Chief Development Officer

TechForce Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) working nationwide to support technical education and the professional technician workforce. We help students explore the career path, pursue their technical training through scholarships and grants, and connect with apprenticeships and jobs in the automotive, trucking, collision, aviation, restoration, motorsports, HVAC, welding, stationary engines, and numerous other industry sectors that rely on this skilled workforce.

Position Summary

TechForce Foundation’s Chief Development Officer is the organization’s senior-most revenue leader and a member of the senior leadership team. The CDO owns the vision and strategy for dramatically growing and diversifying TechForce’s revenue, with primary focus on major and transformational gifts from large foundations, government sources, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate prospects. This role personally prospects, cultivates, solicits, and closes the largest gifts and partnerships, builds and leads the development department, and sets ambitious multi-year revenue goals in partnership with the CEO and Board of Directors. The CDO will provide leadership to the development department currently comprising 3 employees and 3 consultants, but this team is expected to grow over time. The CDO is a self-starter and entrepreneurial builder who creates large-scale revenue from the ground up and moves with ambition and urgency. This leader pairs visionary strategy with exceptional relationship savvy and emotional intelligence—reading and navigating complex situations, personalities, and high-stakes rooms—while recruiting, coaching, and developing a high-performing team. The position carries ultimate accountability and tenacity for growing the organization’s revenue significantly. 

Key Competencies

Visionary & Strategic Mindset, Drives Results, Builds Networks, Cultivates Innovation, Instills Trust & High EQ, Builds Effective Teams, Ownership Spirit

Principal Accountabilities & Deliverables

Serve as a member of the senior leadership team of the organization, providing executive-level thinking, strategy, accountability, and management to the organization as a whole.

Set and own the vision and strategy to dramatically grow and diversify the organization’s revenue, with primary focus on major and transformational giving.

Personally prospect, cultivate, solicit, and close major and transformational gifts and partnerships from large foundations, government sources, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate prospects.

Lead corporate prospecting and solicitation, building a pipeline of new national corporate partners and high-value funding relationships.

Build, lead, develop, and hold accountable the development department, and the fundraising and account management functions.

Partner with the CEO and Board of Directors to establish ambitious annual and multi-year revenue goals, strategies, and budgets, and report regularly on progress.

Design, build, and continuously evolve the department’s infrastructure, processes, database, content, materials, budget, and staffing to ensure scalable, sustainable revenue growth.

Identify and develop new and emerging revenue opportunities, including planned giving, earned revenue, and innovative partnership models.

Drive a culture of philanthropy across the organization, aligning the CEO, Board, volunteers, and colleagues around shared revenue goals, messaging, and direction.

Publicly represent TechForce locally and nationally as its lead development executive, ensuring donors and partners continuously experience TechForce’s value and beneficial impact.

Other duties, as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Education / Experience

A passion for workforce development, technical education, and the skilled trades is highly desired.

Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in nonprofit management, marketing, communications, business, or a related field; an advanced degree and/or CFRE credential is preferred.

Minimum four years of proven fundraising experience, including securing seven-figure relationships with foundations and corporations.

Vast experience cultivating and securing five- to six-figure gifts from high-net-worth individuals is required.

Demonstrated senior leadership skills, including experience managing, developing, and building high-performing teams.

Demonstrated success diversifying and scaling revenue, designing fundraising strategy and tactics, and designing and implementing department infrastructure.

Knowledge of major gift, corporate partnership, foundation, government, annual fund, and planned giving fundraising practices, strategies, and tactics.

Knowledge of nonprofit accounting and legal requirements related to corporate sponsorship, UBIT, and commercial co-venture laws is highly desired.

Familiarity with aspects of the technician profession is strongly desired.

Skills

A proactive, self-starting, and self-managed leader with the ambition and urgency to create large-scale revenue and build momentum without waiting for direction.

Creative, innovative, and imaginative, with the scrappiness and resourcefulness to build something from nothing.

Exceptional emotional intelligence and adaptability, with the ability to read and adjust to different situations and donor personalities and to navigate and resolve conflict effectively.

A visionary strategist able to translate ambitious revenue goals into clear plans, infrastructure, and team execution.

Strong senior leadership skills, with proven experience managing, developing, and building high-performing teams, and serving as a coach for the improvement of self and others.

An exceptional relationship-builder with the perseverance and panache to earn the trust of senior corporate executives, high-net-worth donors, and foundation and government leaders.

Savvy negotiation skills required to craft win/win, strategic alliances in which all parties feel empowered, accommodated, and engaged.

Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, an excellent public speaker, and a persuasive, passionate communicator with excellent interpersonal skills.

Strong business and financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, and revenue analysis.

Knowledge of fundraising software tools, CRM, and Microsoft Office programs.

Abilities

Must be able to lift, carry, push, or pull up to 5 pounds 5% or less of the workday.

Must be able to stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl 5% or less of the workday.

Must be able to talk, see, hear, concentrate, think, and reason for most or all of the workday.

Must be able to sit for prolonged periods of time throughout the workday.

Must be able to use a keyboard and do manual tasks for prolonged periods of time throughout the workday.

Must be able to travel, as needed.

Work Environment

Work is performed indoors in a climate-controlled environment and/or from a home-based office.

Up to 50% travel within the United States may be required.

TechForce is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants or employees due to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age, disability, genetic information or any other federal, state or local protected class. This position description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by jobholders within this role. Job descriptions are not intended as, nor should be construed to be, exhaustive lists of all responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with a job. These requirements are representative, but not all-inclusive, of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required. They are intended to be accurate reflections of those principal job duties and responsibilities essential for making fair pay decisions about the job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions. To perform the job successfully, an employee must perform each essential responsibility satisfactorily.