Director of Development

Position Level: Director

Hours: 30-40 per week, depending on your preference. We offer full benefits (including health care) for everyone working 30 hours or more.

Pay: $80-$100K annually for 40 hours per week at the Director level. If you are currently in an executive-level fundraising role, we encourage you to apply. We are open to discussing adjustments to the role’s scope and compensation, based on your expertise and experience.

Location: Remote. We have a small office in Brooklyn, but we mainly work remotely in various time zones. You must be located in the United States, ideally near a city.

Additional Details: To dive deeper into our mission, values, and what success looks like in this role, check out our blog post. This overview shares our growth, culture, and key metrics. So you'll know how to thrive on our team.

Apply: If you wish to apply, please visit our Careers page, here.

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ABOUT THE ADVENTURE PROJECT

The Adventure Project creates jobs that empower entire communities to work their own way out of extreme poverty, for good.

The Adventure Project partners with local ventures in Africa to create jobs. These jobs help people escape extreme poverty while tackling the core issues of Health, Hunger, Water, and Climate. By focusing on sustainable solutions, we ensure lasting change for women, children, and entire communities. Fueled by a dedicated community of givers, we provide transparent proof of impact at every step, so people can see the difference they are making.

Over the last 14 years, The Adventure Project has created over 2.8K jobs, impacting 2.9M+ lives. Our vision is to create 100K jobs that meet the essential needs of 50M people by 2030. This position will be critical to leading and contributing to our long-term growth strategy. Learn more about our 2024 impact here.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As Director of Development, you'll harness your expertise to build a world-changing development team from the ground up.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years of experience. You must have built and managed relationships with a range of stakeholders, from Executive Board Members to first-time supporters. You’ll be a master storyteller, sharing the transformative impact of our work in ways that energize, inspire, and deeply connect with our community. The candidate will report directly to our co-founder and CEO, Becky Straw.

This is a position where you will be valued as a key leader and strategic partner in shaping our growth. We’re looking for a strong performer in this role to advance to an executive-level position.

If you’ve been dreaming of a role where your passion, creativity, and vision can shine, this is it.

IN THIS ROLE, YOU WILL

Fundraising & Supporter Engagement

• Grow Individual Giving: Build and maintain relationships with key supporters. Engage them personally to maximize their giving.
• Build Corporate & Foundation Partnerships: Develop and manage relationships with corporate partners and foundations to secure sponsorships, grants, and other opportunities.
• Lead our Women’s Fund: Grow and manage our Women's Fund, which invests in female-founded, local organizations in Africa. Led by The Catbird Foundation, this fund addresses the troubling fact that only 2% of funding goes to women and girls.
• Launch our Legacy Giving Campaign: Design and implement our first Legacy Giving campaign, launching in the summer of 2025.
• Holiday Giving Campaign: Help design and craft holiday giving for major supporters, including setting targets, securing matching gifts, and supporting direct mail and gratitude reports.

Materials Development

• Pitch Materials: Work with the team to create proposals, presentations, one-pagers, and tailored pitch decks for donors, corporate partners, and other stakeholders.
• Supporter Communications: Write and send impact reports. Build strong ties with supporters, foundations, and corporate partners.
• Strategic Planning and Budgeting: Set fundraising targets and annual budgets.

Event Planning & Execution

• Fundraising Events: Help plan and run 3-4 intimate fundraising events each year. These are typically cocktail events or small house parties. You will have administrative support.
• Anniversary Celebration: While annual galas aren’t our thing, 2025 marks our 15th anniversary. You will help lead our 15th-anniversary celebration in Fall 2025 in NYC.
• Supporter Field Trips: Plan and run 1-2 trips a year to program sites for key supporters.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 8+ years of fundraising experience, ideally in the social sector (nonprofits, foundations, social enterprises). Experience building donor relationships through one-on-one engagement, with a strong track record of converting major gifts.
• Experience using and optimizing CRM tools preferably Salesforce to guide fundraising strategies, identify new growth opportunities, and manage critical donor touch points.
• Experienced communicator with the ability to share our mission and win others over (WOO!).
• Travel Requirements: We value our relationships with supporters, and encourage occasional in-person connections with donors who have an outsized impact on our work. This may include 1-2 annual international trips to show key supporters our work.

KEY SKILLS

• Collaboration & Communication. You work effectively with others to reach common goals.
• Entrepreneurial Spirit. You take the initiative to deepen relationships and forge new ones.
• Strategic Thinking. You think strategically about building scalable systems and feel confident leveraging our brand, assets, relationships, and opportunities to meet growth targets.
• Data-Driven. You have a keen understanding of the key metrics, tools, and software necessary to drive great CRM. You also follow the data. You love to try new ideas, but you also believe it’s important to track results and follow where the data leads you.
• Passion for ending extreme poverty through job creation. You believe in our model and can speak confidently about international, sustainable development.
• Ownership: You thrive on taking charge of projects and driving strong results. You aren't afraid to delegate, strategize, and solve problems. You want every task to be completed and to exceed expectations.
• Curiosity: You have an insatiable drive to uncover insights. When you see data or results, your first instinct is to ask, "Why?" You love exploring and experimenting. You want to find better ways to achieve your goals.
• Experienced: You must have a history of securing gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. This role requires a seasoned professional. You must have worked in development, sales, or a similar role.

We create good jobs around the world, so we believe you should have a good job, too.

The Adventure Project is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its selection and employment practices. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, age, or other legally protected characteristics.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Annual Salary: $80-$100K, for a 40-hour/week employee. The final salary will be dependent on experience and hours.
• Hours: 30-40 hours/week, depending on your preference.
• ​​Working hours: We embrace flexible working. Let us know what hours empower you to be at your best both professionally and personally, and we’ll find a match for you and us.
• Paid Time Off: 15 Vacation Days (prorated from date of hire); 11 Federal Holidays; 5 Sick Days (prorated from date of hire)
• Parental Leave
• Access to full benefits (healthcare, vision, dental), for U.S. employees working 30+ hours/week.
• 401(k) and match
• Professional Development
• Apple Laptop