Position Overview:
The Director of Strategic Partnerships plays a key leadership role in strengthening CCE’s fundraising strategy, donor engagement, institutional giving, and advancement operations.
This position serves as a strategic and operational partner, helping connect fundraising priorities with the systems, communication, follow-through, and internal coordination needed to support sustainable growth.
The role supports major donor strategy, annual giving, stewardship, grants coordination, prospect development, reporting, donor database practices, and advancement workflows. The Director provides leadership across these areas while working with support staff responsible for grant writing, advancement administration, gift processing, database management, and event coordination.
This is a collaborative, in-person role that requires fundraising knowledge, sound judgment, strong organization, and the ability to move comfortably between strategy and execution.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Advancement Strategy and Leadership
- Serve as a key thought partner to the Chief Advancement Officer in strengthening CCE’s advancement strategy, structure, and priorities.
- Help translate fundraising goals into clear plans, timelines, systems, and follow-through.
- Provide leadership within the Advancement & Institutional Giving area of the department.
- Support alignment among donor engagement, grants, stewardship, reporting, advancement operations, and organizational priorities.
- Help prepare reports, updates, and materials for executive leadership, board members, donors, and funders as needed.
Donor Engagement and Stewardship
- Partner with the Chief Advancement Officer to support major donor strategy, donor preparation, follow-up, and relationship management.
- Help maintain consistent engagement with key donors, prospects, and stakeholders.
- Prepare donor briefings, meeting materials, stewardship touchpoints, proposals, and follow-up communication.
- Develop and support strategies to strengthen annual giving and mid-level donor engagement.
- Identify opportunities to move donor toward deeper involvement and investment in CCE.
Institutional Giving and Grants Coordination
- Support the organization’s institutional giving strategy, including foundations, corporate partners, and grant opportunities.
- Work with the Chief Advancement Officer, Grants Coordinator, grant writers, and program staff to support proposal development, reporting, and funder communication.
- Help manage grant calendars, deadlines, internal information-gathering, and follow-up.
- Ensure grant and institutional giving opportunities are aligned with CCE’s priorities, capacity, and impact goals.
Advancement Operations and Systems
- Help strengthen advancement systems, workflows, and internal accountability.
- Support effective use of the donor database, including data integrity, moves management, reporting, and pipeline tracking.
- Work with advancement and finance staff to support accurate gift processing, acknowledgments, and donor records.
- Use donor data and reporting to help inform strategy and decision-making.
- Bring structure, clarity, and consistency to advancement processes as the department grows.
Cross-Department Collaboration
- Work closely with advancement, marketing, communications, finance, program, and executive staff to support a strong donor experience.
- Partner with program staff to gather stories, outcomes, and impact data.
- Collaborate with marketing and communications staff to ensure donor-facing materials are clear, accurate, and aligned with CCE’s message.
- Support events, sponsorships, and donor engagement activities in partnership with the staff responsible for event execution.
Candidate Profile
We are seeking someone who is:
- A strategic thinker who can also execute and follow through.
- Experienced in fundraising, donor relations, stewardship, institutional giving, advancement operations, or a related relationship-driven field.
- Comfortable serving as a thought partner to senior leadership.
- Highly organized and able to manage multiple priorities at once.
- Skilled at bringing structure and clarity to complex or evolving work.
- A strong communicator who can represent the organization professionally.
- Collaborative, proactive, and mission-aligned.
- Able to work with donors, staff, board members, consultants, and community partners with sound judgment and discretion.
Education and Experience:
Education and Work Experience
- Bachelor’s degree required
- Master Degree preferred
- Demonstrated experience in nonprofit development, advancement, donor relations, fundraising operations, grants, institutional giving, account management, relationship management, or related roles with increasing responsibility.
- Experience with client stewardship, donor communications, reporting, prospect research, CRM/database systems, grant coordination, or relationship-based revenue development strongly preferred.
- Experience working with executive leadership, donors, board members, funders, clients, partners, or cross-functional teams is highly valued.
- Experience in education, youth-serving organizations, healthcare philanthropy, community impact, or other mission-driven settings is a plus.
Key Capabilities
The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Strong understanding of fundraising strategy, donor engagement, stewardship, or relationship-based revenue development.
- Ability to support major donor and institutional giving efforts.
- Strong organizational and project management skills.
- Experience with donor databases, CRMs, or similar relationship-management systems.
- Ability to use data, reports, and relationship information to support decision-making.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to translate mission and impact into clear donor-facing materials.
- Sound judgment, discretion, and commitment to confidentiality.
- Comfort working in a growing organization where systems and processes are still being strengthened.
Work Environment and Expectations
- This is a full-time, in-person role based in West Palm Beach, Florida.
- Regular presence on campus is required and is important to staying connected to the mission, students, staff, donors, and day-to-day life of the organization.
- This role requires close collaboration with the Chief Advancement Officer, advancement staff, executive leadership, program staff, donors, funders, and community partners.
- Some evening and occasional weekend work is required for events, donor engagement, and organizational needs.
Benefits:
- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
- Simple IRA with company match
- Life and disability insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid holidays
- Professional development opportunities
Physical Requirements:
- Ability to safely and successfully perform essential job functions in accordance with ADA, FMLA, and other federal, state, and local standards
- Ability to lift and carry up to 40 pounds
- Ability to talk, listen, and speak clearly on the telephone
- Must successfully pass a Level II background check through AHCA and be cleared through the Department of Homeland Security
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Application Question(s):
- • What personal experiences have shaped your fundraising philosophy?
- • Walk us through how you’ve previously identified and researched a potential major donor. What tools or strategies did you use, and how did you turn research into meaningful engagement?
Education:
Experience:
- Fundraising Strategy, Donor Engagement and Stewardship: 5 years (Preferred)
Work Location: In person
