Development Director

 Position Status: Full-time, Exempt
Reports to: CEO
Salary: $130,000-150,000
Location: Hybrid; 2+ days a week in Brooklyn, New York office
Status: Accepting applications

The Development Director (DD) leads creation and implementation of Chicken & Egg Films’ (C&E) strategies to cultivate donor relationships that support our mission-driven work through financial contributions. The DD plays a pivotal role on the senior leadership team and works in close partnership with the CEO, providing strategic leadership to grow and sustain C&E’s innovative programs for women and gender-expansive filmmakers.

Responsible for developing a multi-year fundraising plan to increase revenue from foundations, individual donors, and corporate partners, the DD leads a department of three to deliver results through focused annual goals and activities. This position, in collaboration with the senior leadership team, will help steward and engage current and prospective Board Members. 

We seek a colleague with expertise in institutional and major gift programs, ideally working in one or more of the following fields: gender equity, documentary film, human rights, and social justice. If you do not have experience in the documentary field, you are curious about it and are inspired by Chicken & Egg Films’ vision of an inclusive and equitable media industry.

Chicken & Egg Films is a nonprofit organization that provides a global community of women and gender expansive documentary filmmakers with creative and financial support to realize their cinematic visions and build fulfilling careers. We envision an equitable and just world shaped by the power of documentary films.

RESPONSIBILITIES (including but not limited to)

Fundraising and Cultivation

• Develop and implement a comprehensive multi-year development strategy with measurable goals and objectives 
• Serve as the primary advisor to the CEO on development strategies to leverage opportunities and initiatives, providing insights and trends within philanthropy, documentary, and adjacent spaces 
• Manage a portfolio of donors (building on existing relationships, initiating new relationships, and improving donor retention) through meaningful cultivation and stewardship strategies
• Identify and cultivate opportunities to grow long-term relationships that yield high donor engagement and giving
• Develop a Board engagement plan to harness their ideas, talents, and resources in collaboration with executive team
• Conceptualize, manage, and write, as needed, grant proposals, reports, and a suite of donor communication and messaging tools and content to inform and engage donors on C&E’s programs, successes, and impact
• Design and build metrics dashboard to measure development results that will enable C&E to make increasingly informed decisions, pivots, and enhancements in its development strategy, goals, and activities
• Ensure compliance with funder regulations and specific terms and conditions of grant awards
• Conceptualize and oversee the production and execution of all fundraising and development events, activities, and special projects; develop a long-range calendar of events and ensure project timelines are met

Leadership and Management

• Manage, coach, and retain a development team and consultants by fostering a culture of collaboration, skill-building, and knowledge sharing
• Lead the team in understanding, applying, and adopting innovative development trends, tools, and resources; build a culture of development education and engagement internally
• Manage the department’s resources, budgets, and consultants
• Ensure that C&E’s commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and anti-racism are prioritized in all development activities
• Act as a spokesperson for C&E at external meetings and industry events, as appropriate

While no one candidate will embody all the qualifications below, a strong candidate will possess many of the following skills, experiences, and attributes. 

Fundraising

• 10+ years experience working within a non-profit organization with direct experience developing, shaping, and implementing organizational development strategies and goals
• Verifiable track record in growing major donor programs and securing six+ figure multi-year gifts, with particular success in foundation and individual giving
• Knowledge of the entrenched challenges and structural inequity issues that affect fundraising practices and understanding of how community-centric fundraising approaches help address and resolve them

People Management

• 3+ years in senior leadership roles supervising individuals and teams with proven experience developing and empowering high-performing staff
• A management approach oriented toward coaching, facilitating, and leading through influence rather than authority

Field Experience

• Experience in the independent filmmaking sector with an understanding of current documentary field-level issues and their implications for our work would be ideal
• Work experience in one or more of the following fields: gender equity, documentary film, human rights, and social justice is an asset

Leadership

• Outstanding communication skills, both written and verbal, with experience in crafting compelling fundraising messages
• Leads by example; models intra- and inter-team collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Proactive and creative problem solver who takes initiative, has confidence and resourcefulness to find solutions that achieve desired outcomes while demonstrating a capacity to learn and self-evaluate
• Excellent project manager with a keen attention to detail and time management ability

Emotional and Relational Intelligence

• Outstanding listening skills with ability to manage expectations; keen ability to identify, synthesize, and readily communicate information in a compelling and engaging manner across a variety of mediums; superior ability to read the room and nimbly adjust tone and approach 
• Employs practices to de-escalate conflict; is respectful, inclusive, values diversity, highly collaborative; proactively seeks and provides thought partnership, assistance, and/or resources with/to colleagues
• Exercises a high degree of confidentiality and discretion, integrity, and ethics in line with organizational values

Technical

• Proficient in Microsoft Suite; Google Workspace, CRMs (Salesforce preferred), project management platforms 

What Else You Should Know

Deadline: Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Early submission of your application is recommended. First round interviews are anticipated in late October with the goal to fill the position by the end of the year.

Location and Hybrid Work Policy: This position is based in Brooklyn, New York. Staff are working a hybrid schedule with a standard schedule of at least two days a week in our Brooklyn office.

Compensation: Chicken & Egg Films offers a salary informed by the organization’s Total Rewards Philosophy and Practices, which is grounded in market data. The salary range for this full-time position is $130,000-$150,000. Actual salary from this range will be based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications. 

Benefits: 100% employer paid premium coverage of health, dental, and vision insurance, plus life and short and long-term disability insurances. Flexible spending accounts for medical, dependent care, transit, and parking expenses. A 403(b) plan with a matching employer contribution. Annually 15 vacation days (20 at the two-year mark), 10 safe and sick leave days, and 4 personal days. The office is closed for 10 holidays, in addition to December 24 - 31, and offers a Summer Fridays schedule. Professional development opportunities and home office stipends offered. Employees are eligible for a paid 6-week sabbatical after every 5 years of continuous employment.

Sponsorship: This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the US.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Chicken & Egg Films is an equal opportunity employer. As such, we strongly encourage and seek applications from all backgrounds, including but not limited to women and gender-expansive individuals, people of color, bilingual and multicultural individuals, people with working class backgrounds, people with disabilities, as well as members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

We take great pride in providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, disability, genetics, protected veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, political affiliation, marital or familial status, arrest or conviction record, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

E-Verify: We participate in the E-Verify Program. https://everify.uscis.gov

Applicants with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified applicants with disabilities may participate in the application process. Please reach out to [email protected] with any requests.

Hiring companies: We will not respond to emails about this position.