Director of Development

ABOUT LONG LIVE THE KINGS (LLTK)

Long Live the Kings’ (LLTK) mission is to restore wild salmon and steelhead and support sustainable fishing in the Pacific Northwest. Since 1986, we have been advancing science, improving management, and implementing solutions to balance the needs of fish and people. LLTK envisions a sustainable Northwest with a growing human population, a thriving economy, and flourishing salmon runs.

Our 18-member Board of Directors and 20 dedicated staff members proudly work alongside a diverse network of our region's salmon recovery leaders to help us accomplish our goals. Our core values are stewardship, collaboration, results, and learning. Our staff are located in Seattle, Hood Canal, and Orcas Island, and work throughout western Washington and the Pacific Northwest including internationally. LLTK has been responsible for some of the region's biggest wins for local salmon populations, including the international Salish Sea Marine Survival project and ongoing projects at the Hood Canal Bridge and Nisqually River Delta. Learn more about us in our 2025 Strategic Roadmap and on our website.

LLTK staff and Board are committed to authentically embracing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a core value that drives the success of our people, our partners, and our work. We have been engaged in this work formally since 2021. We are looking for individuals who want to advance this work and who are excited to be on this journey with us.

THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SEARCH

Long Live the Kings is seeking a passionate and experienced leader to champion our fundraising program and secure the private dollars needed to protect and restore our region’s treasured salmon populations. The next Director of Development will bring both a proven track record of growing successful major gifts programs as well as an expert understanding of the Northwest’s philanthropic landscape. With support from LLTK’s talented team of experienced development professionals, the Director of Development will pursue the organization’s ambitions goals for growth. In 2025, LLTK has a $4+ million budget, of which private fundraising is responsible for over $1 million. Building on LLTK’s long history of success, recognition as a leader in salmon recovery, and the development team’s passion, experience, and values, the Director of Development will be a leader in the organization, providing a vision for strategic development and growing unrestricted funding through major gifts.

OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES

Reporting to the CEO, The Director of Development will work closely with leadership, staff, Board, donors, and partners to secure the necessary financial resources to support LLTK’s mission and programs. More specifically, the Director of Development will be supported by and work closely with the CEO, Board Development Committee, the development team (Senior Grants and Database Manager, Events Manager, and Database Coordinator), as well as the Associate Director of Communications, who uses part of their time to support fundraising communication campaigns, events marketing, and other development-related communication needs.

The Director of Development will grow the major gifts program and achieve fundraising goals by leveraging connections, staff talents, and LLTK’s exciting project work. Our project portfolio includes two field stations in dramatic natural settings with active fish recovery programs that, in addition to supporting meaningful conservation and fisheries, provide unique experiences for our supporters and have been key to securing major gifts. The Development Director will engage immediately in the following opportunities for impact:

Strategic Visioning (20%): The Director of Development will lead the design and implementation of a Strategic Fundraising Plan that leverages the development team's considerable fundraising, data, grant, and events experience to raise the dollars needed to fuel the next phase of LLTK's ambitious salmon recovery actions. The Director must lead budgeting, revenue forecasting, and tracking of financial goals aligning with their strategic vision. Additionally, it will be important for the Director to embed values into their strategic vision and decision-making in order to align with the development team's forward thinking. The LLTK development team has begun working to incorporate principles of Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF), and the ideal Director will be enthusiastic about furthering the use of value-based fundraising frameworks.

Major Gifts Fundraising (35%): The Director of Development will steward and implement a focused major gifts program, with Long Live the Kings defining major gifts as donations exceeding $1,000. There has been considerable progress on sustaining current donors, as well as success in securing five-figure donations from trusted supporters. We see significant potential in creating more opportunities for stewarding and expanding our major donor portfolio, with specific focus on donor acquisition, increasing donor levels for long-time supporters, and expanding an existing planned giving program. LLTK is currently seeking to secure grant or other capacity-building funding to hire a Major Gifts Officer in the near future. A central focus of the Director of Development’s role will be building and managing the organization’s major donor portfolio (currently over 100 individuals and 26 corporate partners) with the aim of engaging directly with donors and deploying our organization’s full breadth of resources to grow individual giving and raise unrestricted funds.

Organizational Leadership (20%): The Director of Development will be a key member of LLTK’s leadership team, attending weekly meetings, delivering strategic insights on the organization’s goals, and contributing to organizational decision making. The Director will work closely with the CEO, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Programs Officer to build trust, define the role/operations/norms of the leadership team, and execute these decisions. Some major milestones ahead include planning for LLTK’s 40th Anniversary in 2026, as well as a CEO transition and search in the next few years.

Team Management (10%): The Director of Development will inspire, unite, and empower the development team, all of whom are highly capable and bring extensive experience. The Director will foster a culture of shared leadership across the team, grounding processes and decision-making in shared values, clarifying roles, responsibilities, and accountability, and prioritizing inclusion and equity to ensure a thriving team culture.

Donor Engagement, Appeals & Events (10%): The Director of Development will help identify and implement opportunities to better engage and steward LLTK donors. Current donor engagement opportunities revolve around both fundraising events and direct donor appeals. The Director of Development will work alongside the Events Manager to promote donor participation across three annual major fundraising events as well as several smaller scale events occurring throughout the year. LLTK also completes three distinct annual appeals and hosts a major web-based educational campaign (Survive the Sound) which reaches tens of thousands of current and prospective donors. Our fundraising appeals use a combination of email, mail, social media, and direct telephone outreach methods. To support this work, the Director is responsible for crafting messaging, developing donor segmentation strategies, and directly soliciting individual donors. While managing these responsibilities, the ideal Director will focus on continually strengthening LLTK's value proposition while demonstrating effective external communication and community outreach skills.

Board Partnership (5%): The LLTK Board is very active and cares deeply about LLTK’s mission and work. The Director of Development will engage the Board Development Committee and manage the Board’s giving commitments. The Director will also leverage the experience, relationships, and wisdom of the Board to harness and mobilize their support to achieve fundraising goals.

QUALITIES, ATTRIBUTES, AND COMPETENCIES OF THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Success in the Director of Development role will require a deep commitment to the mission, vision, and values of Long Live the Kings. The ideal candidate will first and foremost be an:

• Effective Fundraiser and Steward of Resources and Relationships. The Director of Development will have the capacity to inspire and cultivate new and existing donors and business partner relationships and will possess a compelling voice with a demonstrated ability to have authentic dialogue around complex issues including funder expectations, strategic direction, and community priorities. The ideal Director will have worked in and led a portfolio of major donors and have a deep understanding of the individual philanthropy landscape, with an excitement for and understanding of fundraising across political lines for environmental causes. In addition to stewardship and growth with existing donors, the Director will be responsible for identifying and developing a robust portfolio of prospects and new donors.
• Inclusive People-Manager. The Director of Development will have experience managing, leading, nurturing, and empowering a development team through growth and transformation. The Director will be able to create a culture of inclusion on the development team, provide clarity and direction, set and evaluate priorities, and ensure everyone on the team is aligned in the same direction, while keeping them inspired and helping them grow. The ideal Director will be equity fluent, with demonstrated experience and ardent desire to help LLTK bring equity and inclusion values into development, people management, and leadership practices and systems.
• Adaptable Leader and Systems-Builder. The Director of Development will be an integral part of fundraising work/major gifts program, a leadership team, and an organization overall that has a great foundation and in some ways is very established but is also growing and changing to adapt to current needs, opportunities, challenges, and landscape. The Director will have an orientation toward adaptability and an interest in problem-solving and building new standards, trust, and systems with an established leadership team. This will require the Director to have enthusiasm and a commitment to transparency, authenticity, and a values-discipline in all aspects of leadership.

Additional skills and attributes that will be important to the Director of Development’s success include:

Professional Experience

• At least 10 years of professional experience working in a field relevant to nonprofit development and fundraising.
• Ability to excel with a diverse and demanding workload and to manage projects successfully, including having the drive and prioritization skills necessary to proactively advance and complete high-quality work independently and collaboratively.
• Demonstrated leadership skills/strong experience leading or working in teams and team settings.
• Proven people management skills, including the ability to partner with a CEO and Board to oversee and grow a successful fundraising program.
• Experience managing the creation and oversight of department revenue forecasts, budgets and workplans, as well as comfortability recording and sharing that information with finance and the Board.
• Exceptional interpersonal, organizational, and persuasive communication skills, including the ability to build trust and relationships and make fundraising asks.
• Experience working effectively in a variety of professional settings with diverse groups of people who may have divergent interests; understanding of and/or experience navigating Tribal government relations and other agencies a plus.

Personal Attributes

• A love for the environment and a willingness to learn about salmon recovery is required. Demonstrated passion and a vision for supporting conservation and recovery of salmon and the communities and people who depend on them is a plus.
• Equity fluency and commitment to reimagining inequitable systems and practices in alignment with LLTK’s values and commitment to anti-racist work.
• Experience collaborating with organizations and individuals who are creative, visionary, and transformational.
• The personal balance and confidence necessary to maintain a learning posture while still contributing as a leader in fundraising efforts to recover salmon and support sustainable fishing.
• The wisdom, initiative, and humility to co-create with and build alignment across staff, Board, and stakeholders toward a vision and plan that inspires all.

Not sure if you are 100% qualified based on what you have read? Consider this: we are more interested in hiring smart, hardworking, thoughtful individuals who are motivated to learn than those who think they already have all the answers. We want individuals who care about the world, who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and who will deliver exceptional work.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The Director of Development role is a full-time, exempt leadership-level position. The salary range for this position is $124,000-$131,999. The range aims to accommodate those with varying years of relevant experience and/or education. Final salary offers are dependent on how candidates’ skills, abilities, and experiences align with LLTK's salary framework. This role is posted with a salary that represents the range between Director Level, Tier 1-4 (0-8 years of experience at an equivalent, director-level).

Benefits include:

• Paid Vacation time accrued at 13.33 hours per month
• Paid Sick time accrued at 8 hours per month
• 13 Floating PTO days (104 hours) annually
• Medical, Life, Long-Term Disability, and Dental Insurance
• Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) and Flex Spending Account (FSA)
• 401k with 5% match (after 1 year of employment and 1,000 hours worked)
• Quarterly Cell Phone Stipend ($60)
• ORCA Pass for commuting
• Dog-Friendly Office

Long Live the Kings cares about staff growth. We invest in professional development and complete annual reviews including employee growth plans. Typically, LLTK employees can expect to receive a promotion/title change within 2-4 years.

Working Conditions and Location

Long Live the Kings is currently using a hybrid workplace model:

• We ask all staff to work from our office in downtown Seattle at least one day a week. Our anchor days are currently Tuesdays.
• This position has duties which will likely require regular in-person, off-site meetings in order to be immersed in LLTK's donor community. As part of their major gifts fundraising responsibilities, this role will likely be required to travel throughout the Puget Sound region to steward relationships with major donors.
• Additionally, we have quarterly staff gatherings that require in-person participation and there may be additional work location and travel needs specific to this position.
• Note that this may change as we continue to adjust to workplace changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The physical requirements of this role listed below are representative of those that may need to be met by an employee in this role:

• Operating a computer and other office equipment.
• Ability to work in an office environment with fluctuating noise level.
• Occasionally lifting up to 30 pounds; however, assistance with lifting or moving items can be provided.
• Ability to engage with fieldwork, which may include walking on uneven surfaces, working in/around water and on boats, and travel which may result in irregular work hours.