Director of Development - National

Who We Are

Every college grad deserves a fair shot at a meaningful, upwardly mobile career. That’s the promise of higher education in America, but the payoff depends on who you know, not just what you learned. Since 2014, COOP Careers has worked to close the social capital gap by recruiting and investing deeply in diverse, low-income, and first-generation grads from the City University of New York, California State, and other public universities.

Our flagship program is a unique digital apprenticeship: Peer cohorts of 16 motivated, underemployed grads meet nightly for 17 weeks (200 hours) to learn technical skills, build community, and jumpstart careers in digital marketing, data analytics and tech sales. Each cohort is led by a team of four cohort captains, near-peer program alumni who serve as coaches, mentors, and guides on top of busy day jobs at local ad agencies and tech companies. In parallel, we help these employers meet, interview, and hire more and more diverse candidates.

We’ve run over 220 cohorts since 2014, with 3,100+ alumni in our first eight years.

Four-in-five alumni overcome underemployment within a year, earning an average of $50,000 after 12 months and over $60,000 after three years. COOP aims to reach 10,000 alumni in our first decade (December 2025), fueling upward mobility and fulfilling the promise of higher education through digital skills and peer connections.

Learn more here.

Our Workplace

COOP is a passionate, come-as-you-are, alumni-led organization. Over 70% of our staff members have been program participants. This translates to a workplace that is mission-driven through and through, where we collaborate in the spirit of servant leadership with equal parts head, heart and hustle. We are a team of 80+ across San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, NYC, Chicago and Miami. We come together for monthly all-team meetings and annual retreats and earnestly create space for career development and learning. We dig into strategy, equity, our own humanity and the intersections among it all, working with the purpose to overcome underemployment, and bringing optimism and fun to the challenge.

What You Will Do

COOP Careers is seeking a dynamic leader to provide impassioned leadership to the development function of its results-driven and rapidly growing national program. In 2023, COOP will serve 1,700+ recent grads nationwide, along with 3,000+ alumni. In collaboration with executive leadership, the Director of Development (DoD) will have accountability to grow development revenue year over year with a primary responsibility for leading our individual giving strategy.

The DoD will be a part of a three person development team nationwide. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of achieving ambitious fundraising goals and experience in developing innovative development strategies in a high-growth, entrepreneurial organization.

The DoD’s primary objective is generating sustainable revenue for COOP’s national growth. COOP is in the midst of an ambitious growth strategy that will culminate in 2025. In order to successfully achieve that strategy by 2025, the DoD will be a key part of a team that is focused on achieving these key results:

    ●  Raise $45M to support our growth ($33M in renewals, $12M in new money)

    ●  Grow annual development revenue from $12M/year to $15M/year by 2025

    ●  Grow individual revenue from $7M/year to $9M/year by 2025

    ●  Add 50+ new major donors with a particular focus on adding individual donors

    ●  Build an effective donor prospecting, stewardship and communications strategy

The DoD reports to the Chief Revenue Officer and is a member of the senior leadership team, alongside the other national functional leaders of the organization. The senior leadership team implements and executes organizational strategy in regular consultation with the executive team. Together, the senior leadership team drives the growth and impact of the organization.

Responsibilities:

Donor Development (35%)

• Prospecting: Develop a process for qualifying and managing leads, and a strategy for adding new potential donors to our pipeline.
• Pipeline: Regularly ensure that our pipeline is up to date and in compliance with processes. Be able to manage activity, use data to gather insights, and direct the team towards sales.
• Cultivation and solicitation: Actively cultivate and solicit new donors and coach/train teams and executives to secure new donors.
• Data: Create rules for tracking and monitoring development pipeline and lifecycle. Produce regular reports to show progress towards goals.

Donor Success (35%)

• Portfolio management: Actively manage a portfolio of significant, strategic accounts, and coach teams on implementing stewardship strategy.
• Renewals: Create renewal strategy and approach. Achieve renewal goals, and participate in significant renewal conversations.
• Engagements: Create strategy for development events and ensure compliance and execution of event schedule in collaboration with the team.
• Data: Create rules for tracking and monitoring renewal pipeline and lifecycle.
• Produce regular reports to show progress towards goals.

Functional Leadership & Strategy (20%)

• Strategy: Work closely with the CRO to develop the development strategy, particularly individual giving, and key performance indicators
• Culture: The Director leads with a shared understanding of our values and builds those  values into their team through formal and informal strategies. Acts as a “culture carrier” within the organization
• Compliance: The Director ensures compliance within the Development team, and ensures that processes and protocols are followed. 

 Strategic Initiatives (10%)

• Growth: Represent the development function in strategic initiatives that support the sustainable growth of the organization. These could be internal projects in program design, evaluation, technology, etc. or external engagements representing the organization to various stakeholders.

Who We Need

• 7+ years of relevant work experience in development roles preferably within a nonprofit, education or social enterprise organization
• Demonstrated experience building individual giving strategies and portfolios
• Comprehensive understanding of functional areas under management and deep understanding of intersectionality between organizational functions
• Systems-level thinking with the ability to solve problems and build scalable solutions
• Data-driven with an ability to understand the impact of short- and long-term solutions
• Proven ability to meet ambitious revenue goals; strong quantitative analytical skills with the ability to use data, identify patterns and performance metrics to create targeted strategies and management support
• Proven track record navigating the inherent ambiguity of a growing environment and leading others through change
• Meticulous attention to detail with outstanding organizational and project management skills; proven ability to manage multiple priorities and drive short and long term projects towards completion within target timelines
• Demonstrated ability to build trust and rapport with external and internal stakeholders across all levels
• Experience managing a development budget, creating development budget proposals, and contributing to/interpreting program financial projections/models
• Excellent communicator at a variety of levels; exceptional presentation skills and the ability to manage by influence and coach across a wide range of audiences
• Demonstrated experience in providing feedback (strengths and growth areas); and ability to acknowledge and hold space for ongoing improvement and learning
• Strong commitment to COOP’s mission and vision; thrives in a fast-paced environment and deliberately growing organization; enjoys teamwork and collaboration
• Salesforce champion and proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office (especially Excel pivot tables, etc.)
• Ability to travel occasionally
• Ability to work nontraditional hours including weekend/evening events, at certain times in the program cycle
• Resides within commuting distance of New York City Metro, San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles Metro, Chicago Metro or Miami Metro
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required

 Who You Are

• Agile. You thrive in a fast-paced environment and enjoys teamwork and collaboration
• Strategic Thinker. You are a strategic thought partner to executive leadership, utilizing analyses of data to make recommendations for remediation or innovation strategies, including in the area of people/talent development
• Driven by Data. You have strong quantitative analytical skills with the ability to use data (both quantitative and qualitative) to identify patterns and performance metrics to create targeted strategies and management support structures
• Relationship Builder. You care deeply about building meaningful relationships and bringing new supporters into our community. You have huge curiosity about why people are interested in our program and mission and find unique ways to engage them in our work.
• Results Driven. You are highly motivated and driven to achieve ambitious results and improve performance year-after-year. This drives you not only for personal achievement, but because these results propel our growth and make a transformational impact on our alumni.
• Industry Expert. You love working in development and learning about how the industry is growing and evolving. You keep up-to-date on new trends, technology, and strategies, and are excited to brainstorm about how implementing these new ideas can improve our work.
• Storyteller. You are an excellent communicator at a variety of levels; exceptional presentation skills and the ability to manage by influence and coach across a wide range of audiences
• Equity Builder. You actively seek out avenues for addressing structural inequities in your work and have the ability to sustain commitment to this work despite overwhelming nature of the problem

What We Offer You

COOP Careers aspires to attract, hire, retain, and motivate highly qualified, passionate, dedicated professionals. We believe this is mission-critical. To do so, COOP is committed to implementing a fair and comprehensive compensation package, including salary, healthcare, professional growth, retirement, and paid time off.

• Base Salary: $110,000 - $115,000 annually (commensurate with experience) 
• A generous and flexible unlimited vacation policy, including holidays and office closed the last week of December (12/25-1/1) and first week of July 
• Up to 100% employer-funded comprehensive medical, dental and vision coverage for you (dependents may be added to coverage at additional cost)
• $1,500 annual professional development budget (prorated based on start date)
• Flexible spending account benefits (healthcare, dependent care, and commuter)
• 401(K) retirement plan and 4% employer match - eligibility to participate after one year of service

COVID-19 Vaccine Policy

COOP requires that all HQ team members be fully vaccinated* as a condition of employment by November 30, 2022. The CDC and public health officials are clear that the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect yourself and others from serious illness, hospitalization, and death is to get vaccinated and stay up to date on recommended boosters.

*Fully vaccinated means it has been at least two weeks since the second dose of the Pfizer/Moderna vaccine or single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Vaccines authorized by the World Health Organization will also be accepted.

Hybrid Working Policy

COOP’s hybrid workplace strikes a thoughtful balance between at-home flexibility and in-person chemistry. Regular shared experience in person (structured and spontaneous) will enhance collaboration, strengthen existing relationships, and forge new ones within and across teams, functions, and regions. Intentional, casual, and joyful moments together will infuse our culture with the sense of community that makes COOP unique and powerful and will collectively push us toward our shared purpose.

Currently, all COOP team members are working remotely and attending a one-day-a-month in-person co-work and team building day at a mutually-convenient WeWork location. Flexibility may be provided based on individual circumstances, subject to approval. Our goal is to move toward a more permanent hybrid workplace starting mid-2023 and would therefore require that this role report to COOP’s local office 1-2 days per week and/or on designated days, as directed by COOP, for some of the work performed during your employment.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

COOP provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. We seek to build a diverse staff representative of the communities we serve. All qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.