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SY2025-26 Chief Development Officer

4600 Livingston Road SE, Washington DC 20032

Note: Applications will not be reviewed until the week of January 6, 2025. 

Ingenuity Prep is a supportive school community dedicated to academic rigor and civic leadership, preparing students for the path to colleges and career of their choosing. Our innovative instructional model promotes small group learning for students, collaborative teaching teams, and robust coaching and professional development opportunities for teachers and staff.  We are one of the highest performing schools in Ward 8 and proud recipients of a Bold Performance School award.  

We are seeking a Chief Development Officer to join our executive team and ensure that our school thrives through strategic philanthropy, community partnerships, and sustainable resource development. The CDO will manage, coach, and develop the Development and Communications Manager. This role offers the opportunity to help shape the school’s vision, nurture meaningful relationships with donors and stakeholders, and secure the critical support needed for our mission and programs. Successful candidates excel at balancing visionary, long-term fundraising strategies with attention to the details that drive day-to-day donor stewardship and campaign execution. They are both skilled at leading through others and at personally advancing key projects. They firmly believe in the power of collective impact and help the organization innovate, take strategic risks, while approaching every initiative with an equity-centered mindset.

WHAT WE’RE ABOUT

  • Mission: We’re closing the opportunity gap. Students and families in Southeast D.C. have too few options for high-quality elementary, middle, and high schools. Ingenuity Prep aspires to right this systemic injustice providing an exemplary educational option for Southeast D.C.’s students and families.
  • Model: We pair high expectations with high support. Too often, our students are underestimated.  At Ingenuity Prep, an innovative teacher development model, paired with best-in-class training from strong instructional leaders, allows us to grow great teachers who, ultimately, lead high-expectation and high-support classrooms.
  • Results: Our students are defying expectations. Ingenuity Prep’s students outperform their neighborhood peers on rigorous, national, college-track assessments.  Already out-performing many of their more privileged peers around the city, in the coming years, Ingenuity Prep’s students will provide an expectation-defying and achievement-gap-closing proof point — showing what our kids are capable of when we provide the right opportunities, expectations, and support.

WHAT YOU’LL DO AS CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER:

Development and Fundraising Strategy (30%)

  • Design and implement a comprehensive fundraising plan to secure philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government sources.
  • Identify and prioritize new opportunities for funding, including major gifts, grants, planned giving, and special campaigns.
  • Set ambitious yet achievable annual and multi-year revenue targets in alignment with Ingenuity Prep’s strategic objectives and financial needs.
  • Use data-driven analysis to monitor progress and adapt strategies, ensuring long-term sustainability and growth in philanthropic revenue.

Donor and Partner Engagement (30%)

  • Cultivate, solicit, and steward a diverse portfolio of donors and partners, ensuring meaningful engagement and deepening relationships over time.
  • Develop and refine systems and tools to track donor interactions, recognize contributions, and report on the impact of philanthropy.
  • Collaborate with academic and operational leaders to develop compelling cases for support, highlighting Ingenuity Prep’s successes, innovations, and community impact.
  • Provide coaching, training, and support to staff and Board members in their roles as fundraisers and advocates.

Brand Building and External Relations (20%)

  • Work closely with the Development and Communications Manager to enhance Ingenuity Prep’s brand awareness, ensuring consistent, mission-aligned messaging across development communications.
  • Identify and engage in relevant public forums, events, and convenings to raise the school’s profile and forge strategic alliances.
  • Leverage storytelling, data, and community voices to authentically convey the school’s impact and vision, inspiring investment and support from key stakeholders.

Team and School-Wide Leadership (20%)

  • Directly manage, coach, and mentor the Development and Communications Manager, fostering professional growth, accountability, and a high-performance culture.
  • Serve on the Executive Team, influencing school-wide vision and strategic priorities, and collectively owning organizational strengths and areas of growth.
  • Contribute to the development, monitoring, and assessment of Ingenuity Prep’s strategic plan, ensuring development goals align with overall institutional objectives.
  • Represent Ingenuity Prep with external stakeholders, including donors, board committees, and community organizations, building trust and credibility as an ambassador of the school.
  • Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders (school leadership, faculty, staff) to champion a culture of philanthropy and shared ownership of development goals.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR
Ingenuity Prep may be the right fit for you if:

  • You hold a passionate belief in Ingenuity Prep’s mission, values, and educational model.
  • You have a proven track record of successfully designing and executing development strategies, resulting in increased and sustained philanthropic support.
  • You have at least seven years of leadership experience in fundraising, development, or a related field, preferably in an educational or nonprofit setting.
  • You have demonstrated success in leading and managing high-performing teams, fostering a positive, growth-oriented adult culture through coaching and management best practices.
  • You thrive in a fast-paced environment and remain calm, focused, and solutions-oriented when facing unexpected challenges.
  • You excel at collaborating with diverse stakeholders — staff, Board members, donors, community partners — to innovate, solve problems, and achieve shared goals.
  • You are committed to equity-centered leadership, holding yourself and others accountable for living out core values in all decisions and actions.
  • You are able to join our team between April and June 2025.

BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION

Ingenuity Prep offers among the strongest compensation and benefits packages of any public charter school in Washington, D.C. Our compensation and benefits package includes:

  • Salary starting at $159,753 and increasing commensurate with experience.
  • 100% of medical and dental premiums for employees paid for by Ingenuity Prep, along with 100% of dependent premiums.
  • 100% of employee’s short­ and long-term disability and life insurance plans paid for by Ingenuity Prep.
  • A minimum of two weeks maternity/paternity leave, up to 6 weeks, at 100% of pay (60% from IP and remaining pay from DC Paid Family Leave ) for all staff — regardless of gender.
  • A 100% match -- up to 3% -- on your 401K retirement plan.
  • A 100% Ingenuity Prep-paid cell phone plan. You can even bring your current number into our plan.
  • MacBook Air computer for professional and personal use.

Ingenuity Prep does not make hiring decisions on the basis of race, color, creed, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, age, disability, veteran status, religion, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law.

All Ingenuity Prep employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before their start date. All persons offered a position will be required to provide valid proof of vaccination prior to starting employment or must be approved for a medical or religious exemption.

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