Development Director (US)

ImpactAlpha; Council Bluffs (IA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Opportunity to shape the next phase of

Senior leadership role with direct to-

International travel opportunities

Flexible to work in London or the US

Senior Management Team involvement

Job summary

Climate Emergency Collaboration Group is seeking its inaugural Director of Development to lead fundraising strategy, diversify income, and deepen strategic funder relationships. This senior role reports to the CEO and combines fundraising, partnerships and brand communications to strengthen an international climate organisation.

The successful candidate will build a resilient funding base, guide external positioning, and manage a small partnerships team while traveling internationally (30–40

Qualifications

• Strong record of securing and stewarding funding of $30 million or more per annum.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced and evolving environments.
• Experience working with globally distributed, multicultural teams.
• Combination of strategic judgement with relationship-building and delivery capabilities.
• Motivation to build a function rather than inherit a finished one.
• Comfort with moving between senior-level engagement and practical execution.
• Comfort operating with ambiguity or adapting priorities as the organisation evolves.
• Ability to combine strategic leadership with hands-on delivery.

Responsibilities

• Personally lead major funding opportunities and coordinate fundraising with the CEO and programme leaders, with clear ownership of donor relationships, proposals and asks.
• Develop and lead CECG’s organisation-wide income and growth strategy.
• Establish clear income diversification objectives across relevant funding streams.
• Identify and cultivate new funders, partnerships, and funding opportunities.
• Work with the Executive Team to reduce income concentration and manage funding volatility.
• Develop robust forecasting, pipeline management and reporting systems.
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across philanthropic and donor institutions.
• Communicate the impact of CECG, its grantees, and its strategic priorities to existing and prospective funders.
• Develop and maintain a strategic map of the climate philanthropy and international cooperation funding landscape.
• Lead the stewardship of CECG’s existing funders, including trusts, foundations, major philanthropic donors and other institutional partners.
• Build and manage a strong pipeline of secured, prospective and longer-term funding.
• Represent CECG externally to strengthen its profile, reputation and credibility.
• Develop and lead CECG’s communications and brand strategy.
• Strengthen CECG’s external narrative and positioning among funders, partners and the wider climate community.
• Oversee the production of high-quality organisational reporting and strategic publications, working with Finance and Operations on statutory reporting, and with programme colleagues on impact evidence.
• Guide CECG’s digital communications and engagement.
• Ensure communications consistently demonstrate the contribution and impact of CECG’s partners and grantees.
• Lead a small partnerships team and ensure effective funder stewardship, award management, communications execution, and administration across workstreams.
• Work with Executive Team to identify and develop new funding models, strategic collaborations, hosted initiatives and other opportunities aligned with CECG’s mission
• Design and test new approaches to generating income and expanding organisational impact
• Assess emerging opportunities and recommend where CECG should invest, partner or incubate new work

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Team leadership

Job description

About Climate Emergency Collaboration Group

The Climate Emergency Collaboration Group (CECG) is an independent UK-based charity founded in 2020 that operates as a strategic regranting and collaboration platform. The organization is backed by some of the world’s leading climate philanthropies and was established with the mission to renew, reimagine, and regenerate international cooperation that delivers for people and planet. CECG recently transitioned from fiscal sponsorship in the United States to establish itself as an independent UK charity, marking a significant milestone in the organization’s development. The organization works across organisational, geographic and sector boundaries to identify gaps, connect people and ideas, build partnerships, and direct philanthropic resources towards opportunities for meaningful impact. CECG exists to make international climate action more connected, more strategic and more effective by bringing together philanthropy, policymakers, civil society and other leaders to tackle problems that no single organisation, funder or institution can solve alone. CECG is headquartered in London with several prominent UK-based donors, and has a growing presence in the United States where additional donors and opportunities for expansion exist. The organization’s work is intentionally international in design, with a commitment to reflecting a changing global landscape and giving greater weight to the perspectives, expertise and leadership of the Global South. CECG is expanding its strategic reach beyond traditional climate architecture to explore where climate intersects with trade, international finance, global security and the institutions and groupings increasingly shaping international cooperation. Following a successful transition to full operational independence, a strengthened governance structure, and an evolved strategic framework for grantmaking and wider impact, CECG is entering a new phase of organisational and programmatic development.

About this Role

The Climate Emergency Collaboration Group is seeking its inaugural Director of Development to help sustain the organisation into the future and lead it through the next phase of growth. This senior leadership role reports directly to the CEO and represents an unusual opportunity to shape the development function and strategic direction of a growing and influential international climate organisation. The Director of Development will lead CECG’s fundraising operations with primary responsibility for securing income, strengthening and diversifying the funding base, deepening strategic funder relationships and sharpening the organisation’s external positioning. The role brings together fundraising, strategic partnerships, and brand communications within a single leadership function. The successful candidate will help CECG build a resilient funding base, communicate the impact of partners and grantees, and develop new opportunities for sustainable organisational growth. The position is expected to join the Senior Management Team as the organisational structure is finalised. This is an ideal opportunity for a highly collaborative and entrepreneurial leader who is comfortable building new functions, operating in an evolving organisation, and moving fluidly between high-level strategy and hands-on delivery. The role requires approximately 30–40 days of international travel each year, with preference for the successful candidate to be located either in London or in the US where several other CECG donors are based and potential growth of the donor base lies.

Responsibilities

• Personally lead major funding opportunities and coordinate fundraising with the CEO and programme leaders, with clear ownership of donor relationships, proposals and asks
• Develop and lead CECG’s organisation-wide income and growth strategy
• Establish clear income diversification objectives across relevant funding streams
• Identify and cultivate new funders, partnerships, and funding opportunities
• Work with the Executive Team to reduce income concentration and manage funding volatility
• Develop robust forecasting, pipeline management and reporting systems
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across philanthropic and donor institutions
• Communicate the impact of CECG, its grantees, and its strategic priorities to existing and prospective funders
• Develop and maintain a strategic map of the climate philanthropy and international cooperation funding landscape
• Lead the stewardship of CECG’s existing funders, including trusts, foundations, major philanthropic donors and other institutional partners
• Build and manage a strong pipeline of secured, prospective and longer-term funding
• Represent CECG externally to strengthen its profile, reputation and credibility
• Develop and lead CECG’s communications and brand strategy
• Strengthen CECG’s external narrative and positioning among funders, partners and the wider climate community
• Oversee the production of high-quality organisational reporting and strategic publications, working with Finance and Operations on statutory reporting, and with programme colleagues on impact evidence
• Guide CECG’s digital communications and engagement
• Ensure communications consistently demonstrate the contribution and impact of CECG’s partners and grantees
• Lead a small partnerships team and ensure effective funder stewardship, award management, communications execution, and administration across workstreams
• Work with Executive Team to identify and develop new funding models, strategic collaborations, hosted initiatives and other opportunities aligned with CECG’s mission
• Design and test new approaches to generating income and expanding organisational impact
• Assess emerging opportunities and recommend where CECG should invest, partner or incubate new work

Requirements

• Strong record of securing and stewarding funding of $30 million or more per annum
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced and evolving environments
• Experience working with globally distributed, multicultural teams
• Combination of strategic judgement with relationship-building and delivery capabilities
• Motivation to build a function rather than inherit a finished one
• Comfort with moving between senior-level engagement and practical execution
• Comfort operating with ambiguity or adapting priorities as the organisation evolves
• Ability to combine strategic leadership with hands-on delivery

Benefits

• Opportunity to shape the next phase of a growing and influential international climate organisation
• Senior leadership role with direct reporting to the CEO
• Chance to build and lead a new development function from the ground up
• International travel opportunities (approximately 30–40 days per year)
• Flexibility to work from London or the United States based on preference and donor relationships
• Position on the Senior Management Team as the organisational structure is finalised