Chief Development Officer

Reports to Chief Executive Officer

Location Watsonville, C

Serving Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Monterey, and San Benito Counties

Employment Full-time | Exempt

Annual Salary $130,000-$150,000

About Jacob’s Heart

Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services improves quality of life for children with cancer and supports their families through emotional, practical and financial challenges. Our family-centered programs connect families with compassionate services and community support across the Central Coast and South Bay.

Position Overview

The Chief Development Officer (CDO) leads Jacob’s Heart’s comprehensive fundraising, communications and external engagement strategy. Reporting directly to the CEO, this executive is accountable for sustainable contributed revenue, a strong major-gift pipeline, donor stewardship, effective communications and the performance of the Development & Communications team. The CDO consolidates former director-level and development-management oversight into one executive position while partnering with the CEO on key donor relationships.

Fundraising Accountability

• Own an annual cash-contributed fundraising goal of $3,650,000 with a $4,000,000 stretch goal, subject to the CEO-approved annual budget and revenue definitions.
• Build an annual fundraising plan with quarterly milestones, campaign calendars, revenue projections and corrective-action plans when performance trails expectations.
• Account for grants, individual gifts, corporate contributions, organizational gifts, sponsorships, appeals and fundraising-event contributions; separately track in-kind support, restricted gifts, pledges and cash received.
• Partner closely with the CEO on cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of major donors and high-value institutional relationships.

Core Responsibilities

• Direct major gifts, annual giving, planned-giving opportunities, foundation and corporate fundraising, donor retention and acquisition.
• Oversee grant prospecting, submissions, award compliance, reporting and impact measurement in collaboration with grants and program staff.
• Supervise the Development & Communication’s team, including grants/impact data, communications, outreach, and event coordination; establish priorities, coaching, accountability and work plans.
• Assume department-wide management previously handled by the Development & Communications Manager: project schedules, department calendar, cross-functional coordination, staff supervision, escalation and problem-solving.
• Lead the communications strategy, donor messaging, annual appeals, impact reports, social channels, media relations and brand consistency; delegate production to communications and design specialists.
• Guide community and corporate outreach, benefit-event partnerships, chambers, sponsorship solicitation and strategic relationship management.
• Set fundraising goals, sponsorship strategies and return-on-investment expectations for signature fundraising events; partner with the event specialist on execution, budgets and post-event evaluation.
• Own donor database governance and gift-processing standards in coordination with Finance, including accurate coding, acknowledgment, donor preferences and reporting.
• Provide the CEO and Board, and relevant committees with timely development dashboards, fundraising forecasts, donor pipeline reports and risk assessments.
• Collaborate with program leaders to ensure fundraising commitments and external storytelling accurately reflect

Responsibility Boundaries

• The Events Specialist coordinates assigned events and their logistics; the CDO retains executive accountability for fundraising outcomes and department priorities.
• Volunteer recruitment, screening, scheduling and ongoing volunteer program management sit with The Director of Family Programs. Event-related volunteer needs are coordinated across teams, with the Events Specialist as lead.
• The CEO and CDO jointly steward priority major donor relationships; the CEO retains final organizational and executive decision-making authority.
• Care management, counseling and transportation reimbursement revenue are not included in the CDO’s contributed-fundraising target.

Measures of Success

• Annual contributed cash revenue against $3.65M target and $4M stretch; quarterly pacing and forecast accuracy.
• Major-gift pipeline coverage, proposals and solicitations, new and renewed donor revenue, retention and upgrade rates.
• Grant submissions, awards, reporting compliance and restricted-fund alignment.
• Fundraising event revenue and sponsorship performance; development expense discipline.
• Reliable CRM data, prompt donor acknowledgments, clear team work plans and on-time communications deliverables.

Qualifications

• At least three years of progressively responsible relevant experience, including at least two years managing teams.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional priorities, manage complex budgets and communicate clearly with executives and boards.
• Proven track record securing significant philanthropic support and leading multi-channel fundraising; strong major-donor relationship skills.
• Experience with grants, nonprofit CRM systems, communications strategy and fundraising performance reporting.
• Excellent judgment, confidentiality, collaboration and commitment to equitable, family-centered service.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience; advanced education or professional certification welcomed.
• Ability to attend occasional evening or weekend events or meetings as required.

How to Apply

Submit a resume and cover letter describing your relevant leadership experience and connection to Jacob’s Heart’s mission. Please submit both documents to Erik Lua, CEO, at erik@jacobsheart.org

Equal Opportunity

Jacob’s Heart values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in employment. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the application process.