Managing Director of External Affairs

OneGoal; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

OneGoal is seeking a Managing Director of External Affairs to lead the Midwest Development team and drive fundraising growth across Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This role reports to the Regional Executive Director, Midwest and collaborates with the National External Affairs team to align donor opportunities and campaigns.

You will set strategic direction, manage donor engagement, and build a high-performing team to surpass annual KPIs while fostering a strong development culture across the

Qualifications

• Proven fundraising experience in the Chicago market.
• Experience engaging donors, prospects, and boards.
• Strong strategic planning and leadership skills.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.

Responsibilities

• Set direction for the Midwest development team and growth strategy in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
• Lead donor engagement, external communications, events, and brand amplification across the region.
• Manage a donor portfolio, track progress to goal, and coordinate with the National External Affairs team.
• Collaborate with Midwest Leadership Team and cross-regional partners to align on fundraising initiatives and metrics.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Donor engagement

Strategic planning

Board relations

Team leadership

Communication

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

The Person

You believe – and your work has demonstrated your belief – that all students can earn a credential of value and the life that comes with it. Reporting to the Regional Executive Director, Midwest, as Managing Director of External Affairs, you will be responsible for bringing the vision to life by setting direction and strategy for the OneGoal Midwest Development team, including developing a growth strategy for the broader Midwest region, with Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin (Milwaukee) as priority markets. As the Chicago region is also home to OneGoal's national headquarters, you will also play a role in aligning on donor and fundraising opportunities with the National External Affairs team. You're chiefly responsible for engaging the internal-facing development team and external-facing constituents (board, donor base, potential prospects) to meet and exceed our annual Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) while contributing to a strong internal culture that fosters a high level of understanding and investment in development and outreach work. You serve as a key member of the Midwest Leadership Team and trusted partner to the Regional Executive Director, Midwest. You bring demonstrated fundraising experience within the Chicago market and, ideally, call the city home.

You will do this by:

Setting Strategic Vision and Direction (30%)

• Partnering with Regional Executive Director, Midwest to design innovative strategies to influence and motivate new and existing external constituents to invest in our work, at $3,000,000 (philanthropic) in this fiscal year and growing steadily over the next few years, while effectively tracking progress-to-goal.
• Supporting the Regional Executive Director, Midwest to influence and motivate new and existing external constituents to invest in our work.
• Developing and organizing a growth strategy for the Midwest region, focused on sustainability in Illinois, and expansion in Michigan and Wisconsin (Milwaukee) as priority markets.
• Maintaining and building goals, strategies, and campaigns across foundation, corporate, individual, and public funding streams.
• Partnering closely with the National External Affairs team on national fundraising opportunities and shared funder relationships.
• Using Chicago and broader Midwest landscape data (donor market, postsecondary landscape, education landscape, economic, philanthropic market) to inform vision and direction to meet all development KPIs.

Donor Engagement and Brand Awareness (25%)

• Developing and executing a strong plan to engage prospects and donors across Chicago and emerging Midwest markets, while amplifying the region's brand through external events, media, and networking.
• Leading the development team to excel in the execution of the annual external communication plan and regional marketing efforts.
• Serving as an ambassador for OneGoal, when needed, in major gift prospect/donor meetings, conferences, or other public-speaking engagements
• Creating the conditions for the development team to partner effectively with other Midwest regional functions, as well as with the National External Affairs team, to engage all external stakeholders through in-person, virtual, or written formats.

Portfolio Management and Execution (20%)

• Managing a portfolio of donors by reviewing and analyzing progress to goal, making strategic decisions to inform actions and campaigns, and executing on cultivation plans to drive toward revenue growth.
• Collaborating with the Regional Executive Director, Midwest to set board vision and engagement strategies, and manage communication including board updates and board meeting materials.
• Building and retaining investor pipeline by managing the team effectively in the sourcing, prospecting, and engagement of donors, including in new Milwaukee and Michigan markets.
• Serving as a key role model for others in your reporting line on best practice actions for portfolio managers, including strong use of Salesforce data and other analytics, expert external communications, and strong pitch language and materials.

Midwest Leadership Team, Functional Team Lead, OneGoal People Manager, and Member of OneGoal Community (25%)

• Serving alongside the Regional Executive Director, Midwest and other Midwest Managing Directors as a member of the Midwest Leadership Team (MLT) to inform regional vision, priorities, and expectations for future fiscal years, including the region's growth into Milwaukee and Michigan.
• Effectively building strong relationships with Midwest team members and modeling for all staff what it means to be a culture leader and embody our core values.
• Modeling practices of strong management, achieving results through supportive accountability, and building the capabilities of direct reports and development team members.
• Collaborating with the MLT, the National External Affairs team, and org-wide colleagues to identify interdependencies and ensure strong execution of cross-team and cross-regional efforts.