Overview
Director of Advancement Jobs in United States at Global Water Center
Title: Director of Advancement
Company: Global Water Center
Location: United States
The Director of Advancement will lead Global Water Center’s next phase of fundraising growth by expanding and diversifying a still-emerging donor base. Reporting to the CEO, this leader will personally cultivate major donor relationships while building the strategy, systems, and board engagement rhythms needed for long-term scale. This is a builder opportunity for a strategic fundraiser who can translate strong relational access and sector credibility into sustainable growth.
A great match for this position would be:
- Relational & Emotional Intelligence – Builds trust quickly and reads people and team dynamics with discernment. Deeply listens and navigates legacy relationships with wisdom and diplomacy. Moves fluidly across audiences with authenticity and integrity.
- Agile Driver – Moves ideas, relationships, and opportunities forward with speed and discernment in a fast-evolving environment. Brings clarity, momentum, and follow-through amid ambiguity, shifting priorities, and cross-functional complexity.
- Humble Confidence – Confidence without ego. Demonstrates the courage to make bold asks, hold independent perspective, and lead with conviction while remaining deeply collaborative and committed to shared outcomes.
- Executive Communicator – Translates vision into compelling communication across every setting. Uses written, verbal, donor, board, and day-to-day communication to strengthen alignment and build trust.
- Strategic Advancement Builder – Creates clarity from ambiguity, building focused strategy & structure that enable sustainable growth. Proven major donor success, including five, six, seven-figure asks, and translates donor opportunity into disciplined pipeline momentum, scalable systems, and enduring partnerships.
Key Responsibilities
- Build the advancement engine: Design and lead a comprehensive advancement strategy that fuels GWC’s next season of growth and global impact
- Cultivate and steward relationships: Lead high-level conversations, strategic asks, and long-term partnerships with major donors
- Drive funding momentum: Manage and scale a disciplined donor pipeline with clear goals, metrics, and consistent follow-through
- Partner closely with the CEO and senior leaders: Unlock strategic relationships and maximize key donor touchpoints
- Develop the team: Lead and grow a high-performing advancement function, including major gifts and grants
- Expand funding pathways: Strengthen foundation and institutional partnerships while opening new channels for support
- Leverage systems for scale: Utilize CRM tools (Salesforce) and data to inform strategy, track performance, and drive results
- Serve as a key ambassador: Represent GWC with donors, partners, and at strategic events
Key Qualifications
- 7–10+ years of advancement leadership experience, including managing and scaling fundraising efforts in a growing nonprofit environment
- Proven success securing major gifts, including five, six, and seven-figure asks
- Demonstrated ability to build or grow an advancement function and develop fundraising strategy across multiple donor segments
- Experience engaging high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and corporate partners
- Strong proficiency with CRM system, donor strategy, and moves management
- Executive-level leadership experience, including cross-functional collaboration and board engagement
- Exceptional relational intelligence, communication skills, and ability to navigate complex stakeholder dynamics
- Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, evolving environment
