Director, National Foundation Partnerships

ROLE: Director, National Foundation Partnerships

REPORTS TO: Irmak Karayel Ramsey, Managing Director, National Foundations Partnership

APPLICATION DEADLINE: January 24, 2025 at 11:59pm ET

LOCATION: Flexible

WHAT YOU’LL DO

The Director, National Foundation Partnerships, stewards foundation relationships and meets grant deliverables to reach the foundation team’s annual fundraising goal of $20M+. The Director will report to the Managing Director, National Foundation Partnerships, and be responsible for cultivating and stewarding a robust portfolio of Foundation donors with an annual revenue goal of $1 million to $1.5 million while also contributing to the broader central fundraising team’s strategies. Strategic thinking and excellent operational and communication skills are essential as you work in close partnership with a Managing Director and Development Team leadership to ensure that we meet our team’s ambitious fundraising goals. While the exact workstreams of the Director, National Foundation Partnerships may shift with changing needs and priorities, in this role, you will directly manage a portfolio of donors and support relationships with high-stakes donors. We seek candidates who demonstrate exceptional judgment and personal accountability for the success of high-stakes donor relationships and ownership of ambitious, shared team-wide goals. They will also be deeply committed to cultivating a strong team culture that reflects Teach For America’s core values and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

Fundraising, Portfolio Management, and Support (90%):

• Execute donor strategy, including anticipating the needs of and next steps with donors and prospects and independently taking proactive and appropriate action to advance them. 

• Build strong relationships with foundation partners to cultivate, solicit, and steward foundations’ investments that advance the mission of Teach For America.

• Produce high-quality deliverables, including meeting preparation documents, grant proposals/updates, reports, and e-mail correspondence on behalf of senior leaders that align funder interests with Teach For America’s mission, strategy, and antiracist stance.

• Build, maintain, and continuously refine complex grant and portfolio management systems with limited supervision, including building grant budgets and implementation systems, data tracking and analysis, and progress monitoring.

• Source, pursue, and secure new and diverse foundations donors, designing effective grants and engagement strategies that advance Teach For America’s mission and strategy.

• Develop program and donor knowledge needed to produce excellent donor communications that meet each portfolio's cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship objectives.

• Fulfill best-in-class records management via TFA’s Salesforce database (e.g., gift processing and gift data for portfolio, contact information, etc.).

• Work alongside development leadership to understand and advance donor strategy and interactions.

Cross-team support and special projects (10%)

• Actively reflect on, seek to embody, and promote strong team culture, antiracist fundraising practices, and TFA’s core values and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness.

• Partner across the development team on special projects related to strategic priorities, operational improvements, antiracist fundraising practices, and team engagements and/or meetings

WHAT YOU’LL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR

There are more than 16 million children growing up in poverty in the U.S., and less than 10 percent of them will graduate from college. These statistics are not a reflection of our children’s potential; we know that children growing up in poverty can and do achieve at the highest levels. Rather, these statistics reflect the systemic lack of access and opportunity for children in low-income communities.

Teach For America’s (TFA) mission is to find, develop, and support a diverse network of leaders committed to expanding opportunity for children from classrooms, schools, and every sector and field that shapes the broader systems in which schools operate. We are seeking individuals who align with our mission, core values and commitment to Diversity Equity & Inclusiveness and are ready to join us in this global movement.

YOUR EXPERIENCE

Education and Professional Experience

• Bachelor