Vice President of Development

Position Title

Vice President, Development

Reports To

Chief External Affairs Officer (CXO)

Department

Development

Direct Reports

Development team members

Location

Remote, some travel required (Preference for candidates based in Washington, D.C.Metro Area, Atlanta Georgia Metropolitan Area or other East Coast Time Zones)

Classification

Full-Time, Exempt

ABOUT BLACK WOMEN’S HEALTH IMPERATIVE (BWHI)

BWHI is the only national organization dedicated solely to solving the most urgent health issues facing Black women and girls. For over 40 years, we have advanced evidence-based programs, informed policy, and translated research to action, working alongside communities and decision-makers to deliver systemic change.

Mission

To solve the most critical health issues that Black women and girls face through innovative programs, transformative research, and life-saving policies.

Approach

BWHI brings the challenges and disparities affecting Black women and girls to the forefront of national conversation, integrating science, advocacy, and action to eliminate barriers to wellness.

■ We Advocate – Advocate for policies that improve health outcomes for Black women and families.

■ We Educate and Train – Educate and train the next generation of leaders who will build the Black women’s health movement.

■ We Amplify – Amplify the voices of Black women to shift public perception and policies for social change.

■ We Mobilize and Engage – Mobilize and engage women and organizations to pursue greater opportunities for gender and racial justice.

■ We Promote – Promote evidence and practice-based lifestyle change models that provide strategies for individuals and families to address health inequities.

■ We Synthesize, Translate, and Disseminate – Synthesize, translate, and disseminate information and research findings to strengthen the knowledge base on Black women’s health.

*We're proud to be 2026 Great Place to Work® Certified*

Position Summary

The Vice President, Development serves as BWHI’s senior functional leader for Development and is responsible for building and executing a diversified fundraising strategy that generates the philanthropic resources needed to advance BWHI’s mission, priorities, and long-term sustainability. Reporting to the Chief External Affairs Officer, the VP leads corporate and foundation relations, institutional giving, individual and major gifts, grants development, donor stewardship, fundraising operations, pipeline management, and contributed revenue forecasting.

Working across the organization, the VP, Development is expected to be a strategic, entrepreneurial, and adaptive fundraising leader with a demonstrated ability to personally cultivate, solicit, and close significant gifts and build strong donor and funder relationships. This leader must be able to identify new opportunities, adapt fundraising strategies in changing economic, social, political, and philanthropic environments, and partner effectively with the CEO, Board, senior leaders, and cross-functional teams to translate BWHI’s mission and impact into compelling investment opportunities.

Key ResponsibilitiesDevelopment & Revenue Strategy

• Design, lead, and execute BWHI's annual and multi-year Development strategies, driving annual contributed revenue exceeding $12 million, with defined individual and departmental fundraising goals.
• Accelerate revenue growth and diversify funding streams across individual giving, major and principal gifts, corporate partnerships, foundations, grants, and emerging opportunities.
• Develop innovative fundraising strategies that expand funding channels, strengthen donor pipelines, reduce funding concentration, and advance long-term financial sustainability.
• Translate BWHI's mission, programs, research, advocacy, and strategic priorities into compelling funding opportunities, adapting to changing economic and philanthropic conditions.

Major, Principle, Individual Giving & Transformational Fundraising

• Manage a strategic portfolio of major donors and high-value prospects, with accountability for department and individual fundraising targets.
• Cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward six- and seven-figure gifts, transformational investments, and significant multi-year commitments.
• Expand individual giving through donor acquisition, leadership and recurring giving, prospect development, increased giving, and re-engagement of lapsed donors.
• Execute tailored strategies to move donors and prospects through the donor cycle, strengthening retention, engagement, and long-term philanthropic investment.

Corporate, Foundation & Institutional Partnerships

• Lead corporate, foundation, and institutional fundraising strategies, expanding relationships across public, private, corporate, and philanthropic sectors.
• Build substantial, long-term partnerships with corporations, foundations, healthcare and life sciences organizations, and other institutional funders.
• Pursue unrestricted, programmatic, research, advocacy, capacity-building, and other mission-aligned funding opportunities.
• Expand institutional support through strategic partnerships, sponsorships, workplace giving, matching gifts, and innovative funding models.

Grants Strategy, Development and Oversight.

• Lead the Development team's grant strategy, prospect identification, proposal development, submissions, renewals, reporting, and funder stewardship.
• Oversee grant pipelines, proposal calendars, pre-award reviews, funding commitments, reporting deadlines, and renewal opportunities.
• Partner with Programs, Research, Policy & Advocacy, and Finance to ensure funding proposals align with organizational priorities, financial requirements, available resources, and achievable outcomes.
• Monitor grant obligations, restrictions, funding dependencies, and renewal risks, strengthening coordination and accountability throughout the grant lifecycle.

Donor Relations & Stewardship

• Establish and oversee donor engagement, recognition, stewardship, retention, and renewal strategies across the Development function.
• Strengthen relationships through meaningful engagement, personalized stewardship, and compelling communication of organizational impact.
• Partner across BWHI to demonstrate funding outcomes, deepen donor confidence, and expand long-term philanthropic support.

Development Team Leadership & Board Engagement

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Development team, including grants, leadership giving, corporate and foundation relations, and fundraising operations.
• Establish individual and team fundraising goals, performance measures, accountability, and professional development priorities aligned with departmental revenue objectives.
• Strengthen Board and executive fundraising engagement, partnering with the CEO, Board members, and senior leaders on major solicitations, strategic relationships, and philanthropic opportunities.
• Build organizational fundraising capacity through effective staffing, collaboration, resource allocation, and a culture of accountability, innovation, and results.

Fundraising Operations, Performance & Executive Partnership

• Fundraising Operations, Performance & Executive Partnership
• Oversee Development operations, CRM utilization, prospect research, donor data integrity, pipeline management, forecasting, and contributed revenue reporting.
• Establish and monitor fundraising KPIs, including individual and departmental revenue attainment, pipeline growth, donor acquisition, retention, renewals, and proposal success.
• Partner with Enterprise Systems & Technology to strengthen CRM governance, fundraising analytics, automation, data security, and operational effectiveness.
• Advise the Chief External Affairs Officer, CEO, and executive leadership on fundraising performance, philanthropic trends, strategic opportunities, revenue risks, and organizational sustainability.
• Ensure alignment of fundraising strategies, commitments, and revenue forecasts with organizational priorities, financial planning, and mission impact.

Required Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Nonprofit Management, Communications, Marketing, Public Administration, Philanthropy, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• 15+ years of progressive fundraising and Development leadership experience across major and individual giving, corporate and foundation relations, institutional funding, grants, donor stewardship, and fundraising operations.
• Proven success personally cultivating, soliciting, securing, and stewarding six- and seven-figure gifts, including multi-million-dollar opportunities, transformational investments, and complex, multi-year partnerships.
• Demonstrated success meeting or exceeding significant annual fundraising goals, driving revenue growth, diversifying funding streams, and expanding corporate, foundation, institutional, and individual giving.
• Experience designing and executing multi-year Development strategies, annual fundraising plans, revenue forecasts, donor pipelines, and performance measures.
• Strong expertise in major gifts, prospect development, donor acquisition, cultivation, stewardship, retention, re-engagement, moves management, and fundraising analytics.
• Demonstrated ability to develop innovative, entrepreneurial fundraising strategies and achieve results in economically constrained, politically sensitive, and rapidly changing environments while protecting organizational mission, values, and reputation.
• Experience leading and developing high-performing Development teams, including goal setting, performance management, coaching, accountability, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Proven ability to partner with CEOs, executive leaders, and Boards to secure significant funding, develop compelling cases for support, and align donor commitments with organizational priorities and capacity.
• Advanced proficiency with fundraising CRM systems, donor analytics, prospect research, pipeline management, and revenue forecasting to strengthen performance and decision-making.

Preferred Education & Experience

• Master's degree, MBA, MPA, or another relevant advanced degree in Business, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Philanthropy, Communications, Marketing, or a related field; CFRE or comparable fundraising credential preferred.
• Previous experience as a VP of Development, Chief Development Officer, Chief Advancement Officer, or comparable senior fundraising executive.
• Senior Development leadership experience in healthcare, public health, health equity, life sciences, biotechnology, health advocacy, or a mission-aligned sector, preferably within a national nonprofit, advocacy, or research organization.
• Demonstrated success securing or materially contributing to seven- and eight-figure philanthropic investments, including transformational gifts and major partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, foundations, or healthcare and life sciences organizations.
• Experience building or transforming Development functions, including fundraising infrastructure, team capabilities, CRM practices, donor pipelines, performance metrics, and revenue diversification.
• Experience strengthening Board fundraising engagement, including preparing and partnering with Board members and executive leaders on major donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

Leadership Competencies

• Fundraising Leadership: Builds and executes disciplined, diversified strategies that strengthen contributed revenue and long-term sustainability.
• Relationship Development: Builds trusted, durable relationships with donors, funders, partners, and organizational leaders.
• Strategic Thinking: Connects mission, program priorities, donor interests, organizational capacity, and financial needs to identify strong funding opportunities.
• Revenue Orientation: Maintains a clear focus on pipeline health, revenue performance, renewals, diversification, and long-term sustainability.
• Donor Stewardship: Builds thoughtful donor experiences that strengthen trust, engagement, retention, and commitment.
• Enterprise Perspective: Balances fundraising opportunity with organizational capacity, mission alignment, financial sustainability, and reputational considerations.
• Execution & Accountability: Converts fundraising strategy into clear priorities, measurable goals, disciplined follow-through, and reliable forecasting.
• Communication & Influence: Develops compelling cases for support and communicates organizational value effectively with diverse external audiences.
• Judgment: Evaluates opportunities, donor relationships, restrictions, commitments, and risks with sound organizational judgment.
• People Leadership: Develops strong teams and leaders and establishes clear expectations, accountability, and organizational capability.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Builds effective partnerships across Programs, Research, Policy, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and other functions.
• Mission Alignment: Ensures fundraising strategy and donor partnerships meaningfully support BWHI’s mission and the health and well-being of Black women and girls.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment

Physical Requirements

● Primarily computer-based work with extended periods of sitting.

● Occasional light lifting (up to 15 lbs.) for materials or event setup.

● Ability to travel domestically up to 50% of the time, including overnight trips.

Work Environment & Availability

● Location: Fully remote; must maintain a quiet, professional home office environment

● Standard work hours are 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday, with availability for core hours between 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM EST.

● Flexibility to work outside standard hours on occasion for urgent matters, events, or time-sensitive activities.

The estimated base compensation range for this role is $120.000 - $140,000. Actual base pay for a successful candidate will consider skills, experience and location. As a remote-first employer, BWHI offers a competitive total rewards package, including medical, dental, vision and other wellness plans. Alongside, extensive paid time off, observance of 14 national holidays, retirement benefits, life

insurance, monthly remote stipend, and an employee assistance program. Paid leave and comprehensive health insurance offered after completion of a probationary period.

BWHI is an Equal Employment Employer, committed to equity in the workplace. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind and make hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs.

If you require a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process, please contact us at .

Pay: $120,000.00 - $140,000.00 per year

Benefits

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Dependent health insurance coverage
• Employee assistance program
• Employee discount
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s)

• Have you personally cultivated and secured six-or seven-figure philanthropic gifts?
• Do you have a combination of 15 years of progressive experience in fundraising, philanthropy, Development or other related roles
• Have you led a development team with annual fundraising goals and revenue growth
• What is the largest annual fundraising revenue goal you have been responsible for leading?
• Please describe a significant fundraising achievement, including your personal contribution and the results.
• Which Non-profit organizations have you previously and/or currently work for and the number of years?

Education

* Master's (Preferred)

Willingness to travel

* 50% (Preferred)

Work Location: Remote