ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND

National Housing Trust (NHT) has been dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing for over 30 years. Our mission is to create and preserve affordable homes to provide opportunity, advance racial equity, reduce economic disparities, and strengthen community resilience through our integrated policy-plus-practice approach. We build, preserve, finance, and/or manage more than 4000 affordable housing units across the mid-Atlantic region, and use that expertise to inform and advance resident-focused solutions to strengthen the broader affordable housing industry.

NHT has a staff of 45 across five program areas: Policy, Lending, Real Estate Development, Community Outreach and Impact, and Sustainability. Our hallmark is our cross-functional, integrated approach to innovating, demonstrating, and amplifying solutions to the affordable housing crisis in the U.S.

The Development Manager will report to an NHT Managing Director in support of organization-wide efforts to cultivate a growing pool and array of philanthropic investors in NHT’s vision and strengthen internal management of existing grant resources. At present, NHT attracts approximately $2 million in philanthropic resources per year, and the Development Manager will be instrumental in growing that revenue stream by 50 percent in three years in order to support NHT leadership and practice in increasing the supply of affordable, equitable, resilient, and sustainable housing.

NOTE: “Development” in this job description refers to the process of fundraising and grant cultivation and curation. It does not refer to the process of developing affordable housing (or other) projects.

This position is DC-based and qualifies for a hybrid work schedule, working a minimum of two days per week at NHT’s corporate office.

POSITION

The Development Manager will facilitate and coordinate NHT team's fundraising efforts, overseeing tasks ranging from database management and reporting to prospecting and strategic planning to grant writing. The Development Manager will manage a portfolio of 3-8 existing institutional grants across the organization’s programs, and work with Finance to create and manage a system that tracks grant progress and delivers real-time insight for project teams to better inform their grant-funded work. The Development Manager will coordinate efforts amongst project teams to prepare and submit compelling grant proposals, and will support grant compliance, including submission of timely and responsive reports. The Development Manager will also identify, research, and support the cultivation of new prospects, and foster cross-program requests by NHT where appropriate that leverage our internal expertise. Finally, the Development Manager will support administrative functions of the department to ensure smooth operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Developing and Implementing Fundraising Processes

• Develop and implement an organization-wide system for NHT to better manage existing and prospective grants (building on nascent efforts to use GrantSeeker in the near term and Salesforce in the long term).
• Serve as the in-house expert for staff on use of the ultimately-selected technology to manage grants.
• Work closely with Finance to track grant income and expenses; ensure that regular grant financials are being delivered to project leads.

Prospecting

• Develop and co-create (with Communications Manager) a ready set of materials that can be used in fundraising efforts that effectively relay to potential funders the value proposition associated with investing in NHT’s innovative work. Key pieces of collateral could include cases for support, sponsorship kits, and/or small dollar online fundraising campaigns.
• Manage a portfolio of past, current, and future grant, contract and/or sponsorship proposals, and provide program teams with proposal templates and other tools to facilitate grant requests, including partnering with Community Outreach and Impact to leverage new Salesforce product.
• Strategize with and advise program teams across NHT on how to create compelling program models and messaging that will motivate funders to invest in NHT’s mission. [Training and coaching resources will be made available to the Development Manager, as needed.] At times, lead the development of proposals, ensuring that drafts are circulated for program team input; finalize proposals; assemble (with Finance) the required attachments; and upload final products via online portals.
• With the CEO and Managing Directors, support prospecting, cultivation, and knowledge management among NHT staff by researching current and prospective funders and recommending cultivation strategies. Regularly scan for new funding opportunities for NHT teams, and/or share such opportunities with program teams, as appropriate.
• Submit online grant applications on behalf of other members of the NHT team, as requested, and/or provide other support for NHT applications drafted by colleagues including by creating templates, adapting content from existing materials for first drafts, troubleshooting technical problems, and uploading final proposals.
• Represent NHT at funder meetings, program convenings, peer groups and/or conferences.
• Prepare regular pipeline reports for the CEO and Managing Directors (with Finance) to review, track and manage funding opportunities.

Grant Management and Reporting

• Develop, write, and submit, timely funder proposals and reports, including establishing templates; preparing drafts; working with program and communications teams to source and refine content; liaising with the Finance Team to complete financial reports; and coordinating attachments.
• Other duties as assigned.

Stewardship

• Collaborate with Communications Manager and program teams to collect success stories.
• Lead the development of an annual summary for NHT (precise form TBD) that summarizes our philanthropic-funded activities and highlights successes.
• Support in the management of funder relations, including curating, managing, and updating data.

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?

This is an extraordinary opportunity for a committed and emerging leader with at least 5 years of experience. Candidates will ideally have experience in nonprofit affordable housing. Other qualifications include:

• Bachelor’s degree in related field
• 3-5 years of experience in sales and fundraising in a nonprofit or social service setting
• Demonstrably strong business writing and document production skills
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational and communications skills, verbal and written
• Excellent planning and organization skills, with a high level of attention to detail
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion as key strategies toward broad-based institutional excellence, representing a range of perspectives, thought, and actions
• A collaborative approach and team orientation
• Commitment to NHT’s mission, including a deep dedication to assisting low-income families

COMPENSATION

Salary and benefits are competitive and commensurate with experience. The minimum, median, and maximum salary range for this position is $65,405, $87,447, and $109,283, respectively.

JOIN US

Apply for This Job. No phone calls.

NHT is committed to providing equal employment opportunity in all our employment programs and decisions, including, but not limited to recruitment and hiring. Equal employment opportunity is provided to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, political affiliation, disability, matriculation, genetic information, covered veteran’s status or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law. BIPOC applicants, women, and persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.

NHT requires that all employees maintain ‘Up to Date’ COVID-19 vaccination status, following the CDC guidelines, unless they are eligible for an accommodation due to a disability or sincerely held religious belief or practice that prevents them from receiving the vaccine.