Head of Development

Head of Development

Greentown Labs Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Greentown Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit accelerating climate tech innovation for the planet, people, and prosperity. As the world’s largest climate tech and energy startup incubator, Greentown catalyzes ecosystems to provide entrepreneurs mission‑critical access to labs, equipment, customers, capital, talent, community, and resources for business and leadership growth. Greentown is home to more than 250 startups and has supported more than 675 since its founding in 2011;

these startups, with a survival rate of 88 percent, have collectively created more than 16,600 jobs and raised more than $12.5 B in funding.

Location This role requires you to be based in Boston, Houston, New York City, or California. Candidates near our Somerville, MA or Houston, TX sites work a hybrid schedule; candidates in New York or California work remotely with regular travel.

This position reports to the CEO and sits alongside Greentown’s Growth function. Greentown Labs is hiring a Head of Development to own and drive philanthropic and partnership revenue across the organization, carrying a multi‑million‑dollar target and building the pipeline and relationships to sustain and grow it. The role focuses on national major gifts and growth capital (approximately 75 %) with a secondary focus on structured annual giving and sponsorship at the Boston and Houston sites (approximately 25 %).

To start, this is a team of one in direct partnership with the CEO, with the potential to grow into a larger development function over time.

• Carry a multi‑million‑dollar annual revenue target and personally lead the cultivation, solicitation, and closing of gifts from $50K to $500K and well beyond.
• Build a high‑net‑worth individual, family office, climate philanthropist, corporate foundation, strategic partner, and government/foundation funder portfolio aligned with Greentown’s mission.
• Form joint research relationships and collaborative grant opportunities with academic institutions through MoUs and research agreements.
• Author sophisticated, data‑driven funding proposals and presentations that translate Greentown’s impact into a compelling case for each funder, in writing and in the room.
• Develop and structure blended and recoverable capital, including recoverable grants, program‑related investments (PRIs), and donor‑advised funds (DAFs), and articulate the value proposition for a blended‑finance approach to scaling climate innovation.
• Ensure a seamless handoff for ongoing donor stewardship, compliance, and grant reporting; partner with Finance to build grant budgets and structure recoverable capital.
• Lead funder reporting and stewardship of government and foundation relationships.
• Represent Greentown externally across climate, energy, philanthropy, and industry, including trade associations, especially in Houston.
• Own and manage a personal portfolio of $2M to $10M and beyond, tracking pipeline movement, conversion, and renewals with discipline, and maintaining CRM hygiene and reporting as a discipline.

• Work with Boston and Houston site leadership to shape and execute structured annual giving strategies.
• Build local sponsorship pipelines and support ecosystem funding opportunities at both sites.
• Develop frameworks, playbooks, and tools that let sites mobilize community and corporate support more consistently.
• Connect national fundraising narratives with site‑level stories and relationships, and help sites identify and steward the right local major‑gift prospects.

You move easily between energy and climate, between philanthropic and partnership capital, between mission and business, and you believe the best outcomes come from connecting them. You are deeply motivated by Greentown’s mission and energized by building relationships and making the ask.

• Proven major‑gifts closer with experience securing gifts from $100K to $5M and beyond, ideally in climate, energy,…