Director, Development

ABOUT PER SCHOLAS:

For 30 years, Per Scholas has been on a mission to drive mobility and opportunity in the ever-advancing technology landscape by unlocking the untapped potential of individuals, uplifting communities, and meeting the needs of employers through rigorous tech training. By teaming up with dynamic employer partners, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we're forging inclusive tech talent pipelines, fulfilling an ever-increasing need for skilled talent. With national remote training and campuses in 20+ cities and counting, Per Scholas offers no-cost training programs in the most sought-after tech skills, spanning Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, IT Support, Software Engineering, and more. To date, 30,000+ individuals have been trained through Per Scholas, propelling their professional trajectories into high-growth tech careers with salaries three times higher than their pre-training earnings. Learn more by visiting PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

POSITION TITLE: Director, Development (NCR and BAL)

LOCATION: Silver Spring, Baltimore, or surrounding areas

REPORTS TO: Senior Director, Development - Southeast Region

OVERVIEW:

Per Scholas is seeking a Director, Development to become a member of the national development team. You will hold key responsibilities in funder relations, corporate engagement, grant writing, and organizational storytelling for a diverse funding portfolio. The role will specialize in revenue-raising, particularly for large institutional investments, for two Per Scholas campuses in Maryland (the National Capital Region, based in Silver Spring, and Baltimore); support sponsorships and donor cultivation for events; and from time to time may support fundraising opportunities in other markets or at a national level as needed. The role is a part of a dynamic team of development professionals and will work closely with the local Managing Directors for each campus and other leaders throughout the organization to meet our revenue targets and grow our programs throughout the region. 

WHAT YOU’LL DO: 

Portfolio Leadership and Relationship Management

• Lead relationship management for assigned campus funding portfolios, including proactive management of relevant cultivation and stewardship activities (including supporting local campus leads and National Leadership team in maintaining external relationships with new and current funders); tracking funder deadlines and deliverables; and monitoring new opportunities.
• Develop and implement a fundraising strategy in partnership with Managing Directors to support and expand operations in each market, as relevant.

• Attend and prepare for key funder meetings and site visits as a representative and ambassador of Per Scholas.
• Lead identification and cultivation of relationships with new corporate, foundation, government, and individual funding sources with potential to support assigned campuses, and work closely with the Managing Director and National Leadership Team to cultivate opportunities and lead engagement process. (Limited prospect research support may be available from other team members.)

• Synthesize information from program staff and Salesforce database to articulate goals, activities, anticipated outcomes, successes, challenges, etc. to funders. Ensure updated market research and data analysis supports proposals and informs white papers or other external reports. 

• Coordinate with local program teams and fiscal departments to gather all needed information and collateral to prepare and write accurate and compelling letters of interest, grant proposals, reports, and other materials that are responsive to donor guidelines, including assembling required documentation and budgets. (Support for some grantwriting may be provided by other team members.)
• Work with local and national program teams to forecast budget projections for assigned campuses. Coordinate with the Development Operations team to forecast organizational cash flow and track funds received, ensuring revenue tracking is up to date.
• Contribute to accurate and up-to-date development record-keeping in Salesforce and other development systems.
• Lead development aspects of planning and execution of local fundraising and cultivation events and activities.
• Participate in and provide support to quarterly Advisory Board meetings, and as relevant serve as a thought partner to the local campus lead to integrate the Advisory Board into the campus fundraising strategy.
• Coordinate with communications staff to leverage communications opportunities for development purposes and ensure consistent language and branding.

WHAT YOU’LL BRING TO US:

Professional Requirements

• At least 7 years of relevant development experience, ideally managing external individual and institutional donor relationships
• Familiarity and experience with the DC philanthropic community
• Excellent writing, editing, and copy editing skills
• Excellent verbal communication skills, both in person and on phone; strong presentation skills
• Excellent project management skills; able to prioritize, influence myriad stakeholders, and meet deadlines
• Excellent relationship management skills, capacity and willingness to reach out to donors to cultivate and steward them as the organizational representative
• Results-driven approach with a commitment to outcomes and tracking
• Ability to gather and interpret data to drive decision-making; funder prospecting experience desirable
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Salesforce and Google Apps for Business (Docs, Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Chat, etc.) 
• Availability to travel 15-20%

Personal Characteristics

• You thrive in a creative, inventive, fast-paced startup environment with people who are passionate about their work and mission. 
• You are data-driven, result-oriented and a forward-looking catalyst for social change.
• You have a collaborative and flexible work style. You’re excited to work cross-functionally with other departments and independently.
• You are an effective communicator with strong oral and written skills.
• You are tech savvy and learn new tools quickly. 
• You are detail-oriented, with exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• You are interested in workforce development, technology, diversity, organizational growth, and scaling impact
• You stand behind our mission, believing that individuals from any community should have access to well-paying career positions, and that talent should be recognized and recruited from many diverse sources.

#LI-Hybrid
For this role specifically, we are targeting a salary range of $90,000 - $110,000 where the difference in salary is typically determined by several factors, including geography in which the selected candidate resides, and alignment with qualifications and experience