Director of Development & Engagement

Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange (CACHE)

CACHE was formed in 2019 to connect, support, and develop the people who make Northwest Arkansas a creative place to live. We work alongside artists, nonprofits, civic leaders, and funders to build an arts ecosystem that lasts. We’re looking for a Director of Development & Engagement to lead that work financially and tell its story well.

This is a senior leadership role, and it’s a true partnership. We’re looking for someone seasoned enough to bring their own expertise and run with it — to set the fundraising strategy, trust their own judgment, and make the whole organization stronger by being part of it. You’ll design and lead CACHE’s comprehensive fundraising and philanthropic investment strategy, cultivate major donors and family foundations, build relationships across the corporate and public sectors, and position CACHE as the kind of organization smart philanthropy wants to invest in.

You’ll also be the keeper of our story. This role supervises our communications team and protects CACHE’s brand, tone, and voice — owning the messaging framework, training the team to stay true to it, and making sure what goes out into the world sounds like us. You don’t have to be a communications wizard. You do have to be the kind of leader who builds the systems and holds the line.

We’re looking for someone with wisdom and real experience behind them. Someone who can sit in a room full of competing truths, land on a direction, explain why, and bring everyone along. Someone who can work a room of donors and then go build the CRM that tracks every one of them. Straight talk, steady judgment, and the discipline to follow through.

Experience and track record

7+ years of progressive nonprofit fundraising, philanthropy, or development leadership — this is a role for someone who’s done this before

A track record securing major gifts and institutional funding, and building comprehensive, multi-year fundraising strategies from the ground up

Experience supervising staff and leading teams of contractors, with a real gift for making the people around you successful

Strong instincts for donor cultivation and stewardship — you know how to build a relationship, not just close a gift

A storyteller at heart, able to turn mission and data into a case for support that moves people

Comfort moving among high-capacity donors, civic leaders, and influential community circles, building genuine trust and rapport

Fluency with CRM systems, grant platforms, and data tools — and the readiness to help CACHE stand up its first organization-wide CRM

Arts, cultural, or creative-sector experience strongly preferred

An understanding of how arts investment fuels regional economy, tourism, workforce, and quality of life

Someone with wisdom and lived experience — grounded enough to hold a room where several things are true at once, land on a direction, and bring everyone along

A straight talker with steady judgment and the heart to follow through

A systems thinker who brings order and follow-through without losing the warmth

A collaborator who builds across the ecosystem rather than fundraising in a silo

Deeply committed to equity, access, inclusion, and belonging

Serious about the arts — and about building something that lasts in Northwest Arkansas

The work is a mix of remote and in-person across Northwest Arkansas, with travel up to 20% for donor meetings, conferences, and partnership development.

We recognize that pathways into philanthropy vary widely, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds who are serious about the arts and about building something that lasts here.

Creative Arkansas Community Hub and Exchange (CACHE) is an equal opportunity employer.