Director of Development
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
San Francisco Bay Area or New York City
Anticipated Start Date: September 2026
Description
The Director of Development will design a fundraising approach for individual giving, develop prospects, cultivate relationships, and close gifts. This role will report to the CEO and will play a key role in building our growth trajectory and philanthropic community. We are currently prioritizing cultivating relationships and closing individual gifts over developing advanced processes, systems, engagement plans, events, and infrastructure. This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports, thus the focus on independently closing.
Responsibilities
Accountabilities
Cultivate, solicit, close, and steward six- and seven-figure gifts.
Develop and execute a multi-year fundraising strategy to grow unrestricted and restricted support (who to approach and how), with an emphasis on accelerating unrestricted funding.
Recommend strategies to approach and engage major donors and family offices.
Develop messaging for donors and simple and clear collateral for them.
Translate the organization’s mission and impact into attractive and honest narratives.
Build donor relationships rooted in trust, inspiration, and impact.
Be present, informed, and engaged for various small salons and dinners with donors.
Build and manage a portfolio of prospects and donors.
Identify and pursue new donor networks and funding opportunities.
Leverage CEO and Board networks and introductions where possible.
Requirements
Qualifications
Previous success independently identifying, cultivating, and closing six and seven figure gifts
Previous success developing differentiated fundraising strategies (who and how)
Experience building with executive leadership and boards
Experience building the pitch and collateral
An ability to build trusted relationships
An ability to listen to donor interests and needs
An ability to make a clear and direct ask
Excellent communication skills
An ability to collaborate with program teams to understand the work
Strong and organized execution
Interest in mission-driven work
Preferred
Experience fundraising for ocean, climate, environmental, or social impact sectors
Salary Range and Employee Benefits
Locations (San Francisco Bay Area or NYC).
Remote flexibility.
$150,000 - 160,000 USD. Title is negotiable.
Benefits Retirement
401K 6% match Medical: 100% of premiums for employees / 50% for dependents (based on the silver plan, if you select gold or platinum plan, employee pays the difference
Dental: 100% of premiums even for dependents
Vision: 100% of premiums even for dependents
PTO: Accrued / < 1year: 80 hours or 10 days / 1 - 4 years: 120 hours or 15 days / + or > 5 years: 160 hours or 20 days
Basic Life / AD&D: 100% of premiums, 15,000 USD max benefit
How to Apply for this Job
Apply early as applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled on a rolling basis. Please submit the following to information@soalliance.org: Subject line should read: Full Name_Director of Development.
A cover letter helping us understand your ideas and interest and a resume. SOA is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to apply.
About the Organization
Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) is a global nonprofit on a mission to restore ocean health by unleashing the power of next-generation leaders, bold innovation, and collective action. We work at the intersection of entrepreneurship, policy, and community, supporting early-stage ocean solutions and mobilizing our worldwide network to turn ideas into impact. 2026 marked our twelfth year of growing influence and over a decade of bold action to protect ocean health and build climate resilience. Context and moment SOA has been successful with foundation funding and has a team in place for this work. Now, we are looking to hire an individual with experience independently identifying, cultivating, and closing individual gifts.
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