connect donor passion to mission impact.

In this highly collaborative role, you’ll guide a nationwide donor assignment process, shape strategic moves management, and embed data-driven practices that elevate giving potential and campaign readiness. You’ll work closely with colleagues across the country to improve the health and performance of fundraising portfolios, while developing scalable systems for research, reassignment, and prospect development. This is a unique opportunity to lead at the intersection of philanthropy, strategy, and equity, ensuring that the ACLU has the insight and infrastructure to grow support for civil liberties for years to come.

YOUR DAY TO DAY

As Director, you'll set the vision and lead a high-impact team focused on driving major gifts success across the entire ACLU network—national and affiliate. Your team will power the strategy behind dozens of major gifts portfolios, working with prospects and donors whose giving potential spans from five to eight figures.

Here's how you'll make an impact:

• You'll guide the strategy, execution and vision of identifying, researching, and advancing top prospects—helping fundraisers across the country build meaningful relationships and grow support for the ACLU's mission.
• Oversee a team that provides prospect research and philanthropic insights that inform strategies for our frontline fundraisers nationwide
• Improve the quality and value of our donor data. Lead efforts to evaluate research tools, conduct wealth screenings, assess prospect pool potential, and refine giving capacity and affinity scores.
• Develop and maintain systems for donor assignment and reassignment, pipeline growth, and portfolio benchmarking—ensuring fundraisers have the right prospects at the right time, with the right strategies.
• Build trusted partnerships with portfolio managers at both the National office and across 50 state affiliates. Work closely with Development’s Nationwide Development Resources team and the Affiliate Support & Nationwide Initiatives department.
• Lead and participate in strategy reviews for robust, high-stakes prospect lists supporting unrestricted and targeted campaigns across major, leadership, and planned giving.
• Manage your unit’s budget and stay current on best practices in prospect research, data modeling, and donor analytics to ensure continuous innovation.
• Protect donor data privacy and ensure all work aligns with ACLU guidelines and industry best practices, including those of APRA.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

• Advanced knowledge of the tools, systems, and best practices that support successful major gift fundraising, especially in complex or federated nonprofit environments.
• Experience assessing fundraising potential and informing campaign strategy through data, research, and feasibility analysis
• Proficiency in using data to evaluate portfolio performance, conduct capacity analysis, and generate actionable insights for fundraisers
• A track record of leading teams with empathy and accountability, developing talent, and fostering cross-functional collaboration
• Strong communication skills, and the ability to build trust and alignment across diverse stakeholders and geographies
• An interest in privacy rights

FUTURE ACLU'ERS WILL

• Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
• Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
• Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

COMPENSATION

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, there is a set salary for each role based on geographic work location. The annual salary for this position is $234,120 (Level C1), reflecting the salary of a position based in New York, NY. Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.

For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being.

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

• Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policy
• Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
• Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
• We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change. We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.