Chief Development Officer

The Opportunity

Chicago Public Media (CPM) is searching for a Chief Development Officer (CDO) at a time of enormous opportunity and innovation that CPM is leading in nonprofit journalism. The Chief Development Officer will lead all fundraising efforts on behalf of Chicago Public Media, including developing a strategic plan to maintain and increase philanthropic revenue. The Chief Development Officer will ensure the achievement of annual and long-term goals for major gifts, foundations, planned giving, annual fundraising events, and corporate giving. The Chief Development Officer will be an active representative of Chicago Public Media, building relationships across the community to advance and strengthen the mission and amplify the role that philanthropy can have on the organization.

Responsibilities

• Execution – defining and leading the execution of comprehensive, diversified, and integrated fundraising activities that maximize financial growth, including the development, implementation, and evaluation of annual and multi-year goals and strategies;
• Revenue strategy – creating new strategies to increase and diversify revenue, including but not limited to an increase in number of donors and giving per donor;
• Advisor – acting as a trusted advisor to the Chief Executive Officer on fundraising objectives and contributing as a member of the leadership team on the development and implementation of strategic revenue-generating plans;
• Board of Directors – maximizing the participation and impact of the Board of Directors by building relationships that advance the fundraising objectives of Chicago Public Media;
• Major donors – managing a select donor portfolio of top prospective donors including individuals, foundations, and corporations, developing and sustaining relationships that increase financial support;
• Team-building – recruiting, training, managing, and nurturing fundraising staff through goal-setting, mentorship, evaluation, and recognition;
• Networking within Public Media – coordinating with public broadcasting leaders: APM, NPR, and other public broadcasting stations and content producers on best practices and opportunities for collaboration;
• Organizational strategy – participating in the development of strategic objectives to grow audience and drive revenue from multi-platform activities;
• Organizational leadership – working with events, communications, digital, and content teams to find opportunities to add value to the donor experience;
• Budget & planning – preparing and monitoring the annual development budget, overseeing contributed revenue and expenses, projections, and forecasting;
• Communicating – synthesizing fundraising data into comprehensive reports for senior management; and
• Operational – developing, implementing, monitoring, and assessing fundraising and gift processing policies and ensuring all development strategies incorporate and maximize the use of CRM data.

Skills and Qualifications

• Passion – a passion for public media and a commitment to the belief that a shared, independent, and trusted public media space remains central to an effective and informed democracy;
• Leadership – an ability to lead and thrive in all major fundraising functions including major gifts/principal giving, foundations and government grants, data management, budget administration, marketing, and communications;
• Relationships – an ability to build meaningful and trusted relationships with donors with a preference for individuals with knowledge of the Chicago philanthropic landscape;
• Vision – an ability to articulate and execute a fundraising vision for Chicago Public Media to internal and external stakeholders;
• Communication – an ability to communicate clearly, without ambiguity, to diverse audiences internally and externally as an advocate for public media and for the objectives and goals of Chicago Public Media;
• Cultural competency – a high level of cultural competency and a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace expressed in both approach and experience;
• Collaborative – a desire to work as a member of a team, work across internal and external stakeholders, and strategically partner with and support the CEO, Board of Directors, other leaders, and the development team in identifying fundraising opportunities and strategies;
• Team-building – experience as a visible and effective leader and the ability to recognize and nurture talent while building and retaining a successful team;
• Financial fluency – an ability to develop and maintain financial projections and budgets; and
• Technology – a high level of competency with technology, an aptitude for mastering new technology, and an ability to develop a unified vision for the CRM system.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Chicago Public Media—to serve as a cornerstone of the public conversation; as a central pillar of civic community; and to reassert itself as the heart of innovation within public media.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the successful candidate has been selected.

To apply for this position, visit: Chief Development Officer, Chicago Public Media. 

To nominate a candidate, please contact Steven Wallace: [email protected]. 

All inquiries will be held in confidence.