Chief Development Officer

Current Newspaper; Cincinnati (OH); On-site; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Public Media Connect is seeking a Chief Development Officer to lead fundraising and donor engagement across Cincinnati and Dayton.

Reporting to the CEO, you will head a 10-person Development team, building comprehensive strategies and advancing major gifts, corporate partnerships, grants and annual giving. This role shapes the future of philanthropy for Public Media Connect.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred.
• 10+ years of nonprofit fundraising experience.
• 5+ years of leadership and staff-management experience.
• Proven success in major-gift fundraising and comprehensive development programs.
• Experience preparing and managing departmental budgets.
• Experience using donor-management software and fundraising databases.
• Strong strategic, analytical, communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to inspire and lead a high-performing team.
• Collaborative leadership style and high integrity.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute comprehensive annual and long-range fundraising strategies with measurable revenue goals.
• Personally cultivate, solicit and steward major and transformational gifts.
• Lead development team across Cincinnati and Dayton.
• Provide strategic direction for membership acquisition, renewal and retention.
• Guide corporate, foundation, grant and community partnerships efforts.
• Identify new philanthropic opportunities and revenue streams.
• Use fundraising data to evaluate results and adjust strategy.
• Develop and manage the Development Department budget and monitor revenue and expenses.
• Partner with the CEO and senior leadership on strategy and priorities.
• Represent Public Media Connect in philanthropic and broader community contexts.

Skills

Relationship-building

Strategic thinking

Communication

Leadership

Analytical skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

CRM software

Fundraising databases

Job description

Chief Development Officer

Public Media Connect | CET & ThinkTV

Cincinnati, Ohio | Full-Time, Exempt

Salary Range: $100,000–$120,000

This is an important moment for public media.

Public media has faced extraordinary change over the past year. At Public Media Connect, we're not standing still.

When federal funding was eliminated, our community responded. More than 5,400 new members joined us, and community support exceeded our fundraising goal by $2 million.

That response reinforced something we already knew: what we do matters.

CET and ThinkTV provide trusted programming, educational resources, local content and community connections that are accessible to everyone. At a time when trusted, freely accessible media and educational resources are more important than ever, our community has made it clear that they believe in this work, and so do we.

Across the country, public media is becoming more connected to the communities it serves and building a more resilient future. As PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger recently described it, the system emerging from this period of change will be more connected, creative, resilient and bold.

We're looking for a Chief Development Officer who wants to help us build what's next.

The Opportunity

After nearly 20 years of leadership, our current Chief Development Officer is retiring, creating a rare opportunity for a new leader to build on a strong foundation while helping shape the future of philanthropy at Public Media Connect.

Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a member of senior leadership, the Chief Development Officer leads PMC's comprehensive fundraising and donor engagement efforts across membership and annual giving, major and planned gifts, corporate partnerships, grants, community engagement and special events.

You’ll lead an experienced 10-person Development team across Cincinnati and Dayton, including seven direct reports, while personally building relationships with donors, community partners, foundations and corporations.

We're looking for someone who can build on what is working, respect the relationships and institutional knowledge already in place, and bring the strategy, energy and ideas needed to continue moving forward.

What You'll Lead

As Chief Development Officer, you will:

• Develop and execute comprehensive annual and long-range fundraising strategies and establish measurable revenue goals.
• Personally cultivate, solicit and steward major and transformational gifts.
• Lead, mentor and develop an experienced Development team across Cincinnati and Dayton.
• Provide strategic direction for membership acquisition, renewal and retention.
• Guide corporate, foundation, grant and community partnership efforts.
• Identify new philanthropic opportunities and sustainable revenue streams.
• Use fundraising data and performance metrics to evaluate results and adjust strategy.
• Develop and manage the Development Department budget and monitor revenue and expenses.
• Partner closely with the CEO and senior leadership on organizational strategy and priorities.
• Represent Public Media Connect throughout the philanthropic and broader community.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an experienced nonprofit fundraising leader who knows how to build relationships, raise money, lead people and turn strategy into results.

Qualified candidates will have:

• A bachelor's degree; master's degree preferred.
• At least10 years of progressively responsible nonprofit fundraising experience.
• At least5 years of leadership and staff-management experience.
• Demonstrated success inmajor-gift fundraising and comprehensive development programs.
• Experience preparing and managing departmental budgets.
• Experience using donor-management software and fundraising databases.
• Strong strategic, analytical, communication and relationship-building skills.
• The ability to inspire and lead a high-performing team.
• A collaborative leadership style, sound judgment and high level of professional integrity.
• These qualifications reflect the requirements established for the position.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $100,000–$120,000 annually, commensurate with experience.

Public Media Connect offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental and supplemental insurance; retirement benefits; generous paid time off; paid holidays; and additional employer-sponsored benefits.

About Public Media Connect

Public Media Connect is the regional public-media organization serving Greater Cincinnati and Dayton through CET and ThinkTV. We connect our communities to trusted educational programming, meaningful local content and resources that educate, engage and inspire.

Public media belongs to the communities it serves. Right now, those communities are showing us—in extraordinary numbers—that they believe this work is worth supporting.

Come help us build what's next.