Description

Lead Director of Philanthropy

This is a vacancy for the 26-27 school year with a target start date of July 1, 2026

Mission:

The Lead Director of Philanthropy is a senior frontline fundraising leader responsible for driving performance, operational rigor, and consistency across IDEA’s major gifts team. Overseeing a cohort of Directors of Philanthropy, the Lead Director provides coaching, portfolio strategy support, and operational oversight to ensure IDEA’s multi-region major gifts pipeline delivers sustained, predictable revenue growth.

Reporting to the Sr. Managing Director of Development, the Lead Director translates organizational fundraising strategy into clear execution plans for the major gifts team, supporting Directors in portfolio segmentation, donor strategy development, impactful stewardship, and rigorous pipeline management. This role ensures that IDEA’s major gift practices are aligned, data-informed, and relationship-centered across all regions.

In addition to people leadership, the Lead Director maintains a select portfolio of high-capacity donors, modeling best-in-class cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices. They partner closely with Development leadership to ensure major gifts fundraisers have the clarity, coaching, and operational support needed to achieve annual revenue targets.

Supervisory Responsibilities: 3 Directors of Philanthropy

Location:

This is a full-time position based in Texas, with preference given to candidates who live in Austin, El Paso, Houston, Permian Basin (Midland/Odessa), Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, and Tarrant County (Fort Worth), or who are willing to relocate.

Travel Expectations:

The Lead Director supports multi-region donor strategy and frontline coaching, requiring travel for donor meetings, regional partnership, and team support across assigned markets. Expected 25–35% travel annually, with higher volume during peak engagement periods (e.g., stewarding top prospects, supporting regional activation, College Signing Day, Annual Gala).

What You’ll Do – Accountabilities

Essential Duties:

Personally manage a select portfolio of high-capacity individual and institutional donors, leading cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies that secure transformational and multi-year major gifts.
Directly supervise and coach Directors of Philanthropy across multiple regions by setting clear expectations, guiding major gifts portfolio strategy, and ensuring consistent execution and performance standards.
Oversee major gifts portfolio segmentation, revenue planning, and strategy across multiple regions to ensure alignment with IDEA’s major gifts fundraising model and annual goals.
Lead pipeline management, forecasting, and progress-to-goal reviews for the major gifts team across multiple regions, identifying risks and opportunities and guiding timely course corrections across major gifts portfolios.
Model best-in-class major gifts fundraising practices through personal donor engagement, including complex solicitations, multi-year commitments, and advanced giving strategies.
Partner cross-functionally to ensure coordinated stewardship, strong data integrity, and effective executive engagement in support of major gifts donors.
Strengthen consistency and execution within the major gifts function by supporting training, shared tools, and performance discipline for the Directors of Philanthropy.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:

In addition to the essential duties outlined above, the Lead Director of Philanthropy contributes to planning, forecasting, and continuous improvement efforts specific to the major gifts function. This role supports the refinement of portfolio management practices, performance tracking, and fundraising operations across regions; assists with leadership reporting and analysis related to major gifts performance; and participates in special initiatives or pilots that strengthen consistency, effectiveness, and scalability within IDEA’s major gifts program.

Knowledge and Skills – Competencies

Make Strategic Decisions:This team member fosters an inclusive decision-making environment by encouraging diverse perspectives, managing disagreements constructively, and creating space for all voices to be heard. They clearly communicate final decisions, providing context and anticipated impact—even when choices are difficult or unpopular.

Manage Work and Teams:This team member ensures their direct reports have clear, measurable goals with defined benchmarks and success criteria. They actively monitor progress, intervening as needed to keep work on track, while balancing leadership responsibilities with their own individual contributions through effective scheduling.

Grow Self and Others:This team member regularly offers affirming and adjusting feedback, maintaining a positive balance that reinforces growth and motivation. They provide transparent, candid performance insights and offer consistent coaching and development aligned with individual goals, supporting both direct reports and cross-functional partners.

Build a Culture of Trust:This team member fosters a team culture where individuals genuinely care for one another both personally and professionally. They lead with transparency, encourage open communication, including healthy conflict—and promote reliability and consistency, while regularly seeking and responding to team feedback to enhance the collective experience.

Communicate Deliberately:

This team member leads inclusive discussions that surface obstacles and drive actionable solutions, ensuring all voices are heard. They communicate key information clearly across multiple channels and establish feedback loops that promote open dialogue, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Additional Skills:

Extensive experience securing and overseeing transformational gifts ($50,000–$500,000+), with mastery in multi-year, endowed, and planned giving strategies.
Demonstrated success managing your own high-value portfolio while coaching and developing major gift officers to strengthen performance and pipeline health.
Ability to design and implement portfolio strategy, prospect assignment, and revenue plans across multiple regions
Confident thought partner to senior leaders—able to shape fundraising strategy, guide messaging, and represent the department at the highest levels
Skilled at aligning diverse teams around shared donor strategies and organizational priorities
Advanced ability to use analytics, forecasting, segmentation, and performance dashboards to drive strategy and accountability
Deep understanding of IDEA’s mission and long-term vision, with the ability to translate organizational priorities into a cohesive philanthropic strategy across regions
Experience designing training, coaching, and performance systems for fundraisers
High confidence managing up, across, and down—especially in distributed or multi-region environments
Strong judgment, discretion, and problem-solving in complex donor and organizational scenarios
Ability to navigate ambiguity and lead through change with clarity and confidence
Willingness to work a flexible schedule, including occasional evenings and weekends during peak fundraising periods; must be comfortable working independently while traveling

Required Education and Experience:

Bachelor’s degree required
7+ years of major gifts experience, including securing six- or seven-figure gifts and managing fundraisers or cross-functional teams

Preferred Education and Experience:

Master’s degree
CFRE/CFRM

Physical Requirements:

Ability to sit or stand for extended periods of time while working at a computer, participating in meetings, and engaging in in-person and virtual donor interactions.
Ability to travel regularly and move between meeting locations or event venues, including walking, standing, and navigating indoor and outdoor spaces during donor meetings and fundraising events.
Ability to lift, carry, or move light materials (up to approximately 25 pounds), such as presentation materials, event supplies, or donor engagement resources.

What We Offer:

Compensation & Benefits:

Salaries for people entering this role typically fall between $108,100 and $128,600, commensurate with relevant experience and qualifications and in alignment with internal equity.This role is also eligible for performance pay based on organizational performance and goal attainment.

Additionally, we offer medical, dental, and vision plans, disability, life insurance, parenting benefits, flexible spending account options, generous vacation time, referral bonuses, professional development, and a 403(b) plan. You can find more information about our benefits at https://ideapublicschools.org/careers/benefits/.

* IDEA may offer a relocation stipend to defray the cost of moving for this role, if applicable.

Application process:

Submit your application online through Jobvite. Please note that applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

Learn more about IDEA

At IDEA the Staff Experience Team uses our CoreValues to promote human connection and a culture of integrity, respect, and belonging for all Team and Family members. Learn more about our Commitment to Core Values here: https://ideapublicschools.org/our-story/#core-values

IDEA Public Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex or disability, in admission or access to, or treatment of employment in its programs and activities. Any person having inquiries concerning the organization's compliance with the regulations implementing Title VI of Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), or Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), may contact IDEA Human Resources at (956) 377-8000.

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Lead Director of Philanthropy (26-27)