Strategic Development & External Relations Lead

About Esperanza

For more than 40 years, Esperanza has supported students and families across Northeast Ohio through education, leadership development, and career readiness programs — growing from a single $250 scholarship in 1983 into an organization that serves more than 5,000 students and adult learners each year. Through mentorship, scholarships, career exploration, internships, and ESL and digital literacy instruction, Esperanza builds a continuous education-to-career pipeline that promotes academic persistence, college completion, and meaningful employment.

With a 99% college persistence rate, a 90% graduation rate, and more than $2 million in scholarships awarded, Esperanza's work strengthens individual opportunity and builds a more inclusive, educated, and prosperous Northeast Ohio.

At Esperanza, our name means hope — and that is the foundation of everything we do. For more than 40 years, we have been rooted in the communities we serve, working alongside students, families, and neighbors to open doors to education, leadership, and lifelong opportunity.

We believe that every person has potential worth investing in, and that stronger communities are built one learner at a time. Our work is personal. We show up for students from high school through college and into careers, and we support adult learners navigating new chapters of their lives. We do this work because we believe in the power of education to change not just individual lives, but entire families and neighborhoods.

If you join Esperanza, you join a team that leads with compassion, moves with purpose, and measures success by the growth of the people around us. We value cultural humility, community connection, and the kind of dedication that goes beyond a job description. We are a small organization with a big mission, and the people who thrive here are those who want their work to matter.

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Reports To: President & CEO

Supervises: Development staff, contractors, and vendors

Classification: Full-time | Exempt

Organization Size: ~ 3M annual operating budget

Compensation: $90,000 – $100,000 annually, plus the potential for a bonus based on mutually established performance goals.

Esperanza is seeking a strategic, relationship-driven Director of Development & External Affairs to lead fundraising, communications, and external engagement in service of the organization's mission. This is a hands-on leadership role combining relationship-centered fundraising with marketing, communications, and external affairs strategy.

The Director will work alongside an active CEO and Board to deepen funder relationships, expand the grants pipeline, and build a stronger culture of philanthropy. In the first year, priorities include strengthening donor relationships, growing the grants portfolio, and increasing Esperanza's visibility with key external audiences. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who leads with cultural humility, operates with sound judgment, and is genuinely committed to the communities Esperanza serves.

• Lead a comprehensive annual fundraising plan aligned to Esperanza's mission, strategic priorities, and approved budget.
• Champion a culture of philanthropy, engaging board members and staff as active ambassadors for the organization.
• Build and steward relationships across all funding channels: individual donors, foundations, government funders, and corporate partners.
• Develop and manage a major gifts portfolio, including multi-year cultivation and stewardship strategies.
• Champion a culture of philanthropy, engaging Board members and staff as active ambassadors.

• Manage and grow the foundation, government, and corporate funding portfolio.
• Lead the grants strategy and oversee the full grant lifecycle — direction-setting, writing and editing, compliance, renewals, and outcomes reporting.
• Build a corporate sponsorship pipeline, cultivating multi-year relationships and leveraging events as structured donor engagement opportunities.
• Grow the individual donor program through intentional stewardship, tailored outreach, and a moves…