VP of Development

About the Role

We’re looking for a visionary and ambitious development leader who is as talented at front‑line fundraising as they are at building and managing a team or crafting a development strategic plan. We are growing quickly and need a proven leader to help shape the development strategy, multi‑year hiring plan and provide hands‑on execution of the plan. This is an ideal opportunity for a talented front‑line fundraiser who gets equally excited at cultivating and strengthening relationships with key donors as they get about building teams, designing systems, and executing a multi‑year strategic plan.

Reporting to the Founder & CEO, this role will serve as a thought partner and senior counselor to the CEO.

• Oversee the development function, including individual giving, corporate partnerships foundation, and governmental relations, special events, research, operations, development communications, planned giving, grassroots fundraising, etc.
• Spearhead the development planning function – shaping the multi‑year development strategic plan and overseeing its execution in a hands‑on manner.
• Build a full, world‑class development function – bringing a network of exceptionally talented candidates and discovering and recruiting great new talent to Project Healthy Minds.
• Develop from scratch and implement systems for how the development staff should work together.
• Cultivate, solicit, and deepen relationships with a pool of key funders.
• Partner with the Founder & CEO to deepen relationships with members of the Board of Directors, Advisory Council, and other key stakeholders.
• Serve as a player‑coach for the development staff – providing executive management, training, and mentorship to a team of high‑potential staff.
• Grow a large and diversified donor base for Project Healthy Minds to create sustained, long‑term growth.
• Architect the overarching donor communications plan – working in partnership with Creative and Marketing teams. Frequently analyze fundraising targets and mark‑to‑market progress, operationalizing insights, and delivering quarterly development reviews to the Founder & CEO.

• An entrepreneur at heart – you are a builder at heart and are excited about growing a development function. You bring that entrepreneurial spirit into everything you do – taking initiative and actively seeking to deepen current donor relationships and forge new ones.
• A skilled fundraiser – you bring a wealth of experience with individual fundraising in the non‑profit sector. You have actively managed and grown a donor pool and secured six, seven, and eight figure gifts, and you are eager to build a diverse portfolio of supporters for Project Healthy Minds. You offer extensive knowledge of industry standards and best practices.
• Emotionally intelligent – you understand that the heart of this role lies in building deep, thoughtful relationships with our stakeholders. With excellent communication skills, reliability, and a positive, confident disposition, you care about serving as the main point of contact for a large group of stakeholders with diverse personalities and backgrounds. Your excellent interpersonal skills allow you to develop and maintain long‑term, productive relationships both internally and externally.
• A born leader – you lead, inspire, and collaborate with your development colleagues through your vision and empathy. You are a thought partner to the Founder & CEO and are intuitively talented at managing a development team of full‑time and part‑time staff.
• Flexible – you can be nimble and easily balance different priorities, with experience and comfort working in a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial environment. You have the ability to travel as necessary.
• Mission‑driven – you are passionate about our work and are motivated to raise money to expand access to mental health services.
• Driven by customer satisfaction – as you remain laser‑focused on fundraising, your overarching goal is to give each donor a customized, outstanding experience with Project Healthy Minds.
• Experienced – Bachelor’s degree and 15‑25 years in nonprofit fundraising. Management experience required. Ideal candidate has a full…