Deputy Director of Partnerships

Job Summary:

Deputy Director of Partnerships

The Deputy Director of Partnerships will play a pivotal role in fostering and enhancing the relationships between our organization and its donors, serving as one of the primary points of contact for their day‑to‑day interactions. They will be heavily involved in fundraising at the organization—spearheading our donor recruitment program, ensuring a robust prospect pipeline, and working with current partners to increase investment overall.

Responsibilities will span various facets of fundraising, including prospect and partner management at all stages—research, cultivation, stewardship, and advancement activities. The Deputy Director is also the operations/administrative lead on our all donor and prospect‑facing events. This position will have one direct report.

• Support aligned giving of DA partners towards DA investment priorities.
• Manage donor recruitment efforts: facilitate partner engagement with our events and services to ensure a positive donor experience and productive prospect cultivation. Evaluate the current landscape of prospecting strategies and propose, and implement innovative additions. Collaborate with colleagues to oversee the effective delivery of member and prospect experiences.
• Establish and lead strategies for seeking new partners and partner prospects.
• In collaboration with VP of Partnerships, manage and maintain fundraising strategies to ensure maximum impact.

• Serve as one of the main liaisons between our organization and prospects, nurturing relationships and addressing their queries promptly and professionally.
• Craft and curate an exceptional onboarding experience for new members, ensuring a smooth transition into our community.
• Work to find opportunities for community building within partner spaces in collaboration with the programming team.
• Work with Partnerships team to maintain and manage donor databases to ensure accurate and up-to-date records, including active list of prospects.

• Owning Salons
  • Identify opportunities to improve partnership and prospect spaces, including in-person and virtual events, to enhance donor engagement and satisfaction.
  • Create, plan and execute partner salons and trips for effective prospect and partner engagement. Prepare briefings and documentation necessary for partner/leadership interactions and meetings.
  • Manage registration processes for donor salons and cultivation events.
• Conference Support
  • Collaborate with the Events team to deliver top-tier programming to partners leading up to and during conferences.
  • Ensure that prospects receive relevant information and recruitment materials related to each conference.

You will thrive in this role if you have a commitment to DA’s mission, a vision for advancing our goals through a service orientation that combines a love for both people and spreadsheets. You derive satisfaction from being highly organized, engaging with people, and solving problems.

Further qualifications include the below:

• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a fundraising role in the social justice sector.
• 1-2 years’ experience managing 1-3 team members (preferred).
• Experience in managing complex projects.
• Ability to handle a variety of key initiatives concurrently.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating with multiple stakeholders and competing priorities.
• Ability to work occasional long hours—including nights/weekends—as required.
• Ability to operate effectively under pressure, prioritizing workflow, meeting deadlines, and modeling calm leadership as needs and priorities change.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills, social‑emotional intelligence, and a collaborative work style.
• Excellent organizational and analytical skills, with meticulous attention to detail. (Someone whose love language is a spreadsheet!)
• Strong diplomatic skills used to work with others, resolve problems, manage projects, and achieve appropriate solutions
• Sincere commitment to working collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, volunteers,…