Director, Development

About Verra

Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission‑driven non‑profit organization, Verra is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving livelihoods, and protecting natural resources across the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools and programs that credibly, transparently and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits.

We work in any arena where we see a need for clear standards, a role for market‑based mechanisms, and an opportunity to generate significant environmental and social value.

Verra manages a portfolio of standards, including:

• Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) – the world’s leading carbon crediting program, with more than 2,000 registered projects in 80 countries, and accounting for two‑thirds of all voluntary carbon market transaction volume.

• Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) – a flexible framework for assessing and reporting on the sustainable development benefits of project‑based activities.

• Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards – to identify projects that simultaneously address climate change, support local communities and smallholders, and conserve biodiversity.

• Plastic Waste Reduction Program – to enable robust impact assessment of new or scaled‑up waste recovery and recycling projects around the globe.

Title

Director, Development

Location

Remote – Worldwide (with significant overlap with US business hours)

Reports to

Chief Financial Officer

The Opportunity

Verra is at a pivotal moment in expanding its impact and driving meaningful change on a global scale. To achieve this, we need a seasoned leader who can drive all aspects of development and fundraising with precision and innovation. This newly created role will establish and refine Verra’s development function from the ground up, building and shaping revenue operations and strategy.

The Role

• Develop and execute a comprehensive, cohesive development strategy that aligns with Verra's mission and growth objectives, encompassing philanthropic contributions (including major gifts), grants, and corporate partnerships, focusing on climate‑focused donors and foundations.

• Identify, research and cultivate new funding prospects, including foundations, institutional partners and high‑potential donors, implementing innovative approaches such as digital campaigns, donor events and diversified revenue streams.

• Lead donor acquisition, retention and stewardship efforts, ensuring strong relationships with foundations, corporations and climate‑focused donors.

• Design and manage grant proposals and reporting processes to ensure compliance and timely submissions.

• Maintain a robust donor pipeline, track prospect progress and manage cultivation strategies for steady funding opportunities.

• Oversee CRM implementation and optimization, ensuring accurate donor data management and leveraging insights for strategic decisions.

• Create compelling fundraising materials, including proposals, donor decks and impact reports that communicate Verra's mission and outcomes.

• Track and analyze fundraising performance metrics, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.

• Represent Verra at key events and networking opportunities, elevating organizational visibility and cultivating strategic partnerships.

• Collaborate cross‑functionally with communications, marketing, finance, legal and program teams to align development efforts with organizational priorities.

• Ensure compliance with legal and ethical fundraising standards, maintaining accurate documentation of donor interactions.

• Mentor global team members on development best practices, donor engagement strategies and CRM utilization, building capacity for grant writing and stewardship.

• Lead the fundraising change management process for the organization.

• Develop compelling stories and reports that demonstrate Verra’s impact for donors and stakeholders, supporting grant proposals and…