Director of Fund Development & Client Strategy

Director of Fund Development & Client Strategy

J. Murphy & Associates is a consulting firm specializing in helping nonprofits and mission‑driven organizations grow their contributed income. Our work is anchored in three core pillars:

• Grant Writing & Institutional Funding
• Community Engagement with Corporations, Businesses, and High‑Wealth Individuals
• Fundraising Events that Drive Revenue and Relationships

These pillars are unified by a strong commitment to donor‑centric communications, ensuring every strategy and deliverable reflects clarity, alignment, and impact.

We are seeking a Director of Fund Development & Client Strategy — a strategic leader who is also a hands‑on practitioner. This individual will guide client engagements, manage internal workflows, and contribute directly to the fundraising work that powers our clients’ missions.

Position Summary

The Director of Fund Development & Client Strategy serves as a senior leader within J. Murphy & Associates, responsible for overseeing client fundraising strategies, managing a portfolio of client accounts, and ensuring excellence across our grant writing, community engagement, events, and communications services.

$115,000 – $132,000 per year

This is a working director role: you will lead, mentor, and manage — while also producing high‑quality deliverables and engaging directly with clients and donors.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Client Management

• Client strategy leadership — Serve as the primary strategic partner for a portfolio of nonprofit clients, developing and executing comprehensive fundraising plans aligned with their contributed income goals.
• Cross pillar integration — Ensure grant writing, community engagement, events, and communications strategies are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
• Team leadership — Provide guidance, mentorship, and oversight to staff and contractors supporting client work.
• Quality assurance — Maintain high standards across all deliverables, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and donor centric messaging.

Grant Writing & Institutional Funding

• Grant strategy development — Lead or support the creation of grant calendars, case statements, and institutional giving strategies.
• Proposal writing — Draft, edit, and review grant proposals, LOIs, and reports.
• Funder research — Identify new institutional funding opportunities and assess alignment with client missions.

Community Engagement & Donor Development

• Corporate engagement — Develop strategies to cultivate corporate partners, business leaders, and high‑wealth individuals.
• Relationship management — Support clients in building and stewarding donor relationships through meetings, outreach, and tailored communications.
• Prospect strategy — Guide clients in identifying, qualifying, and cultivating major gift prospects.

Events & Fundraising Activation

• Event strategy — Oversee planning and execution of fundraising events, ensuring they advance revenue goals and deepen donor engagement.
• Sponsorship development — Lead or support sponsorship strategy, outreach, and fulfillment.
• Event communications — Ensure event messaging, materials, and follow‑up are aligned with donor‑centric best practices.

Communications & Donor Centric Messaging

• Messaging development — Shape compelling narratives that articulate client impact and funding needs.
• Content oversight — Review and refine newsletters, appeals, stewardship materials, and campaign communications.
• Brand alignment — Ensure consistency of voice, tone, and messaging across all client touchpoints.

Experience/Qualifications

• 7–10 years of experience in fundraising, development, or nonprofit consulting, with demonstrated success across at least two of the following:
• Grant writing
• Corporate and major donor engagement
• Fundraising events
• Donor‑centric communications
• Proven ability to lead client relationships and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Strong writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Experience supervising staff or contractors.
• Comfort working in a fast‑paced consulting environment with shifting priorities.
• High emotional intelligence, professionalism, and client‑facing confidence.

Personal Attributes

• Strategic thinker with a hands‑on work ethic.
• Collaborative, diplomatic, and solutions‑oriented.
• Comfortable leading conversations with executives, donors, and community partners.
• Thrives in a mission‑driven, service‑oriented environment.
• Passionate about helping nonprofits grow their impact.

Compensation & Work Environment

Compensation is competitive and commensurate with experience. J. Murphy & Associates offers a flexible, hybrid work environment and a culture grounded in collaboration, integrity, and excellence.

Benefits

• Bonuses are awarded to staff based on extraordinary work output, bringing in new clients and a recommendation from a manager. Additionally, awards of more ESST/PTO are/can be given in addition to or instead of a cash bonus.
• Overtime: (over 40 hours per week) paid at a rate of time and a half.
• Employee Safe and Sick Time (ESST) & Paid Time Off (PTO) – ESST/PTO will begin accruing upon hire. All employees will earn ESST/PTO at a rate of 0.0909 per hour worked. This equates to earning 1 hour of ESST/PTO for every 11 hours worked. Employees may choose to use their ESST/PTO award for mental or physical illness, treatment or preventative care; a family member’s mental or physical illness, treatment or preventative care; absence due to domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking of the employee or a family member; death in an employee’s immediate family; closure of the employee’s workplace due to weather or public emergency or closure of a family member’s school or care facility due to weather or public emergency; when determined by a health authority or health care professional that the employee
• or a family member is at risk of infecting others with a communicable disease; vacation days; and holidays.
• IRA participation (JMA contributes 3% if employee participates)
• Life Insurance and LTD – at no cost to employee
• Healthcare plan reimbursement is available to employees who are not covered under another(s) healthcare plan and are required to purchase an individual or family plan (being covered on a significant other or parents plan does not qualify). Healthcare reimbursement in the amount of $250.00 per month for an individual plan is available if you are the “primary” on your plan ($250 per month = $3,000.00 per year for insurance). Healthcare in the amount of $500.00 per month for a family plan is available if you are the “primary” on your family plan ($500 per month = $6,000 per year for insurance).