Director/Vice President of Development
Position Summary
New Jewish Narrative is hiring a seasoned fundraising professional whose experience and demonstrated success position them at either the Director or Vice President level. The successful candidate will be hired with title, responsibilities, and compensation commensurate with experience (see below.)
Reporting directly to the CEO, the Director/Vice President of Development will be responsible for designing and implementing fundraising strategies that deepen relationships with major donors, foundations, institutional partners, and the broader NJN community.
The Director/Vice President of Development will bring progressively responsible fundraising leadership, a demonstrated record of successfully cultivating and soliciting gifts and managing foundation relationships, and experience leading an organization's comprehensive development strategy. This individual will be expected to provide strategic leadership as well as daily implementation across all aspects of fundraising.
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Washington, DC region; hybrid position
Primary Responsibilities
Major Gifts
Develop and implement a comprehensive major gifts strategy focused on identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors.
Support the CEO in soliciting and closing major gifts.
Partner closely with the CEO, Board members, and key volunteers on donor strategy and solicitations.
Conduct prospect research and develop individualized cultivation and stewardship plans.
Create compelling proposals, presentations, and customized donor materials.
Ensure timely stewardship through personalized communications, reports, recognition, and ongoing engagement.
Foundation Relations and Institutional Giving
Research and identify new foundation prospects aligned with NJN's mission and strategic priorities.
Develop compelling letters of inquiry, grant proposals, reports, and renewal requests.
Maintain an annual grants calendar to ensure timely submission of proposals and reports.
Work collaboratively with program staff to develop strong outcomes, budgets, and evaluation metrics.
Direct Mail and Digital Fundraising
Develop and implement a comprehensive annual giving strategy that integrates direct mail, email appeals, and other digital fundraising.
Partner with the communications team to create compelling fundraising appeals, stewardship communications, and donor-centered messaging across print and digital platforms.
Develop annual fundraising calendars for direct mail and digital campaigns, ensuring coordinated messaging throughout the year.
Oversee the strategy, production, segmentation, and execution of direct mail appeals, email solicitations, monthly giving campaigns, and year-end fundraising initiatives
Collaborate with the communications team to ensure consistent branding, storytelling, and integration of fundraising messaging across organizational communications.
Identify and implement innovative digital fundraising strategies that increase donor engagement and expand NJN's base of philanthropic support.
Fundraising Events
Lead strategy and execution for NJN's annual gala and other fundraising events.
Oversee sponsorship solicitation and benefit fulfillment.
Coordinate host committees and volunteer fundraising efforts.
Partner with staff and vendors on logistics, budgeting, production, and donor experience.
Ensure events effectively cultivate new donors while strengthening existing relationships.
Development Operations
Work closely with the communications department to manage internal development systems and infrastructure.
Maintain accurate donor records, moves management, and prospect tracking within the organization's CRM.
Develop reports to monitor fundraising progress and performance.
Create and manage annual development calendars and campaign timelines.
Build upon systems that support donor stewardship, grant management, gift processing, acknowledgments, and reporting.
Ensure integrity and confidentiality of donor data.
Strategic Leadership
Develop and implement an annual development plan with measurable fundraising goals.
Partner with the CEO and the Board to strengthen board engagement in fundraising.
Identify new revenue opportunities, partnerships, and strategic initiatives.
Monitor fundraising trends and recommend appropriate strategies for expanding philanthropic support.
Collaborate across departments to align fundraising priorities with organizational goals and programmatic initiatives.
Represent NJN with donors, foundations, community leaders, and partner organizations.
Qualifications
Career experience demonstrating progressively responsible fundraising experience.
Demonstrated success in cultivating, soliciting, securing and stewarding major gifts.
Experience writing successful grant proposals, creating an annual grants calendar and managing foundation relationships.
Experience planning and executing successful fundraising events.
Excellent writing, editing, and verbal communication skills.
Experience supervising staff and managing organizational fundraising strategy.
Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and ability to manage multiple priorities.
Experience managing CRMs and other fundraising systems.
Demonstrated success working closely with executive leadership and volunteer boards.
Ability to work both on a small team and independently.
Understanding of issues relating to Israel, democracy, peacebuilding, and social justice.
Preferred Qualifications
Familiarity with the Jewish philanthropic landscape and national Jewish communal organizations.
Experience working in advocacy or mission-driven nonprofit organizations.
Experience supervising staff and consultants.
Personal Characteristics
The ideal candidate is:
An accomplished relationship builder who enjoys engaging donors and inspiring philanthropic investment.
A strategic thinker who can translate vision into actionable fundraising plans.
An exceptional writer who can craft compelling cases for support.
Highly organized, detail-oriented, and systems-minded.
Comfortable with both high-level strategy development and the management and implementation of daily tasks related to fundraising, donor management and stewardship, and organizational maintenance.
Entrepreneurial, resourceful, and comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.
Collaborative, mission-driven, and committed to New Jewish Narrative's values of democracy, justice, pluralism, and a secure and peaceful future for Israelis and Palestinians.
Salary & Benefits
Title/salary will be determined based on experience, demonstrated fundraising success, and organizational leadership.
Salary
Vice President of Development: $150,000 - $175,000
Director of Development: $120,000 - $140,000
Benefits
NJN benefits package includes: a 403B retirement savings plan, generous paid vacation, and generous medical and dental insurance plans.
Apply to jobs@newjewishnarrative.org
Applications must include: (1) a cover letter explaining why you are interested in this position and the ways in which you satisfy the qualifications specified above, and (2) your resume.
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible, as we will be evaluating applications on a rolling basis. Ideally, the new person will start in this role on December 1, 2026.
NJN is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.