Chief Development Officer

Location: Hybrid within the Washington, D.C. Metro area (must reside in the DC Metro area)
Reports to: President
Classification: Exempt, Full-time
Anticipated Pay Range: $159,000 - $238,000

Blue Star Families

Blue Star Families is the largest nonprofit dedicated to making military life better for families. Each year, we support over 1.5 million military- and veteran-connected family members through a national network of 450,000+ members and local chapters in communities across the country. Our mission is to make military life awesome for families through evidence-based, data-driven solutions.

As a fully remote organization, we rely on scheduled in-person gatherings to foster alignment, collaboration, and culture. This role requires the ability to travel out of town overnight several times per year for staff offsites, planning retreats, and company-wide events.

General Description

The Chief Development Officer is a senior executive responsible for building and leading the infrastructure that supports a $35M+ fundraising operation. This role is primarily focused on enterprise-level strategy and operational leadership rather than direct frontline fundraising. The CDO serves as a key thought partner to the President, CEO, Board of Directors, and Executive Leadership Team on major donor strategy while designing, implementing, and strengthening the systems, structures, and capabilities that enable a high-performing development function spanning major and principal gifts, capital campaigns, corporate and foundation partnerships, direct marketing, planned giving and endowment, donor operations, and stewardship.

Key Job Functions

• Design and lead the structure of the Development department to support a $35M+ revenue base and long-term growth.
• Develop and own the multi-year development strategy, translating priorities into annual revenue goals, targets, staffing models, and budgets.
• Serve on the Executive Leadership Team; partner with the CFO on revenue forecasting, gift accounting, and audit readiness.
• Lead the design and continuous improvement of core Development processes, including moves management, prospect identification, proposal development, grants, gift entry, pledge management, and stewardship.
• Own and optimize the Development technology ecosystem (e.g., Salesforce CRM, wealth screening, marketing automation, grants management).
• Establish data governance standards and a standardized reporting cadence (pipeline reports, KPI dashboards, Board reports).
• Oversee Major & Principal Gifts, Capital Campaigns, Corporate & Foundation Grants, Direct Marketing, Planned Giving & Endowment, and Annual/Mid-Level Giving.
• Directly manage senior Development leaders; build the talent pipeline in partnership with HR.
• Serve as strategic advisor to the President and staff the Board Development/Advancement Committee.

Required Experience, Skills & Background

• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business administration, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive nonprofit development, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role overseeing a multi-channel fundraising operation.
• Track record of building or rebuilding development infrastructure in an organization of $25M+ in annual revenue (excluding government funds).
• Deep expertise in CRM administration and development operations (Salesforce NPC).
• Experience leading or supporting comprehensive or capital campaigns ($25M+).
• Experience overseeing a direct marketing/direct response program at scale.
• Proven success managing high-performing teams of 8+ professionals.
• Strong financial acumen and exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to travel overnight several times per year for required in-person gatherings.

Desired Experience

• Direct experience serving military, Veteran, or military-family-focused organizations, or lived experience as a member of the military community.
• CFRE, ACFRE, or equivalent professional credential.

Blue Star Families is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an equal opportunity employer.