Deputy Director of Development & Partnerships

Job Description

Job Description

Salary: $100,000- $115,000 annually
Location: DC/Hybrid
Job Classification: Full time, Regular, Exempt
Reports To: Executive Director
Supervision Responsibilities: This position doesn’t have supervision responsibilities
Travel Requirements: This position requires local DC-area travel and occasional national travel
Accessibility Notes: This position requires long periods of sitting, 5 to 6 hours a day of computer usage, etc.

About the Fair Budget Coalition

Since its founding in 1994, the Fair Budget Coalition (FBC) has brought together community members directly affected by poverty, human and legal services providers, advocates, faith organizations, and concerned District residents to advocate for a District budget and public policies that meaningfully address poverty and human needs. FBC leverages the collective power of its sixty-plus member organizations to accomplish this work, including by helping them increase the civic engagement of those they serve and by creating processes and structures to ensure that those directly affected by poverty are at the forefront of crafting solutions. FBC’s vision is of a just and inclusive D.C. that supports strong and stable communities, allows low-income residents to live in dignity, and makes it possible for all residents to achieve economic security.

About the Opportunity

Fair Budget Coalition is hiring our first Deputy Director of Development & Partnerships. This new role will lead the strategy to sustain and grow our fundraising efforts as we build power in DC’s budget justice movement. The Fair Budget Coalition is the longest-standing coalition in DC bringing the budget back to the people, accountable first and foremost to Black and Brown DC residents, returning citizens, undocumented neighbors, and working-class families. Working closely with the Executive Director, this is an opportunity to bring your skills in development, partnerships, and organizational stewardship to a coalition rooted in racial and economic justice.

FBC is seeking a visionary fundraiser and movement partner who feels at home in an organizer community space and brings grounded experience in social justice work. The Deputy Director of Development & Partnerships will design and carry out strategies that expand our funding base, deepen relationships with donors and funders, and connect resources to the movement for budget justice. The ideal candidate is both strategic and relational, with experience in grant writing, donor engagement, and fundraising strategy, and a deep belief that fundraising is a tool for liberation.

This leadership position offers the chance to operationalize Fair Budget’s long-term fundraising strategy, grow our coalition’s impact, and build fundraising practices that sustain organizing while reflecting our values of equity, accountability, and collective care.

Key Responsibilities Include:

The responsibilities below reflect the core areas of work for the role. In a small and growing team, we share responsibility and adapt as needed, so some responsibilities may evolve as the organization grows.

Grant Writing & Reporting (Approximately 35% of the job)

• Lead grant writing and reporting, developing clear proposals and funder reports that reflect FBC’s impact and values.
• Manage the grant calendar to ensure deadlines are met with accuracy, clarity, and compelling narratives.
• Share stories of impact that reflect the leadership of DC’s communities most affected by budget injustice.

Funder Prospecting, Relationship Building and Management (Approximately 25% of the job)

• Research and identify prospective funders aligned with budget justice and racial equity.
• Build and nurture long-term relationships with foundations, and philanthropic partners.
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for funders fostering trust through consistent, transparent communication.
• Partner with the ED to plan funder briefings, one-on-ones, and community-centered events that bring funders closer to the work.

Donor Strategy and Engagement (Approximately 15% of the job)

• Develop and implement a strategy to grow an individual donor base, including small and major donors.
• Develop and carry out donor engagement strategies that frame donors as partners in the movement, not just sources of revenue.
• Lead donor-facing efforts such as the annual fundraising gala, year-end campaign, and appreciation activities (events, recognition campaigns, and special updates) in collaboration with staff.
• Create acknowledgment practices that honor relationships, reflect our values, and build long-term trust.

Organizational Development Strategy (Approximately 15% of the job)

• Work with the ED and Board to align fundraising strategy with FBC’s long-term goals for justice and sustainability.
• Support organizational budgeting and financial planning as part of growing our collective capacity, contributing to team and departmental meetings to build alignment and shared learning.
• Strengthen fundraising systems and infrastructure (including CRM and donor tracking) so they are transparent, accessible, and movement-aligned.
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of fundraising strategies, adjusting to ensure resources stay aligned with community priorities and movement goals.
• Contribute to a collaborative, people-centered culture where fundraising is understood as part of building collective power.

Organizational Responsibilities (Approximately 10% of the job)

At FBC, every staff member is part of building power and community. As part of a small, movement-centered team, the Deputy Director of People and Operations will share in the collective responsibilities expected of all staff:

• Contribute to a collaborative culture by attending weekly staff meetings, team check-ins, monthly social climate learning spaces, annual staff retreats, and helping to build agendas and facilitate conversations.
• Showing up in community spaces, such as town-halls, Coalition gatherings and offering public testimonies during budget season as part of our shared commitment to budget justice.

Why Work for the Fair Budget Coalition?

You’ll be joining a dedicated team and coalition accountable to the DC communities most impacted by budget injustice. At FBC, we do our best to practice our values in the way we work together day to day, and we‘re intentional about creating a liberatory workspace. That looks like:

• Encouraging authenticity, so people can show up as their full selves
• Valuing Black labor and rest, and making space for somatic practices that sustain our work
• Building a decolonized culture that values lived experience alongside formal expertise
• Respecting Black thought leadership and centering the leadership of Black and Brown folks, femmes, queer staff, and others whose voices are often pushed to the margins.

If you’re energized by aligning resources with organizing and helping sustain people-centered systems, we would love to hear from you.

Location

This is a full-time, hybrid position based in Washington, DC, with about 40% in-person time. During the first 90 days, staff are asked to be onsite at least one day a week.

Technology & Accessibility

This job requires regular computer use, including typing, reading a screen, video meetings, and audio calls.

This role is designed with growth in mind. The starting salary reflects an initial investment in the position, with the understanding that there is significant potential for growth based on performance and organizational capacity. If the Deputy Director of Development & Partnerships helps FBC meet or exceed fundraising goals in year one, the salary will be adjusted. This role is key to keeping the organization and the position sustainable through strong fundraising and resource development.

Statement of Equal Opportunity and Values

Fair Budget Coalition is an equal opportunity employer rooted in liberatory practices. We understand leadership to be collective and shaped by lived experience, not only titles or traditional career paths. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, immigration status, religion, or any other protected category.

To Apply

Please submit your resume, cover letter, and respond to the screening questions through Workable. Fair Budget Coalition is partnering with Shuai Strategies to support this search and help build a strong candidate pool. The Shuai Strategies team will review applications and guide candidates through the process.

Applications will be accepted via the Workable platform through Friday, February 27th at 5pm ET. We will be holding interviews in March and April, and our deal start date for the selected candidate is May.

If you’d like to request accommodations to apply: We are committed to an inclusive and accessible hiring process. If you are invited to interview for the role, we will provide any requested accommodations so that you may fully participate in the process.

Requirements

Required Competencies and Qualifications

Grounded in DC or other local community organizing, the ideal candidate will bring both fundraising skill and deep alignment with FBC’s values. We are seeking someone who is excited to grow with the role and organization, rooted in justice, and ready to use fundraising as a tool for building power.

We’re especially excited about candidates who bring:

• Writing: Deep expertise in crafting clear, compelling, values-aligned narratives that move funders and partners to action.
• Fundraising experience: Demonstrated skill in grant writing, reporting, and donor engagement, with the ability to connect fundraising strategy to organizational budgets and sustainability, including:
• 4-6 years foundation-based fundraising experience, including relationships with national and/or regional funders
• 3-5 years individual donor fundraising experience
• Movement alignment: Direct experience in social justice or liberatory movement spaces, or a clear commitment to organizing as a theory of change and resourcing movements for justice.
• Communication and facilitation: Strong written and verbal skills, with experience engaging funders and presenting complex ideas in accessible ways.
• Collaborative leadership: Ability to build trust, share credit, and navigate conflict in ways that sustain relationships.
• Systems and organization: Familiarity with fundraising tools (such as CRMs), along with strong project and time management skills.
• Values alignment: A deep commitment to racial and economic justice, with humility, curiosity, flexibility, and a sense of humor.
• Strategy & Complexity Thinking: Experience building and executing development & partnership strategies. Someone who can grasp the subtleties and nuances of complex issues and identify patterns in challenges. Someone who can lead insightful, pragmatic, equitable, and sustainable ways to tackle common challenges and produce positive change.

Some preferred qualifications include:

• A degree or certification relevant to the role
• DC-based or DC-born with connections to DC funders

If you see yourself in this job description but don’t feel like you meet every single criterion, we encourage you to apply anyway! Research shows that individuals from historically marginalized groups, such as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), women, and trans folks tend to self-select out of opportunities at higher rates. We take a holistic approach to all of our hiring practices and want to hire those who best align with our mission and goals

Benefits

FBC offers a benefits package designed to support the health, growth, and well-being of our team, including:

• Excellent medical, dental and vision coverage
• Flexible spending account (FSA) and dependent care
• Three weeks of paid time off (PTO), plus paid holidays and a two-week closure (one week in the Winter and another in the Summer)
• Paid solidarity organizing days and gas reimbursement for community organizing
• Professional development support and staff wellness days