Sr. Director, Fund Development

Spirit League; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Juneteenth time off

Year-end time off

Professional development stipend

Weekly team lunch on Thursdays

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Sick leave

Vacation pay

Holiday pay

Produce at cost

Produce boxes discount

Job summary

Mandela Partners is seeking a Senior Fund Development Director to lead a community-centered fundraising strategy and to build an embedded development function in Oakland. Reporting to the Executive Director, you will guide foundations, government, corporate, nonprofit, and individual giving to support a $3.2MM annual budget and ensure alignment with our mission and values.

The role is hybrid and located in Oakland, offering collaboration with staff, board, and community supporters to advance

Qualifications

• 5-10+ years of fundraising experience with diversified revenue streams.
• Ability to design and execute fundraising strategies from inception.
• Proven relationship-building and donor stewardship across five- and six-figure gifts.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual fundraising strategy across foundations, government, corporate, nonprofit, and individual giving.
• Partner with the Executive Director and Finance Director on goals, revenue forecasting, and reserves.
• Collaborate with board to strengthen fundraising engagement and donor stewardship.
• Manage and mentor a small development team with accountability and growth.
• Steward major funder and donor relationships across the Bay Area and California.
• Lead grant prospecting, proposals, and reporting.
• Strengthen individual giving programs and donor relationships at all levels.
• Align fundraising with organizational storytelling with Storytelling and Community Engagement Manager.
• Ensure effective use of Salesforce CRM and fundraising data.

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Grant writing

Donor stewardship

CRM systems

People management

Tools

Salesforce

Job description

Why Join Mandela Partners

This is a senior leadership role where fundraising directly sustains community impact. You'll set the strategy that funds our mission, serve on the Executive Leadership Team as a true partner to the Executive Director, and build a development function with the opportunity to hire your own coordinator, at an organization where philanthropy is relationship-centered, community-accountable, and equity-driven.

We back that work with real benefits and balance: a full week off in June for Juneteenth and another at year-end, a professional development stipend, a weekly paid team lunch on Thursdays, health insurance and retirement, accrued sick, vacation, and holiday pay, access to wholesale produce at cost, and a 50% discount on weekly produce boxes. The pay range is $130,000-135,000, aligned with our compensation philosophy and nonprofit market practices.

About the Role

Mandela Partners works in partnership with local residents, family farmers, and community-based businesses to improve health, create wealth, and build assets through food enterprises in disinvested communities. Our systems model supports local economic investment, entrepreneurship, food sovereignty, and health equity - building on local assets to cultivate thriving communities.

The Senior Fund Development Director leads a fundraising strategy that builds community-grounded and institutional revenue to grow our $3.2MM annual budget. Reporting to the Executive Director and serving on the Executive Leadership Team, this hands-on, community-embedded fundraising leader partners with staff, board, donors, and community supporters to ensure our fundraising reflects our mission and values. This position is a hybrid role located in Oakland, offering a flexible work schedule.

What the First Year Looks Like

Within your first 90 days, you will assess our fundraising portfolio and recommend a strategic direction based on experience across multiple revenue streams. You will lead grant renewals, substantially expand individual giving, and engage the board in a more structured fundraising role. This position requires established expertise in all these areas and the ability to apply it in a new community context.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead annual fundraising strategy across foundations, government, corporate, nonprofit, and individual giving
• Partner with the Executive Director and Finance Director on goal setting, revenue forecasting, and reserves
• Collaborate with the Board of Directors to strengthen fundraising engagement and donor stewardship
• Manage and support a small development and engagement team, fostering growth and accountability
• Steward major funder and donor relationships across the Bay Area and California
• Lead grant prospecting, proposals, and reporting
• Strengthen individual giving programs and donor relationships at all levels
• Partner with the Storytelling and Community Engagement Manager to align fundraising with organizational storytelling
• Ensure effective use of Salesforce CRM and fundraising data

We recognize that fundraising experience takes many forms - community organizing, mutual aid coordination, resource mobilization in faith communities, and informal network-building all develop transferable skills. We encourage candidates whose experience reflects community-based pathways to apply.

• 5-10+ years of fundraising experience, bringing a diversified fundraising portfolio: direct, hands-on ownership of multiple revenue streams
• Has designed and executed fundraising strategies from inception, including building cases for support, setting revenue targets, and holding accountability for results
• Strong relationship-building and communication skills: has independently cultivated, solicited, and stewarded donors and funders at the five- and six-figure level
• Experience managing and mentoring people with varied lived and professional experiences
• Familiarity with CRM systems and fundraising operations
• Lived and/or professional experience working alongside communities impacted by systemic disinvestment strongly valued
• Demonstrated commitment to the mission and values of Mandela Partners
• Centers the leadership, knowledge, and self-determination of limited-resource communities in all our work
• Commitment to honest, equity-grounded communication and ongoing reflection, community accountability, and collective learning
• Comfort with navigating disagreement or conflict with care and diplomacy