Development Director Job Description

MuckRock is seeking its first full-time Development Director.

Building on 15 years of impact and a network of services relied on by over 3,000 newsrooms, MuckRock is looking for an experienced fundraising professional to help us sustain and expand our work with newsrooms, researchers, and the public to build a more informed democracy. This new leadership role will design and build our annual fund and oversee grants and major gifts, while ensuring we clearly define and communicate our mission and vision for building civic transparency to our funders. They will work as part of executive leadership, with our board, and across our teams to help support our work bringing cutting-edge technologies to journalists investigating wrongdoing or through a campaign to build public engagement on issues that matter.

This role reports directly to the CEO.

We have budgeted $100,000 to $120,000 for this role.

MuckRock is a fully distributed team and this is a remote position. Our existing leadership team is based in California, New Jersey and Philadelphia

You are excited about this opportunity because you’ll…

• Drive revenue growth by leading efforts to secure large-scale grants and individual gifts.
• Develop and execute a comprehensive donor development strategy, in collaboration with the board and with teams across technology, editorial and operation programs.
• Ensure that funder communications are consistent, professional, and effective, including donor solicitations and grant reports.
• Identify MuckRock's revenue potential, evaluate current fundraising operations, and implement strategies to strengthen capabilities and address gaps across our editorial, technology, and support teams.

Success measures

• Within 3 months: Success will be defined by the Development Director's ability to quickly assess and understand MuckRock’s existing fundraising landscape, establish key relationships with major donors and stakeholders, and begin crafting a detailed donor development strategy.
• Within 9 months: Success will be measured by the execution of initial fundraising initiatives, including securing at least one significant grant and launching a donor engagement program. The role should also have begun integrating fundraising strategies with MuckRock’s broader organizational goals.
• Within 15 months: The Development Director should have built a robust and scalable donor pipeline, secured multiple large-scale grants, and fully established MuckRock as a recognized leader in journalism innovation. Donor engagement should be consistently driving revenue growth and organizational visibility.

We're excited about you because you are…

• Strategic Thinker: Able to assess revenue potential and develop comprehensive, long-term fundraising strategies aligned with organizational goals.
• Collaborative Leader: Skilled at working cross-functionally with editorial, technology, and operations teams to build cohesive donor development plans.
• Exceptional Communicator: Adept at crafting clear, compelling narratives for funder communications and positioning MuckRock as a leader in journalism innovation.
• Results-Oriented: Proven ability to secure large-scale grants and individual donations, driving measurable revenue growth.
• Highly Organized: Exceptional at managing multiple fundraising initiatives, maintaining clear communication, and ensuring all tasks and deadlines are met with precision across teams.

Understanding and background in the journalism, civic technology, or non-profit sectors is a plus, as is distributed team experience.

Our team loves working at MuckRock because…

• Three weeks of paid vacation annually, plus ten US postal holidays, and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day off.
• Health insurance with full premium paid for employees and 75% of the premium for dependents.
• Professional development, including covering costs for conference and event attendance.
• Board meetings are open to all staff and include meaningful engagement.
• Company dental, vision, and health flexible spending account plans.
• Paid parental leave
• 401K with 4% match
• Life and Disability Insurance
• Flexible equipment budget for a new laptop that you pick out or other home office purchases.
• Distributed team with flexible scheduling.

We recognize that diverse teams make the strongest teams, and we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply.

You must be legally authorized to work in the United States to apply for this role.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, but should be completed no later than January 6, 2025.