About Bend the Arc
Bend the Arc is building a multiracial, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Jews and allies across the country who are rising up to build an American future free from white supremacy, antisemitism, and racism. We’re investing in systems that keep our communities safe and divesting from systems that uphold white supremacy. We organize, advocate, tell stories, and develop the leaders that we need to finally build a true multiracial democracy in America. And we’re fighting for the joyful future we deserve: one where Black liberation is realized and where all of us — within and beyond our Jewish community — are safe and thriving.
The Bend the Arc family of organizations consists of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, our 501(c)(4) organizing and advocacy arm; Bend the Arc Jewish Action PAC, the first and only Jewish PAC to advocate exclusively for progressive policies in the U.S.; and Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, our 501(c)(3) education and leadership arm. We are proud to be a Union shop with our Bend the Arc Workers Union under the Non-profit Employees Union (NPEU).
For more information about working at Bend the Arc, our hiring process, and our new hire orientation, please check out our website here.
About the Position
The Chief Development Officer will develop and execute successful strategies that evolve Bend the Arc’s fundraising to meet the reality of the current landscape and support the sustainability of the organization. They should be an experienced leader who is deeply committed to Bend the Arc’s mission. They should have relationships with donors and funders in the Jewish social justice and/or progressive movement fields, be able to transition from the big picture to the details, and be ready to support a team of development professionals to grow and thrive in their roles, individually and collectively. They will be a member of a five-person executive team and will initially supervise the Director of Institutional Giving, Senior Development Officer, and Individual Giving Manager and will have an opportunity to determine the longer-term structure of the development team.
Key Responsibilities
Development Strategy:
- Create and execute a sustainable, overarching development vision and strategy in partnership with the CEO and Executive team for the Bend the Arc family of organizations
- Set and own multi-year revenue strategy and annual goals; diversify income across institutional (foundations), major gifts, and individual giving to grow the organizational budgets; maintain and grow managed projects and other non-contributory revenue streams
- Develop coordinated strategies to maximize aligned fundraising across the Bend the Arc family of organizations and ensure fundraising strategies comply with all legal and regulatory requirements across 501(c)(3), 501(c)(4), and affiliated political entities
- Develop clear short term and long term plans for the development department that are realistic and challenging, including the creation of a departmental budget and calendar
- Use data, forecasting, and performance metrics to guide fundraising strategy, monitor progress toward goals, and ensure strong pipeline development across all revenue streams.
- Promote and develop an organization-wide culture of philanthropy, including executive leadership, staff and board
- Partner with the CEO on development strategy and strategically deploy her fundraising time and energy
- Strategically and efficiently deploy time and energy of senior leaders, board members and when appropriate all-staff to leverage their strengths and relationships and achieve fundraising goals
- Work closely with the communications team and the Director of Institutional Giving to develop the collateral and digital programs needed to effectively and compellingly communicate Bend the Arc’s strategy and value-add to supporters and prospects and raise Bend the Arc’s profile.
- With development team, drive overall strategy for a donor and prospect engagement program that incorporates in-person and virtual events, briefings, and brings in new sources of support
- Personally manage a portfolio of principal and leadership donors and lead strategy for securing six-figure gifts.
- Represent Bend the Arc in philanthropic, Jewish communal, and progressive movement spaces to strengthen and manage relationships, visibility, and fundraising opportunities.
- Collaborate closely with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure coordinated systems and processes and aligned financial planning between finance and development; lead annual revenue projections process with the development team and work with the CFO and Executive Leaders to develop the annual organizational budget.
Team Management:
- Lead a dynamic team of four development professionals to coordinate across portfolios; build strengths-based, accountability centered approach to team culture
- Supervise Development staff, developing and tracking learning and professional development arcs for supervisees, based on identified skills, interests, and needs to chart their ongoing growth and development
- Support staff in developing and implementing portfolio strategies; support programmatic staff in their relationships with targeted funders and donors.
- Support department-wide systems development and improvement, including revenue tracking systems and progress on key performance indicators
- Lead organizational change and growth in fundraising strategy, systems, and culture to support the next phase of Bend the Arc’s development.
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.
Required Skills and Qualifications
Position Specific:
- At least 5 years of experience in development, with a demonstrated track record of success in developing strategy for nonprofit fundraising teams and reaching donor and funder audiences
- Strong knowledge of fundraising landscape and developing development strategy; ability to move strategically toward opportunities and anticipate and plan for challenges
- Experience stewarding and managing six-figure gifts
- Experience designing and managing a development team, supporting growth and development of direct reports through clear communication of expectations, frequent, timely and actionable feedback and building of trusting relationships grounded in an understanding of power
- Prior experience fundraising for a multi-entity organization (e.g. 501c3/501c4/PAC)
- Experience successfully developing fundraising projections for annual organizational budgets
- Knowledge of and relationships in Jewish social justice and/or progressive movement fields
- Ability to efficiently and persuasively write and edit compelling narrative about Bend the Arc’s work
- Skilled relationship manager able to build and maintain relationships and connections with donors, funders, and field-connectors
- Capacity to hold, organize, and synthesize large amounts of information at a complex organization with multiple streams of work happening simultaneously
- Ability to maintain confidentiality of and integrity with sensitive information
- Strong project management and administrative skills with the ability to create and improve systems and processes
- Motivation and organization to accomplish tasks and complete projects, working both independently and collaboratively in a group setting (within and across teams)
- Ability to travel domestically a few times a year for fundraising trips, conferences, and organizational gatherings
- Proficiency in Google Suite required; experience with databases such as Raiser’s Edge and NationBuilder a plus; familiarity with Slack a plus
Staff Wide:
- Demonstrates a strong commitment to justice and equity and grounding in pro-Black values and practices; familiarity and alignment with Bend the Arc’s mission and vision
- Developed racial equity praxis (analysis and skill) that can be applied to day to day work
- Resilience and self-awareness to navigate power, responsibility and experience mindfully
- Values and is open to giving and receiving feedback.
- Communicates effectively, honestly, and considerately
- Works collaboratively and considerately with colleagues, within and across teams, to achieve goals and objectives
- Completes administrative responsibilities in a timely manner
This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.
Compensation, Benefits, and Work Schedule
This is a full-time, exempt position, and is not eligible for Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice's union. The work schedule will include some evenings and weekends when needed, including domestic travel 1-2 times/quarter for fundraising trips, conferences, board meetings and organizational events. The annual salary range is $160,000-170,000, commensurate with experience.
Statistics show that women and candidates from marginalized identities are less likely to negotiate salary and benefits, so to maintain equity, Bend the Arc has moved away from the culture of negotiation. When we make an offer, we offer the highest salary within the salary range that we assess matches the individual’s qualifications and fit for the role.
Our employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package:
- Medical, dental and vision benefits effective your first day (100% of employee coverage paid by employer, 80% of dependent/family; option for reimbursement up to $500/month for individual coverage on an external plan);
- Flexible scheduling policy and generous paid time off for full-time employeesincluding 20 Vacation days, 24 Sick and Safe days, 2 Floating Holidays, 32 office closures, 14 paid weeks for Parental Leave, 12 paid weeks for Family, Medical and Emergency Leave, and 12 paid weeks for Sabbatical after 7 years of employment;
- Monthly utilities stipend: $50 per month towards wifi, cell phone, electricity;
- Funding for professional development and home office equipment;
- 401(k) eligibility on first day; 2% employer contribution
- Flexible Spending Accounts (for health and child/senior care expenses);
- Life Insurance, Long Term and Short Term Disability Insurance;
- Voluntary Accident and Injury Insurance;
- Employee Assistance Program provides access to resources, counseling, and discounted programs to support your mental, physical, and financial wellbeing;
- Commuter Benefits: option to allocate pre-tax income for public transit/parking.
Working Conditions
Bend the Arc is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the application and interview process and to perform essential job functions. Please advise in writing of any needs at the time of application by emailing hr@bendthearc.us.
Must be able to operate a computer, video platforms, and other office machinery throughout working hours. Must be able to identify, discern, and communicate across different platforms (chat, email, phone and video conferencing), and collect and analyze information in databases and spreadsheets. Must occasionally travel by air and ground transportation and move about to attend conferences, events, and an annual staff retreat in accordance with organizational guidelines on travel due to COVID. Any work related travel would be paid for by Bend the Arc.
To Apply
Research suggests that women and structurally marginalized and/or underrepresented groups of people believe they need to meet 100% of the requirements in job postings to even apply. Bend the Arc encourages anyone who believes they have the skills and motivation necessary to succeed to apply for this role, even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, as no one applicant ever does. We look forward to hearing from you.
This search is being run by NRG Consulting Group. Please contact Naomi Roth-Gaudette with questions at jobs@nrgconsultinggroup.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The preferred application deadline is May 11, 2026.
Commitment to Equal Employment Opportunity
Bend the Arc values a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture because we recognize that diversity within our staff helps us organize and work well with diverse Jewish and progressive constituencies. Candidates should be willing to work within the Jewish community, but may be of any (or no) faith or background.
Bend the Arc provides equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, record of arrest or conviction, or any other legally protected status. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming individuals arestrongly encouraged to apply.
