Managing Director of Development

If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact this employer to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Managing Director of Development

Full-time Regular US

5 days ago Requisition

Salary Range: $ To $ Annually

Position: Managing Director of Development

REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer

DEPARTMENT: Development

DIRECT REPORTS: Development Coordinator, Proposal & Reporting Writer; oversees contracted writers and consultants

FLSA STATUS: Full-time, Exempt

SALARY RANGE: $135,000 – $175,000, commensurate with experience, plus benefits

LOCATION: Remote; candidates based in or near one of Peer Forward’s existing markets preferred. Regular travel to partner markets, donor meetings, and board convenings.

aBOUT pEERFORWARD

For 30 years, Peer Forward has been built on a simple and powerful idea: students listen to their peers. In high schools, we train students as Peer Leaders who change the college-going culture of their entire school. They help classmates complete the FAFSA, apply to colleges that fit, and map out what comes next. Peer Leaders don’t just open doors for others.

They walk through them too, persisting in college at rates above the national average.

And our work doesn’t stop at high school graduation. We are growing on college campuses, where peer leadership helps students stay enrolled, find belonging, and finish their degrees.

What started as one idea is now an international college success organization, working in 11 states and in Bermuda, and reaching more than 700,000 students over three decades. Our mission is to get students to and through college.

SUMMARY

We are in our 30th year, and our most ambitious work is ahead of us. We are going deeper in the communities we already serve and partnering with others to help more than 100,000 students get to and through college every year.

That ambition needs a fundraising leader to match it. As Managing Director of Development, you will lead a $4–6 million annual fundraising program, with room to grow it as we scale. You will shape the story Peer Forward tells the world, open doors to new national partners, and personally close the gifts that make this growth possible. You will work side by side with the CEO and Board, lead a lean, committed team, and have a real voice in where the organization goes next.

This is a hands-on role for a builder. If you want your fundraising to show up in the lives of students and the strength of their communities, and you want a seat at the table where strategy gets made, we want to talk with you.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy and revenue leadership (≈25%)

• Own the annual and multi-year development plan, revenue targets, and diversified funding mix.
• Partner with the CEO and senior leadership to align fundraising priorities with program strategy and budget.
• Provide monthly revenue and cash-flow projections; coordinate with Finance on pledges and receivables.

Major gifts and institutional fundraising (≈45%)

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a personal portfolio of major individual, foundation, and corporate funders.
• Lead solicitation meetings independently and with the CEO; prepare the CEO and Board members for their asks.
• Open new doors with national foundations, corporate partners, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Oversee the proposal and reporting calendar, ensuring compelling, on-time, accurate submissions.

Team, systems, and operations (≈20%)

• Lead, coach, and hold accountable the development team and contracted partners.
• Maintain disciplined prospect management in Salesforce, including weekly moves management and pipeline reporting.
• Establish clear metrics for each team member and portfolio: activity, pipeline, and dollars closed.

Board and external engagement (≈10%)

• Staff…