Development Director II

Development Director II

The Development Director serves as a senior leader directing philanthropic fundraising efforts across all CEO program sites nationwide. While this position will directly manage relationships with key funders, its primary responsibility is to strengthen the infrastructure, strategies, and team needed to sustain and grow the organization's $30 million annual revenue from foundation, corporate, and individual giving. This represents a critical, flexible funding stream for CEO, complementing the organization's earned revenue streams through its social enterprise and government funding for vocational services.

The Director leads a high-performing, geographically dispersed development team and oversees all aspects of donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Key areas of leadership include advancing donor engagement and communications, building efficient and effective fundraising systems and processes, expanding the pipeline of institutional and individual prospects, and overseeing all grant writing across the organization. Working under the Chief Strategy Officer and in close partnership with the executive team and Board of Directors, the Director ensures CEO is well-positioned to meet ambitious fundraising goals that advance the organization's mission and long-term impact.

As part of our mission, we strongly encourage individuals who have lived experience of incarceration or involvement in the justice system to apply for this role.

The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) provides employment services to people recently released from incarceration. Across the United States, 8,000-9,000 people participate in CEO each year, transitioning to employment that supports themselves, their families, and their communities.

What began as a demonstration project of the Vera Institute of Justice in the 1970s to address employment barriers facing the formerly incarcerated following release in New York City has grown into the leading reentry employment organization in the country, where over 30,000 formerly incarcerated individuals have secured full-time employment since 1996.