Chief Development Officer

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley

The Opportunity

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley is entering an important period of growth, and we are looking for a Chief Development Officer to help build the fundraising strategy, relationships, team, and infrastructure needed for what comes next.

This is a senior leadership role for an experienced fundraiser who is equally comfortable setting strategy and building relationships. The Chief Development Officer will lead an annual contributed-revenue effort of $1.25 million or more, manage a portfolio of mid-level and major donors, supervise the Director of Partnerships, and serve alongside the CEO as one of the organization's primary external leaders.

We are looking for a builder: someone who can strengthen individual philanthropy, expand fundraising across Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley, deepen corporate and foundation relationships, and help shape a development operation capable of supporting our growth over the next five years.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters

Our mission is to create and support mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. We are building on strong momentum in Northwest Arkansas while growing our presence in the River Valley, creating an opportunity for a development leader to help build a sustainable philanthropic foundation for the future.

What You Will Lead

Development Strategy & Revenue Growth

Develop and lead a comprehensive, multi-year fundraising strategy aligned with organizational priorities and long-term growth.
Own the strategy and accountability for annual contributed revenue of $1.25 million or more across individual, corporate, foundation, event, campaign, and other philanthropic sources.
Strengthen and diversify the organization's revenue mix across Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley while maintaining a reliable fundraising pipeline and revenue forecast.
Evaluate fundraising performance and return on investment, anticipate future philanthropic needs, and identify opportunities to improve or expand revenue strategies.
Evaluate readiness for a significant endowment, capacity-building, or other special campaign and lead such an initiative when appropriate.

Individual & Major Giving

Personally manage a portfolio of mid-level and major donors and prospects through cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal, and upgrade.
Build a stronger pipeline of individual donors across Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley, with strategies to improve acquisition, retention, engagement, and major giving.
Partner with the CEO on the organization's highest-level donor relationships while independently leading donor conversations and solicitations when appropriate.
Strengthen planned giving and build the fundraising infrastructure necessary to support the eventual addition of another fundraising position serving both markets.

Corporate, Foundation, & Partnerships Revenue

Provide strategic leadership and direct supervision to the Director of Partnerships.
Set goals and strategy for corporate sponsorships, foundation support, fundraising events, cause-related partnerships, and other partnership revenue.
Participate in high-level corporate and foundation relationships where executive involvement can strengthen or expand the partnership.
Ensure events and partnerships create pathways for deeper, year-round philanthropic engagement in addition to generating revenue.

Development Team, Systems, & Accountability

Build, lead, coach, and develop a high-performing fundraising team with clear goals and shared accountability.
Establish strong development systems, donor records, pipeline management, forecasting, dashboards, and key performance indicators.
Partner with the CEO and finance team on budgeting, revenue forecasting, and long-term financial planning.
Use technology, data, and fundraising best practices to improve effectiveness and continually assess the team's structure and capacity as the organization grows.

Board & External Leadership

Serve as the primary staff partner to the Board Fund Development Committee and work closely with the Committee Chair to advance board fundraising.
Equip and coach board members to participate meaningfully in donor identification, introductions, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Serve alongside the CEO as one of BBBS's primary external representatives and independently represent the organization when appropriate.
Build strong relationships across the philanthropic, corporate, and civic landscape of Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
Develop and communicate a compelling case for support that connects BBBS's mission, impact, growth, and future vision with donor interests.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for an experienced development professional with demonstrated success building donor relationships, securing philanthropic support, and leading fundraising strategy. We expect the strongest candidates will bring 5+ years of progressive fundraising experience, though we are equally interested in candidates with a shorter tenure who can demonstrate exceptional fundraising results, strong judgment, and the ability to lead and grow a development function.

Strong candidates will bring:

A measurable track record of fundraising success, including direct experience cultivating and soliciting individual and major donors.
Experience developing and executing fundraising strategies across multiple revenue streams.
The ability to build authentic, long-term relationships with donors, executives, board members, foundations, and community leaders.
Experience leading and developing a fundraising team and creating accountability for results.
Strong judgment, communication, organization, and follow-through.
Comfort using donor data, pipeline management, forecasting, and performance metrics to inform decisions.
The confidence to represent BBBS independently and the humility to work collaboratively across the organization.
A genuine connection to our mission and belief in the power of mentoring.

Experience with multi-market fundraising, planned giving, major campaigns, or organizational growth is valuable, but we recognize that strong candidates may bring different combinations of experience.

What Success Looks Like

In the first 12 to 18 months, we expect the Chief Development Officer to strengthen our development strategy and team, deepen the major-donor pipeline, grow individual giving, build fundraising momentum in the River Valley, strengthen board engagement, and establish the systems and accountability needed for continued revenue growth..

Compensation & Benefits

Salary commensurate with experience (Full-time, Exempt)
SIMPLE IRA Match
Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
Vacation and Paid Holidays
Parental Leave

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Benefits found in job post

Vision insurance, Medical insurance, Dental insurance

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Arkansas

Open positions

Chief Development Officer