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Development Director

Applications will close at 11:59 pm U.S. Pacific Time on April 30, 2025.

Development Director Job Description

Supported by: Executive Director

Hours: Full-time

Salary: $96,219 according to set salary policy

Location: Remote; open to candidates in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom*

Application window: Applications will close at 11:59pm PDT on April 30, 2025

Ideal candidate start date: By July 14, 2025

*For the perfect candidate who can work in U.S./E.U. time zones, we’re willing to consider hiring outside of these regions.

About Animal Charity Evaluators

Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE) is a registered nonprofit that uses evidence and reason to serve people who want to help animals. Trillions of animals experience extensive but avoidable suffering on farms and in the wild, which motivates our team to contribute to a world where all animals can flourish, regardless of their species. We work toward this goal by identifying where donations can best help animals and awarding grants to promising projects that help animals around the globe.

Position purpose

The Development Director is accountable for securing the financial support needed for running Animal Charity Evaluators (ACE), as well as for increasing funds for the effective animal advocacy movement to optimally advance ACE’s theory of change.

Key areas of responsibility

Strategy and leadership — 20%

  • Develop, implement, and direct a development plan that provides financial security for and aligns with ACE’s strategic goals.
  • Contribute to an organization-wide strategy that will influence counterfactual new funding to high-impact animal protection initiatives.
  • Optimize and align strategies in support of ACE’s own work with those in support of our Recommended Charities and Movement Grant recipients.
  • Identify challenges and emerging issues faced by the sector and organization, and define and execute appropriate solutions and opportunities to address those challenges.
  • Analyze opportunities to optimize our fundraising for effective animal advocacy from our target audiences.
  • Set KPIs and annual OKRs for the department and contribute to organizational strategic plan development.
  • Facilitate productive collaborations with other departments to ensure accurate representation of our work to our supporters.
  • Manage the Development budget.

Fundraising for ACE — 25%

  • Develop, oversee, and execute cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies to secure five- to seven-figure gifts from individual donors and grantmakers for ACE’s operating budget.
  • Identify funding needs and opportunities in conjunction with the Executive Director.
  • Write donor proposals, impact reports, and general updates in partnership with members of senior leadership.
  • Work with the Executive Director to cultivate strong donor relationships.
  • Represent ACE at (virtual) events and prepare other staff for donor interactions.
  • Review external communication for fundraising efficacy.
  • Manage all philanthropy-related projects as needed.

Fundraising for effective animal advocacy — 25%

  • Develop, oversee, and execute cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies to secure five- to seven-figure gifts from individual donors, grantmakers, giving circles, meta-fundraising groups, and corporate employee giving programs for our Recommended Charities and Movement Grant recipients.
  • Oversee ideation and management of workplace giving initiatives to raise funds for our Recommended Charity Fund.
  • Write donor proposals, impact reports, and general updates in partnership with members of senior leadership.
  • Work with the Programs team to identify short- and long-term funding needs and develop strategies to secure ongoing support for program-related priorities that align with ACE’s long-term goals.
  • Expand and manage the legacy giving program.
  • Collaborate with the Communications Director to align on fundraising messaging and campaigns.

Supporting development staff — 10%

  • Coach your team member(s), helping them identify opportunities for growth by expanding on their strengths or overcoming performance and skill gaps.
  • Create the conditions that allow your team to thrive, ensuring mission alignment and clarity on priorities, plans, and expectations for success.
  • Model our guiding principles.
  • Help connect your team member(s) with the resources they need to achieve their best results, including feedback, coaching, introductions, and learning tools.
  • Keep your team informed about organization-wide and cross-departmental goals and changes, and communicate necessary information from your team to the broader organization.

Measurement, evaluation, and learning — 10%

  • Implement and maintain tracking mechanisms to measure the department’s impact on the organization’s theory of change.
  • Assess the effectiveness of our fundraising initiatives (such as SEO, social media, event attendance, newsletters, ads, earned media, AMAs, etc.).
  • Evaluate donors’ experience with ACE to ensure their continued positive perceptions.
  • Share transferable lessons learned within and with other departments, and optimize our tactics, strategies, and messaging based on these learnings.
  • Maintain knowledge of marketing and fundraising trends and best practices, and evaluate emerging technologies to advance ACE’s theory of change.
  • Stay informed on international regulations on fundraising practices to ensure legal compliance.

Administration, planning, and organizational collaboration — 10%

  • Plan daily work
  • General admin
  • Maintain vendor relations
  • Connect with staff

Qualifications

Essential

You do not need to excel in every single quality listed here, but each of these abilities will be necessary to be successful as our Development Director.

  • You have affinity with ACE’s mission, vision, and guiding principles.
  • You have led fundraising or marketing campaigns.
  • You understand how to measure and evaluate fundraising strategies.
  • You can direct the implementation of individualized donor strategies, events, and gift-matching opportunities to meet ACE’s fundraising goals.
  • You are comfortable explaining the benefits and principles of effective giving to donors of different backgrounds.
  • You optimize your communication style and methods for the individuals you engage to maximize fundraising results, both written and verbal.
  • You are sensitive in dealing with confidential information
  • You have a clear picture of the global philanthropic landscape, with an understanding of the U.S. animal protection giving space.
  • You have the level of financial expertise needed to contribute to fundraising goal-setting and organizational budget preparation, analysis, and reporting.
  • You are productive working in a fully remote environment
  • You can independently prioritize and manage various tasks and deadlines.
  • You can work productively under pressure.
  • You have planned and successfully led complicated projects from start to finish.
  • You consider the context and consequences of your work for the mission of the organization.
  • You understand how diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion impact the quality and effectiveness of our work.
  • You strive to deliver high-quality work.
  • You have social insight and the ability to support a variety of learning and working styles.
  • You think critically and question the status quo to improve impact.
  • You have experience leading and supporting others to reach their potential and overcome skill and performance gaps.
  • You give feedback for improvement even when it’s difficult, and even to your peers.
  • You have experience building an inclusive and engaged working environment.
  • You are able and willing to work evenings and weekends as needed during the busy periods, especially in November through January.

Preferred qualifications/skills

Please apply even if you do not have the experience listed below; these would be nice to have but are not required.

  • You are familiar with animal advocacy.
  • You have worked for a charity or nonprofit organization for five years.
  • You do not shy away from productive conflicts.
  • You are familiar with effective altruism or effective giving principles.
  • You are familiar with Salesforce, Fundraise Up, Asana, Slack, and Google office products.

We invite anyone who is interested to apply, regardless of their background, experience, or credentials. We aim to select candidates based on performance and actively try to minimize the influence of our biases. There is no perfect candidate; if you can picture yourself thriving in this role, we’d love to review your application.

Please note: You will not be asked to submit a resume or cover letter to apply for this role. Any resumes or cover letters that we receive will not be reviewed or considered in the hiring process. We believe these evaluation methods introduce unnecessary bias and are not effective for selecting the best candidate.

Commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunities

We believe the best decisions are made when diverse perspectives are included. As such, we remain committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization. We want to engage all those who can contribute to our mission and to making an impact for animals.

We strongly encourage Black, Indigenous, and people of the global majority, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, persons living with disabilities, caregivers, and people of various socioeconomic backgrounds to apply for this position. A college degree is not required.

Animal Charity Evaluators is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, creed or religion, sex, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, body size, national origin, disability, age, marital status, veteran status, family status, genetic information or characteristics (or those of a family member), ancestry, place of origin, social condition, political belief or activity, conviction of an offense for which a pardon has been granted or in which a record suspension has been ordered, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Benefits

Our team works hard, but we also make time for our families, animal companions, friends, hobbies, and, of course, our own health. Full-time staff are eligible for the following benefits:

  • 6 weeks of paid leave, split between PTO and holidays (the exact split is dependent on your country of residence and the number of mandatory holidays recognized by your country)
  • Uncapped sick leave
  • Flexible scheduling
  • A professional development stipend
  • Paid parental, family, and medical leave
  • Paid sabbaticals every five years
  • A health reimbursement plan (U.S. employees) or health stipend plan (non-U.S. employees) to offset private insurance costs
  • Disability insurance (U.S. employees only)

Application process

Step 1 – by April 30: Fill out the application questions below
Step 2 – by May 8: Top candidates will be invited to complete a series of paid work tasks
Step 3 – by May 22: Top candidates will be invited to take part in an interview (conducted by video call)
Step 4 – by June 19: ACE will make a final decision and notify all remaining applicants
Ideal candidate start date: By July 14, 2025

All applications will be processed in strict confidentiality, and applicants will be anonymous to the hiring committee until the interview stage.

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