Hudson Ferris has been retained by Hour Children, a leading provider of services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women in New York State to execute a search for their Senior Director of Development and Communications.
Senior Director of Development and Communications
Why this role?
Hour Children needs a senior fundraiser who can convert strategy into sustained, diversified revenue while building durable systems and a high-performing team. The CDO anchors individual giving growth (our biggest potential for revenue growth), orchestrates and leads the team in executing a multi-channel development plan, including a grant calendar, direct mail program, and targeted stewardship plan. This person will alsobe responsible forbuilding upon and improvingdepartment, and in some cases organization-wide)SOPstomaintainoverall effectiveness in Hour Children’s fundraising.
Title & Reporting
- Title:Senior Director of Development and Communications
- Reports to: Executive Director
- Direct Reports: Institutional Giving Officer, Development Coordinator
Core Responsibilities
- Build and own the annual development plan with channel goals for each fundraising channel (individual, major/legacy, foundations, corporate, events).
- Translate strategy into quarterly,monthlyand weekly operating rhythms:prospect moves, grant calendar, stewardship touches, and campaign milestones.
- Re-evaluate and adjust development plan quarterly to align with FY 26 Budgetprogress.
Individual & Major Gifts (Primary Focus)
- Lead moves management for top 50–75 prospects; partner with board and ED onjoint visits and solicitations.
- Builda recurring/upgrade ladder and a legacy/estate stewardship track.
Institutional Giving Oversight
- Supervise the grants pipeline (foundation, corporate, government LOIs,proposals, reports) ensuring narrative alignment with program capacity, as wellas on-time submission for applications, reports, and renewals.
- Manage, coach, and set clear OKRs for the Institutional Giving Officer and
- Development Coordinator; drive SOP adoption (acknowledgments, data hygiene,grant workflow, stewardship).
- Ensurerigorous CRM (Bloomerang) use, prospect tagging, and activity logging;maintaina shared development calendar.
Campaigns & Events
- Plan mini-campaigns tied to storytelling and program moments; oversee anefficient, ROI-positive event plan partnered with theCoordinator.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work with Program/Impact to surface outcomes and case studies; with Financeto align revenue forecasts; with Communications to implement thebrand/message roadmap.
Qualifications
- 10+yearsprogressive fundraising experience withdemonstratedstrength in individualand major gifts.
- 3+yearspeople management; proven success building team SOPs and pipelinediscipline.
- Familiarity with foundation/corporate/government funding, annual campaigns, andevents.
Success Metrics (first 12 months)
- Meet or exceed FY26 private revenue targets, focusing on Individual: $600,000,Corporate: $100,000, Foundations: $1,438,000, Events: net positive performance.
- 40+ substantive major-donor moves/quarter; 12–18 joint ED/Board asks annually.