Vice President of Business Development

Confluence Philanthropy; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 160,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Confluence Philanthropy in New York City seeks a Vice President of Business Development to guide fundraising, membership growth, and brand stewardship. This leadership role reports to the CEO and manages a 3.5-person team, with travel required for conferences and donor engagement.

The role drives strategy across grants, sponsorships, and donor communications, shapes development initiatives, and partners with the executive team to advance sustainable investing and mission-aligned impact.

Qualifications

• Minimum ten years of nonprofit fundraising experience including grantwriting.
• Minimum five years in corporate partnerships.
• Minimum five years managing direct reports.
• Experience in a membership organization desirable.
• Excellent written and oral communication; AI usage prohibited in assignments.
• Degree in business, marketing, communications, or equivalent experience.
• Willingness to travel 3-5 times per year and 2-4 external local events monthly.

Responsibilities

• Membership Cultivation and Recruitment: lead recruitment and manage staff performance.
• Grants, Sponsorships and Reporting: oversee grant development, sponsorships, and reporting materials.
• Communications and Marketing: protect and build the Confluence brand; oversee social media and communications.
• Donor Recruitment and Recognition Events: coordinate donor events and sponsor recognition efforts.
• Business Development: strategize growth, diversify revenue, and form partnerships.

Skills

Fundraising

Grant writing

Donor cultivation

Sponsorships

Team leadership

Communications

Event planning

Strategic planning

Education

Business/Marketing/Communications degree

Job description

Confluence Philanthropy is a non-profit, membership-based network with a mission to transform the practice of investing by aligning capital with our community’s values of sustainability, equity, and justice. In 2026, we launched a public benefit LLC, Confluence Overview Effect, to better serve the investment managers in our network. Our membership consists of 250 foundations, family offices, and investment firms committed to addressing the most intractable environmental and social issues of our time. They represent over $3 trillion in managed capital. Members are predominantly based in the U.S., with some abroad.

Confluence is a tight-knit, collaborative team that is deeply engaged with a diverse membership motivated by a shared sense of urgency. We are prized by our members for thought-provoking and industry-shifting content. We host two annual multi-day conferences, regional, and virtual learning and networking events throughout the year. We remain an intentionally lean organization with a budget of $2.6MM and nine staff. Most of our resource base is earned revenue.

Position Overview

The Vice President of Business Development is a member of the Management Team and leads the business development functions of the organization with a predominant focus on fundraising (sales, grant funding, and corporate sponsorships), membership engagement (recruitment vs attrition) and brand management. This position supports the Executive Team in decision-making around organizational growth and strategy and manages Overview’s Business Advancement & Membership Committee. The Vice President of Business Development leads a team of 3.50 full-time staff.

Confluence is a fast-paced, dynamic organization with multiple initiatives. The culture of this organization is deeply committed, focused, highly collaborative, and strives to be “the best” at what we do – which is stewarding an investor community, serious about protecting people and the planet. We take great pride in creating fun because shared joy builds unity. The Vice President of Business Development is exceptionally well-organized, creates and upholds transparent processes to support the team and gets things done efficiently by leading with charisma, grace, and hopefully, humor.

The Vice President of Business Development is a collaborative strategist who creates and executes plans by working with others. The successful candidate has a proven entrepreneurial mindset that makes change by building trust. High social intelligence, exhibited in a discreet and effective communication style are key characteristics for promotion. This leader is present and inquisitive, captures details, and builds business partnerships that feel regenerative. The pathway to leadership is to become the Chief Development Officer.

Since, ultimately, people are at the heart of our mission, the Vice President of Business Development exhibits gratitude naturally, makes supporting Confluence easy and rewarding, and enjoys spending time with our members. This requires a focused leader who is available for travel and local evening networking on a regular basis.

Reports to: CEO

Compensation: Full-time with a $160,000–$170,000 salary, plus highly competitive benefits

Hybrid Location: New York City (mid-town) Office – required minimum 4 days per week in office. Eligible candidates must legally reside in New York or New Jersey.

Responsibilities

Membership Cultivation and Recruitment (30%)

• Confluence is a relationship-based investors network. Cultivate the network’s values within the organization and the membership, making this a place people want to be. Lead annual member recruitment.
• Oversee internal systems to motivate and manage staff in meeting annual recruitment goals; lead monthly recruitment team meetings; develop dashboards to track membership recruitment and participation for the Board. Regularly share progress updates internally for accountability and coordination.
• Collaborate with Program Team to inform Confluence’s member engagement process and deepen member services. As part of that, d evelop authentic relationships with members and partners to enrich the membership experience.
• Oversee the Development and Program Teams in development related responsibilities.
• Expect 3-5 trips per year.

Grants, Sponsorships and Reporting (25%)

• Oversee grant development and sponsorship solicitation strategy and execution.
• Oversee the development team to craft fundraising strategies and grant workplans; manage data points and building the story; devise reporting materials for grants; oversee the creation of the Annual Report.
• Craft and execute donor cultivation plans, including relationship development
• Effectively support the Board in meeting annual fundraising campaign goals.

Communications and Marketing (15%)

• Play a strong role in protecting, managing and building Confluence brands by overseeing marketing communications and the use of social media.
• Oversee branding guidelines and advise protocols for the use of social media.
• O versee communications consultant(s) and staff hires as related.

Donor Recruitment and Recognition Events (20%)

• Deploy the Executive Team and Board effectively to maximize development and marketing opportunities.
• Oversee the production of donor and sponsorship recognition events and benefits.

Business Development (10%)

• Strategize with the Executive Team in evolving the business model.
• Develop new business opportunities including significant industry partnerships and strategies to further diversify revenue streams.

Qualifications

Confluence is committed to employing humans. We ensure that our team embodies the professionalism and hard skills expected of this competitive position so that the use of AI is not required to perform duties.

• Minimum ten years of experience in nonprofit fundraising – grantwriting, donor cultivation, recognition events, and sponsorship.
• Minimum five years’ experience in structuring corporate partnerships. We will request a reference.
• Minimum five years’ experience in managing a team of direct reports. We will request a reference.
• Experience in a membership organization highly desirable.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills. A non- AI supported written exercise will be required.
• Experience in devising development strategies required – a mock example presentation and mock donor pitch will be a component of the interviewing process. The use of AI to create these materials will be prohibited.
• Degree in business, marketing, communications, or equivalent experience, graduate preferred
• Attention to detail, highly organized, efficient, with a self-directed work style.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. Exceptional time-management skills are required to succeed. A related reference from the most recent supervisor will be required.
• Demonstrated interest in environmental and social investing and/or innovations in the philanthropic, financial or social enterprise sectors.
• Ability to travel 3-5 times per year, with 2-4 external local events per month (early evenings or weekend social events).
• Ability to perform well under pressure, with patience and a sense of humor.