Senior Development Officer

Center for Science in the Public Interest; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks a strategic Senior Development Officer to lead cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of private foundations, family foundations, state-based foundations, and other institutional funders.

The person in this leadership role will build and manage a portfolio of foundation prospects and donors, develop compelling funding proposals aligned with CSPI's programmatic priorities, and work in close partnership with the Senior Development

Qualifications

• Minimum 5–7 years in foundation fundraising.
• Experience in cultivating and soliciting institutional funders.
• Strong proposal development and budgeting skills.
• Ability to lead a cross-functional fundraising team.
• Excellent written and verbal communications.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement the foundation fundraising strategy and portfolio goals.
• Oversee execution of fundraising plan including stewardship and growth of funders.
• Engage leadership in cultivation and stewardship efforts.
• Stay updated on philanthropic trends and align fundraising with priorities.
• Ensure fundraising aligns with CSPI’s Gift Acceptance Policy.

Skills

Foundation fundraising

Relationship management

Strategic planning

Grant writing

Team leadership

Tools

Raiser's Edge

Grant management software

Job description

Description

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks a strategic and relationship-driven Senior Development Officer to lead cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of private foundations, family foundations, state-based foundations, and other institutional funders. The person in this leadership role will build and manage a portfolio of foundation prospects and donors, develop compelling funding proposals aligned with CSPI's programmatic priorities, and work in close partnership with the Senior Development Director, who oversees CSPI's foundation fundraising program as a whole, to advance a coordinated, growing pipeline of institutional support.

Description

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) seeks a strategic and relationship-driven Senior Development Officer to lead cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of private foundations, family foundations, state-based foundations, and other institutional funders. The person in this leadership role will build and manage a portfolio of foundation prospects and donors, develop compelling funding proposals aligned with CSPI's programmatic priorities, and work in close partnership with the Senior Development Director, who oversees CSPI's foundation fundraising program as a whole, to advance a coordinated, growing pipeline of institutional support.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced fundraiser with expertise in foundation fundraising and a commitment to CSPI’s mission to improve health and well-being for people in communities, regardless of race, income, education, or social factors. The successful candidate will help expand CSPI’s institutional funding base at a pivotal moment for food safety, nutrition and health policy, with potential for growth into an advanced role as CSPI’s development program evolves.

The Senior Development Officer is part of a five-person Development Department and reports directly to the Senior Development Director. This role works closely with executive leadership, finance, grants management, and program staff across the organization to align fundraising strategy, donor stewardship, grant compliance, and organizational priorities. The ideal candidate is a skilled relationship builder and project manager who can connect the dots across teams.

CSPI’s office is in Washington, D.C., where we offer a hybrid work environment with D.C.-based staff free to work from home but available for occasional in-person meetings based on team needs. Our staff outside of the D.C. area work remotely at locations across the U.S. We will consider DC-based or remote applicants within the U.S. for this position.

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategic Planning

• Work with Senior Director of Development, Development Team members, and program staff to develop and implement the overall foundation fundraising strategy, set portfolio goals, and coordinate outreach across the full foundation fundraising program.
• Oversee all aspects of execution of the fundraising plan, including stewardship and growth of foundation funders.
• Engage board members and organizational leadership in cultivation and stewardship efforts.
• Stay abreast of philanthropic trends, sector best practices, and evolving foundation funding priorities, and apply that knowledge to strengthen and continuously improve CSPI's foundation fundraising program.
• Ensure all fundraising is consistent with CSPI’s Gift Acceptance Policy.

Portfolio Management & Relationship Cultivation

• Grow philanthropic revenue by managing and expanding a portfolio of foundations, institutional funders, family foundations, and state-based foundations.
• Develop annual cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and revenue strategies for each assigned relationship.
• Cultivate program officer relationships through regular one-on-one outreach via meetings, calls, virtual meetings, and stewardship.
• Develop and monitor annual revenue budgets for all foundation funders.

Prospect Research & Pipeline Management

• Manage foundation prospect research and cultivation aligned with CSPI’s mission and program areas.
• Develop and maintain a foundation prospect list and prospect file, including institutional funders, formal family foundations, state-based foundations, and donor-advised funds.

Proposal & Grant Development

• Work with team leads to develop foundation prospects, funder briefs, letters of inquiry, proposals, budgets and reports; and provide coaching to strengthen budgeting and program summary preparation skills.
• Translate CSPI’s scientific and policy work into compelling, funder-ready narratives in partnership with program staff.
• Draft and edit foundation fundraising letters, proposals and reports, and develop fundraising outreach publications, as needed.
• Coordinate the submission of grant proposals and grant reports (and accompanying materials for both).
• Maintain calendar and deadlines related to foundation fundraising. Track proposal and report deadlines, ensuring on-time, high-quality submissions across the portfolio.

Funder Communications & Stewardship

• Develop and execute stewardship plans for current funders, including impact updates, acknowledgements, and media updates.
• Ensure accurate, up-to-date donor records and grant tracking in CSPI’s donor systems.
• Contribute to the Development Department's shared outreach mailings, calls with funders, and events.