Hybrid Senior Director of Development

at Arts Alliance Illinois

• Job title: Senior Director of Development
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Senior
• Salary: $102,000 - $113,500 per year
• Degree requirement: No Education Requirement
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Chicago, United States

About the role

• Senior Director of Development leading fundraising strategy and execution for Arts Alliance Illinois. Requires strong project management and donor engagement skills with 90% remote work.

Responsibilities

• Maintain a portfolio of 20–30 major donors, leading all cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, lead strategy for gifts $25,000+ and collaborate with the Development Manager to grow donors in the $1,000–$24,999 range.
• Serve as the primary solicitor for special campaigns, creative sector initiatives, and programmatic or policy-related fundraising.
• Engage the Board Fund Development Committee in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major donor prospects.
• Lead prospecting for new individual, foundation, corporate, and government supporters.
• Conduct regular outreach to broaden the donor pipeline and deepen relationships with program officers, philanthropic partners, and civic leaders.
• Act as a public representative of the Alliance at donor, partner, and sector events.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive multi-year fundraising strategy, including major gifts, annual fund, membership, foundation/government grants, and event revenue (including the annual benefit).
• Oversee the annual benefit and other donor events: Partner with the Executive Director and Board on strategy; Lead revenue planning, sponsorship strategy, and invitation pipeline development; Collaborate with the Development Manager and external vendors to ensure strong project management and execution.
• Supervise the Development Manager (FT), Grant Writer (PT), Membership Manager (PT), and Data & Technology Manager (PT).
• Oversee creation and maintenance of fundraising materials, including case statements, program overviews, annual/impact reports, and donor communications.
• Partner with Communications to develop and execute year-round donor and member engagement strategies.
• Optimize Salesforce and other tools to strengthen prospecting, donor stewardship, reporting, and pipeline management.
• Ensure timely and accurate grant reporting, compliance, and stewardship across all funding areas.
• Manage fiscal sponsorship relationships, including communication, documentation, and administrative oversight.
• Partner with the Senior Director of Finance and our external accounting partner on reconciliation, forecasting, reporting, and budgeting.
• Manage and support Board Development Committee work, including identification of prospective board members and governance-related processes.

Requirements

• 7+ years of nonprofit fundraising experience, including 3+ years in a donor-facing role
• A track record of securing five- to six-figure gifts
• Experience leading or managing a high-functioning development team
• Experience in multiple areas of giving: major gifts, annual fund, campaigns, events, foundation/corporate giving, and/or government grants
• Strong project management, organizational, and strategic planning skills
• Ability to self-direct while working collaboratively in a remote environment
• Strong communication skills with a donor-centered, relationship-based approach
• Preferred Skills
• Ability to analyze and translate data into actionable fundraising insights
• Commitment to cultural competence and inclusive stakeholder engagement
• Proficiency with Salesforce or other fundraising CRMs
• Familiarity with nonprofit accounting principles
• Proficiency with Google Suite, Zoom, and project management tools
• CFRE or similar certification
• Knowledge of Chicago and Illinois philanthropic landscapes
• Experience with fundraising in the arts, culture, or creative sector

Benefits

• This is a full-time exempt position with a salary range of $102,000 – $113,500 commensurate with experience.
• Arts Alliance Illinois offers a comprehensive benefits package that supports a healthy and sustainable work–life balance.
• We believe access to arts & culture makes communities stronger and healthier, and therefore advocating for the arts is a common interest shared by all residents of Illinois regardless of background or political affiliation.
• We believe public funding for the arts is a good thing.
• We believe the biggest contribution a person can make to stop the spread of COVID-19 is getting vaccinated – whenever there’s no medical or religious exemption.
• We encourage professional development, rest, and transparency about your capacity.
• We are a small organization where sometimes we need to help our co-workers during heavy workloads.
• We work hard, but we also support taking time away during the day to nap, run an errand, or do whatever you need to make remote environments work for you.
• We discourage working nights/weekends but understand that staff have different rhythms when they are most productive. Occasionally we need to adapt to urgent, politically-imposed, deadlines, but we balance them with time off.
• We cultivate a professional yet collegial work environment where sharing personal anecdotes, playlists, jokes, etc, is welcome.
• We encourage staff members to assume good intentions from colleagues during moments of conflict or confusion while being intentional about creating space for harm to be acknowledged and repaired.
• We acknowledge that individuals and organizations can perpetuate environments where discrimination goes unchecked. To ensure we have a shared language to address these challenges, staff members attend an Introduction to Systemic Racism training.
• We celebrate diversity and don’t seek to assimilate anyone into a broader “work culture.” We make space for people from different cultural, social, political, and religious backgrounds to share and influence the work we do by being their true selves.
• Finally, we recognize that we will always have work to do to improve our office culture and are looking for team members who will enjoy engaging in that process.