Our Houseis seeking a strategic, mission-driven leader to join our Executive Leadership Team as Interim Chief Development Officer (CDO). This is a high-impact role for a seasoned professional ready to lead integrated fundraising, marketing, and communications strategies that fuel our mission and grow our visibility.
Position Summary:
The Interim Chief Development Officer (CDO) will play a key leadership role in driving fundraising growth and brand visibility for Our House. As a trusted advisor to the CEO and a member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CDO provides strategic direction, team leadership, and oversight of all fundraising, marketing, and communications functions.
The CDO is responsible for building a culture of philanthropy across the organization, stewarding key donor relationships, overseeing marketing initiatives that elevate the brand, and ensuring alignment with Our House’s long-term strategic goals. This position also manages the Fundraising and Marketing Committee of the Board and leads organizational planning efforts related to development, outreach, and community engagement.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Organizational Leadership and Management
- Serve as a member of the Executive Leadership Team providing leadership and guidance on organizational development priorities and opportunities building and sustaining a culture of philanthropy across the organization.
- Serve as a thought partner for the CEO in the areas of Fundraising Marketing and Communications.
- Build and lead a team to develop and execute against multi-year strategic goals and annual workplans aligned with Orr House’s goals and strategies.
- Provide strategic partnership to the Fundraising and Marketing Committee of the Board Of Directors ensuring all board members are engaged in fundraising.
- Lead cross-departmental planning processes related to fundraising, marketing, communications and community engagement.
- Help sustain a culture of planning and of performance-based work and evaluation.
Fundraising Leadership
- Develop and implement a comprehensive multi-channeled fundraising strategy that effectively secures and builds financial support for Our House’s projects, programs and mission work.
- Cultivate and secure major gifts and corporate sponsorships, leveraging meaningful relationships with donors, foundations, and government agencies.
- Establish and maintain a highly engaging donor cultivation cycle and gift stewardship program to ensure that new donors are developed, existing donors remain committed and all donors benefit from a closer relationship with Our House.
- Lead efforts to in building year-over-year revenues, leveraging existing vehicles (events, direct mail, corporate partnerships, volunteerism, etc.) and strengthening or creating others in alignment with Our House’s strategic plan.
- Plan and execute Our House’s fundraising events with an eye toward continuous improvement and growth.
- Lead Our House’s fund development activities, manage the day-to-day operations of the development function.
Marketing andCommunications Leadership
- Create and amplify a positive public image, brand, and reputation for Our House.
- Oversee a comprehensive multi-channel marketing strategy that enhances our brand visibility, drives donor engagement, and amplifies our mission work.
- Plan and execute, strategic and integrated marketing and communications strategies that include internal and external communications, spokesperson training, website content, electronic and social media, and print collateral to build brand positioning and familiarity.
- Lead community engagement efforts designed to increase the visibility of Our House and to connect with volunteers and in-kind donors.
- Represent the Our House in appropriate community forums, serving as public speaker where necessary.
Community Engagement and Volunteer
- Develop and oversee the implementation of a robust community engagement and volunteer program.
- Ensure all volunteer opportunities and activities support the programmatic work of the organization.
- Support the conversion of volunteers into donors.
- Support the organization efforts in soliciting, tracking and deploying in kind donations.
Evaluation and Compliance Leadership
- Harness technology and data to drive results, optimize systems, and support donor
engagement and retention. - Ensures quality quantitative and qualitative data in donor database, donor profiles and reporting.
- Ensures compliance with all applicable philanthropic and government grant requirements metrics and insights to regularly assess efficacy of the marketing and communications plan against fund development conversion impacts and other key metrics and to support learning and improvement.
Serve as ex-officio member of all standing Board committees, providing counsel to the Board and engaging the Board effectively.
Disclaimer: This job description is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of all job functions that an employee in this position may be asked to perform. Duties and responsibilities can be changed, expanded, reduced, or delegated by management to meet the business needs of Our House.
Qualifications:
Education
- A bachelor’s degree is required, and an advanced degree is preferred in a related field.
Experience
- Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience including leading a fundraising team.
- Demonstrated success leading diverse revenue portfolios of $10M+ annually.
- Proven track record in securing major gifts, multi-year grants, and strategic corporate alliances.
- Experience navigating federal funding streams and partnerships.
- Experience working directly with executive leadership and Board members to support fundraising goals.
- CFRE desired.
Schedule Requirements:
- Monday through Friday during standard business hours.
- This role may occasionally require evening and weekend availability to support events, deadlines, and organizational priorities.
Skills:
- Comprehensive Leadership: Confidence, authority, and acumen to oversee complex development, budgeting, and programming in a rapidly changing environment.
- Emotional Intelligence:to develop and maintain genuine, egalitarian relationships with various stakeholders including staff, funders, elected officials, community leaders, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Mission Alignment: Wholeheartedly embraces and embodies the mission of Our House, Inc.
- Effective Organization: Exceptional ability to organize, direct, prioritize, and delegate tasks effectively.
- Analytical Proficiency: Excellent analytical skills for reporting and administrative tasks.
- Cultural Proficiency: Proficient in interacting and collaborating with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
- Professional Collaboration: Skilled at working professionally with managers, co-workers, diverse audiences, and professional groups. Adept at managing and coordinating activities and projects.
- Clear Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills for internal and external stakeholders, consistently demonstrating a positive customer service attitude.
- Ethical Integrity: Consistently uphold ethical standards and quality public service, fostering inclusivity among all stakeholders.
- Community Awareness: Knowledgeable about community resources.
- Workload Management: Proficient in organizing and prioritizing workloads to meet deadlines.
- Autonomy and Flexibility: Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and adapt to shifting priorities while maintaining confidentiality.
- Feedback Receptiveness: Willingness to receive and integrate constructive feedback, including evaluation of productivity and practice attributes.
- Technological Competence: Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite and other relevant software systems necessary for operational success.
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to lift and carry up to 30 pounds.
- Prolonged sitting and typing are required.
- Regular use of hands and arms to operate standard office equipment.
Health Requirements:
- Proof of Tuberculosis (TB) test clearance required prior to employment.
- Must comply with any additional health screenings or vaccinations required by Our House or other regulatory agencies.
Work Environment:
- Team-oriented environment with regular communication across departments.
- Fast-paced, collaborative, and service-oriented, supporting both internal staff and organizational initiatives.
