Vice President of Development and Communications

Reports To: President and CEO

Are you ready to work at a dynamic institution that believes in higher education with lower obstacles? Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (now known as Franklin Cummings Tech) is a nationally accredited non-profit, technical college serving Massachusetts. The college was seeded in 1791 with funds from the estate of Benjamin Franklin given to the City of Boston to proliferate access to apprenticeship and entrepreneurship.

Today, that legacy has evolved into an accredited college that delivers accessible tech and trade education to level the playing field for aspiring talent.

With a mission to deliver transformative technical and trade education that leads to economic advancement, Franklin Cummings Tech offers a unique mix of certificates and degrees that appeal to enterprising students from Eastern Massachusetts and respond to employer demand for a well-prepared workforce. Intentional partnerships with the industries we serve coupled with high graduation and job placement rates, recently attracted the largest philanthropic gift in the history of the college from the Cummings Foundation, helping to spur incredible growth in the past four years.

Franklin Cummings Tech educates more than 1,000 learners annually across three student types:
1) certificate and degree seekers,
2) continuing education enrollees, and
3) early college students. As evidence that our mission holds resonance student enrollment is up and Fall 2027 applications have sailed 16% year over year.

We seek optimistic, data-informed, and dedicated colleagues who are eager to increase student success outcomes and boost total enrollment to 1,500 learners by 2030. Join us in this mission-driven work!

After completing a multi-year comprehensive campaign that realized almost $62 million for capital, scholarships, new programs and operations, then moving into its new 70,000 square foot Roxbury campus in early 2026, Franklin Cummings Tech is poised to reach new heights fueled by a culture of philanthropy. The college needs an entrepreneurial Vice President of Development and Communications (VPDC) to build on the success of the prior campaign.

Current funding priorities are to: increase financial aid availability for tech and trade programs, and to secure the future of this engine of economic development for the next century. As an access college that provides scholarship packages to many students, this role calls for a leader who is undaunted by raising at least $10M annually while also designing an endowment campaign that will launch next year.

This leader will also oversee college-wide communications carried out via consultant teams. The VPDC will understand that transformational resource development requires clear messaging, and asset-based storytelling yields the most inspiring cases for support. Building on centuries of history and a stunning track‑record of recent and long‑term impact in the Career Technical Education and Workforce Development sectors, the VPDC will propel the college to:

• expand and deepen key partnerships through clear and compelling messaging
• leverage established networks and developing new ones with individuals and institutional partners to expand and enhance the college’s reputation and resources
• design and execute multi-year major gifts, planned to give, and endowment growth strategies
• develop and implement an elevated branding and integrated communications program
• develop plans for next multi-year comprehensive fundraising Campaign with heavy emphasis on expanding scholarship resources and the college’s endowment

• Through direct asks and team-based goals, meet or exceed annual fundraising targets by converting partnerships and individual interest in our mission into financial support. Philanthropy goals are approached with strategic contributions from the Board of Trustees, the Development Committee, and senior leaders at the college in service of this aim.
• Identify innovative revenue opportunities tied to partnerships, strategic events, and novel proposals or…