Chief Development Officer

ABOUT PLAYWORKS, at Playworks we believe in the power of play to bring out the best in every kid. We are changing the school climate by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. We create a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. We partner with schools, districts, and after-school programs to provide a service or mix of services including on-site coaches, professional training for school staff who support recess, and consultative partnerships.

ABOUT THE ROLE, reporting to Elizabeth Cushing, Playworks’ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Development Officer (CDO) serves as a key leadership team member and an active participant in making strategic decisions affecting Playworks nationwide.  In partnership with the CEO and in collaboration with development leaders, this position is responsible for developing fundraising strategy and orchestrating effective implementation across Playworks’ network of development professionals. The successful candidate will help forge new and sustain existing relationships to build Playworks’ visibility, impact and financial resources. The CDO also will design and implement a comprehensive plan for collaboratively developing key external partnerships by cultivating, soliciting and stewarding philanthropic support from individuals, corporations and foundations.   

The CDO will have primary responsibility for establishing and implementing the infrastructure needed to create a “One Playworks” fundraising strategy.  This includes building standards of practice for relationship management, developing key performance indicators for all fundraising staff, investing in professional development strategies, and creating a culture of joy and promise on the organization-wide Development team.  The CDO will deftly balance the need for local autonomy and entrepreneurial spirit with the need to develop and scale organization-wide best practices.  

The CDO will expand and diversify the organization’s donor base/pipeline and work closely with other team members to secure funding for existing and new Playworks programs. The CDO will work closely with the National Board of Directors and support board members in their revenue-raising role.   

The position reports to the CEO and serves as a member of the executive management team.  The CDO will participate with the Board of Directors, CEO and other organizational-level leaders in charting the direction of Playworks, assuring its accountability to all constituencies and ensuring its effective operation. Within Playworks, the position has primary working relationships with the CEO, senior management team, and VPs. The CDO directly supervises HQ Development team: Director of Individual Giving and Director of Major Gifts.

In addition to meeting the strategic expectations outlined above, the CDO is responsible for the following:

• Develop a multi-year fundraising  strategy with clear measures of success, alignment to Playworks’ strategic plan, and effective engagement of all regional fundraisers to scale and sustain all fundraising initiatives
• Consistently collaborate with fundraising teams to implement and support strategies, manage portfolios and engage regional Executive Directors in achieve their fundraising goals
• Develop strategies to recruit leading philanthropists and corporations with standard pricing models, donor experiences, and clearly articulated returns on philanthropic investments
• Develop and implement a stewardship program aimed at cultivating deeper ties with donors and institutions 
• Actively work with the CEO, development staff, and senior staff to develop and implement a diversified revenue strategy to include support from individuals, families, corporations, and foundations
• Support and partner with the CEO and Board members on all major fundraising and programs
• Collaborate with the CEO, CFO, President, and Board Development Committee on budget formation and management
• Manage HQ Development Department fundraising and a portfolio of significant supporters across all fundraising streams
• Recruit major philanthropic support from youth- and education-focused philanthropists, corporations, and institutional foundations
• Oversee and research funding sources and trends, with foresight, to help position Playworks ahead of major funding changes or trends
• Monitor and report regularly on the progress of the development program 
• Train, develop, lead, coach, and mentor the development team
• Establish a professional development program for all fundraising staff
• Create a culture of philanthropy across all functional areas of Playworks, whereby all staff understand their role in the fundraising strategy

The ideal candidate will have: 

• 15+ years of executive-level fundraising experience in a nonprofit organization; demonstrated success in a revenue-raising function (managing and forging relationships with donors across all revenue streams). Candidate will ideally have experience with earned revenue raising from educational institutions
• Experience with distributed models of development staffing and diverse regional contexts
• High energy and passion for Playworks and its mission is essential 
• An understanding of education and youth development in the United States and the role Playworks plays in supporting children’s healthy development and learning 
• Tangible experience of having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships over time 
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; ability to influence and engage a wide range of donors and build long-term relationships 
• Strong organizational, leadership and mentoring skills 
• The ability to manage and lead through significant change
• Flexible and adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical fundraising and earned revenue programs
• Ability to work both independently without close oversight, and also a team player who will productively engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside of the development function
• Knowledge of donor database management – preferably a detailed knowledge of Salesforce Customer Relationship Management software
• Bachelor’s Degree required, Master’s Degree preferred
• Ability to construct, articulate, and implement both an annual strategic revenue plan and a multi-year revenue-raising strategy 
• Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail 
• Customer focus; donor centric vision
• A professional and resourceful style; takes initiative, and listens well to leaders at all levels of an organization

Compensation & Benefits:

Playworks offers the full package–great benefits, a fun place to work and an opportunity to grow and thrive professionally. We offer:

• This is a remote, full-time exempt position that reports to the Chief Executive Officer. 
• At Playworks, our starting salary takes into consideration internal pay equity, geographic pay differential and robust external market data. We highly value transparency and equity within compensation and therefore are committed to adhering to established compensation pay points. The starting salary for this position is $200,000.
• A comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, 401(k) with employer match, life insurance, employee funded pre-tax health and child care spending accounts.
• Generous flexible time off with sick and holiday leave.

This is a hands-on, creative, playful and fun-loving place to work, all while contributing to the success of our nation’s youth. So if you're ready to immerse yourself in the education sector, working on a rewarding set of challenges and if you've got the skills, experience, passion, and a team spirit, apply!

Please include:

• A cover letter describing your interest in Playworks and how your experience has prepared you for this role
• Resume
• References will be requested

Our core values of cultivating play, center equity, continued learning and collaboration within communities are the foundation of our organization and are infused in all aspects of our work.

As an equal opportunity program, Playworks encourages applications from all individuals regardless of age, gender, gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, faith, marital status, physical ability, or any other legally protected basis. Playworks evaluates all candidates for employment, volunteering opportunities or board service on a merit basis.