What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Development position at Elizabeth Dole Foundation?
ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation (EDF) is the nation's preeminent organization empowering, supporting, and honoring America’s 14.3 million military caregivers—the spouses, parents, family members, and friends who care for our nation’s wounded, ill, or injured veterans. Founded in 2012, EDF takes a comprehensive approach in its advocacy, working with leaders in the public, private, nonprofit and faith communities to recognize military caregivers’ service and promote their well-being. Its mission and goal is to empower military and veteran caregivers, their families, and their communities through programs, partnerships, and advocacy that drive innovation and sustainable solutions.
POSITION PURPOSE
The Director of Development is responsible for optimizing the systems, processes, and infrastructure that fuel EDF’s fundraising efforts. This role oversees gift processing, donor database management, and works with the team to produce KPIs and donor analytics. Additionally, this role oversees cross-channel campaign operations to ensure excellence, efficiency, and integrity in all development functions.
The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, brings a strong background in fundraising systems, has a process improvement mindset, and is committed to enabling frontline fundraisers and EDF leadership to succeed.
This position must be in the Washington, DC area and work primarily in the D.C. office. Interested applicants should send a resume and cover letter to apply@elizabethdolefoundation.org.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The following list of duties is not exhaustive. EDF may also outline additional responsibilities that are not included in this job description.
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of the fundraising infrastructure, including CRM management (e.g., Salesforce).
• Lead reconciliation process between finance and development to ensure accuracy across donor and finance records.
• Lead the Foundation’s internal Annual Fund Campaign efforts and oversee and coordinate all Mail House and Direct Response Activities and Follow-up.
• Oversee donor communications and stewardship calendar, including multi-channel campaigns, donor stewardship activities and campaigns, and subsequent reporting and analytics.
• Build and document clear, scalable processes that support major gifts, annual giving, digital campaigns, events, and grant submissions.
• Manage internal processes for donor research (e.g. Lookbooks and Donor Briefings) and create donor profiles.
• Create and distribute Development materials to key staff, including a weekly call list for EDF Leadership.
• Review and implement data-driven insights and trends to help optimize donor pipeline management, including acquisition, retention, and growth.
• Work with Chief Development Officer to develop and manage tools for forecasting revenue and monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Work closely with the Chief Development Officer to implement process audits and best practices in gift entry, pipeline management, data hygiene, and donor stewardship.
• Partner with IT and external vendors to maintain and enhance fundraising platforms.
• Work with EDFs Finance Department to coordinate audit and charity registration accuracy and manage development-specific deliverables.
• Other duties as assigned.
EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE & SKILLS:
• Minimum of 5 years of fundraising experience, with specific experience in individual giving preferred.
• Strong knowledge of fundraising CRMs (e.g., Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, EveryAction) and digital platforms.
• Proficient in Excel, data analysis, and fundraising analytics tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, Looker).
• Must be detail oriented, with the ability to listen and communicate (both verbally and in writing) clearly and accurately.
• Experience building or improving operational systems in a nonprofit setting.
• Deep understanding of data privacy, security, and donor confidentiality standards.
• A collaborative and proactive work style, with excellent organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet tight deadlines.
• Is discreet; understands when confidentiality is required.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
EDF’s compensation strategy is based on equity and transparency. When determining salary offers, the candidate’s directly applicable experience will be taken into consideration as well as internal equity within the range. The is a full-time position with a starting pay range between $90,000 and $110,000 annually.
Benefits offered include generous company contributions towards medical insurance, company-paid dental and vision insurance, company-paid life insurance and short- and long-term disability, paid time off including paid holidays and paid parental leave. We also offer a retirement plan with an automatic company match, and the option to contribute towards a Flexible Savings Account for eligible medical, dependent care, parking and transit expenses.
Persons with mental or physical disabilities as defined by the Americans With Disabilities Act are eligible for this position as long as they can perform the essential functions of the job after reasonable accommodations are made to their known limitations. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible for this position.
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, genetic information, religion, creed, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), age, marital status, citizenship status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Salary : $90,000 - $110,000