Strategic Development Leader: Major Gifts & Philanthropy

Creative Action; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer-subsidized health insurance

Employer-paid life/AD&D and long-term–

Virtual mental health and telehealth

Generous paid time off

Paid parental leave

403(b) retirement plan

Flexible/hybrid work environment

Job summary

Creative Action is hiring a Chief Development Officer to lead a comprehensive development program and expand philanthropic support in Central Texas. You will personally cultivate major donors, guide a high-performing team, and partner with the Board to advance fundraising across multiple streams.

The role requires 7+ years of nonprofit fundraising leadership, exceptional relationship-building, and a collaborative style. Hybrid work and competitive salary are offered to support impact.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressive nonprofit fundraising experience, including significant leadership responsibility.
• Proven success securing significant individual gifts, growing a donor pipeline, and executing fundraising strategies across multiple revenue streams.
• Experience leading and developing teams and working effectively with executives, Board members, donors, volunteers, community leaders, and colleagues across an organization.
• Strong knowledge of donor cultivation and stewardship, prospect management, fundraising metrics, development operations, and CRM systems.
• Excellent relationship-building, communication, storytelling, writing, presentation, planning, and analytical skills.
• A strategic, proactive, collaborative, ethical, and adaptable leadership style, with emotional intelligence and sound judgment.
• Ability to attend occasional evening and weekend donor, program, community, and fundraising activities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead annual and multi-year fundraising strategies across major gifts, annual giving, institutional support, corporate partnerships, special events, planned giving, and other philanthropic opportunities.
• Build and actively manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects, personally leading cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of significant gifts.
• Set clear revenue goals, forecasts, metrics, and accountability practices; use results and donor data to strengthen performance, retention, and the prospect pipeline.
• Partner with the Executive Director on funding priorities, donor strategy, and management of the Executive Director's portfolio.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing development team with clear roles, goals, and expectations.
• Engage and equip the Board of Directors and its development-related committee(s) as active fundraising partners, providing regular reports on progress, opportunities, and challenges.
• Represent Creative Action in the community and build relationships with donors, institutional partners, community leaders, and other stakeholders.
• Partner with Marketing and Communications to create compelling cases for support, donor communications, and stories of impact.
• Ensure effective development operations, including prospect and moves management, CRM and data integrity, gift tracking and acknowledgement, reporting, forecasting, and donor stewardship.
• Strengthen fundraising policies, systems, and cross-departmental practices that support collaboration, accountability, and informed decision-making.
• Coordinate closely with the Capital Campaign Director so annual, major-gift, institutional, and campaign fundraising efforts are integrated, donor relationships are managed thoughtfully, and campaign donors remain engaged with Creative Action over time.

Skills

Leadership

Donor Cultivation

Strategic Planning

Storytelling

Team Development

Relationship Building

Board Engagement

Tools

CRM systems

Fundraising software

Job description

Creative Action is hiring a Chief Development Officer to lead a comprehensive development program and expand philanthropic support in Central Texas. You will personally cultivate major donors, guide a high-performing team, and partner with the Board to advance fundraising across multiple streams.

The role requires 7+ years of nonprofit fundraising leadership, exceptional relationship-building, and a collaborative style. Hybrid work and competitive salary are offered to support impact.