Director of Institutional Partnerships & Development

Comunilife Inc. is looking to hire a Director of Instititutional Partnerships & Development to join its Development team.The Director of Institutional Partnerships & Development serves as the operational leader of the Development Department and is expected to allocate time and effort across the following functional areas. Actual allocation may vary based on organizational priorities, funding cycles, and strategic initiatives.This position is eligible for Comunilife's generous benefits and paid time off package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement employer contributions after 2 years, tuition reimbursement and professional development opportunities.

Essential Duties

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT & GOVERNMENT FUNDING STRATEGY (40%)

• Support organizational growth by identifying funding opportunities, advancing strategic initiatives, and coordinating government funding efforts aligned with Comunilife’s mission and strategic plan.
• Partner with the Chief Development Officer to develop and implement annual and multi-year fundraising strategies that support organizational growth and sustainability.
• Assist in establishing fundraising goals, performance metrics, and revenue projections.
• Support fundraising efforts across foundation, corporate, government, individual, and special event revenue streams.
• Monitor fundraising performance and recommend strategies to strengthen results and diversify revenue
• Identify, research, and evaluate prospective funding opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Support strategic initiatives that increase private philanthropy and strengthen long-term fundraising capacity.
• Monitor city, state, and federal funding opportunities relevant to housing, behavioral health, youth services, supportive housing, homelessness, and community-based services.
• Coordinate development of discretionary funding requests, capital funding requests, and competitive government procurements. 
•  Partner with program, finance, and executive leadership to develop government funding strategies and responses. 
• Maintain awareness of public funding trends and communicate opportunities, risks, and recommendations to leadership.
• Assist with relationship management involving government agencies and public-sector partners. 
• Collaborate with program, finance, quality improvement, and executive leadership teams to gather information, outcomes, budgets, and supporting documentation.

FOUNDATION STEWARDSHIP & GRANT DEVELOPMENT (25%)

•  Lead and coordinate institutional fundraising activities to strengthen relationships with foundation and corporate funders and ensure the successful development, submission, and management of grant opportunities. 
• Manage a portfolio of foundation and corporate funders and prospects.
• Research, write, and coordinate grant proposals, letters of inquiry, concept papers, sponsorship requests, and funding applications.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with foundation and corporate representatives. 
• Coordinate funder meetings, site visits, presentations, and stewardship activities. 
• Ensure timely submission of grant reports, renewals, and compliance requirements. 
• Maintain and oversee grant and fundraising calendars, ensuring timely completion of proposals, reports, donor communications, and stewardship activities. 
• Review and approve grant proposals, reports, donor communications, and fundraising materials to ensure quality and consistency.  

INDIVIDUAL & CORPORATE DONOR ENGAGEMENT (25%)

• Support donor cultivation, stewardship, fundraising campaigns, and relationship-building efforts that increase philanthropic investment in Comunilife. 
• Support implementation of annual giving, donor stewardship, major gift, and donor cultivation strategies. 
• Conduct prospect research and prepare donor profiles, briefing materials, and cultivation plans. 
• Coordinate donor communications, acknowledgments, stewardship activities, and engagement opportunities. 
• Support donor meetings, cultivation events, fundraising campaigns, and special events. 
• Assist in developing strategies to increase donor retention, engagement, and giving levels. 
• Support the Chief Development Officer, Executive Team, and Board of Directors in fundraising and donor engagement activities. 
• Prepare briefing materials, presentations, donor profiles, funding analyses, and strategic reports. 
• Assist in staffing board committees and volunteer leadership groups related to fundraising and development. 
• Support board member engagement in fundraising, cultivation, stewardship, and special events.

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS & LEADERSHIP (10%) 

• Provide leadership, supervision, project management, and operational oversight to ensure the effective functioning of the Development Department. 
• Ensure development records and donor data are accurately maintained within donor management and grant tracking systems. 
• Develop reports, dashboards, and analyses to support fundraising planning, performance management, and decision-making. 
• Establish systems and processes that improve efficiency, accountability, and fundraising effectiveness. 
• Provide direct supervision, coaching, and performance management to grant writers, interns, consultants, and other assigned development personnel.
• Establish work plans, priorities, deadlines, and performance expectations for supervised staff. 
• Support professional development and training opportunities for grant writers and development staff. 
• Coordinate workloads and assignments to ensure timely completion of fundraising deliverables and grant deadlines. 
• Participate in recruitment, onboarding, evaluation, and retention of development staff and interns. 
• Foster a collaborative, mission-driven, and results-oriented team culture. 

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit fundraising, development, grants management, or related field within New York City and NYS grants funding
• Minimum two (2) years of supervisory experience preferred.
• Experience supervising grant writers, interns, consultants, or development staff strongly preferred.
• Experience in human services, behavioral health, healthcare, housing, supportive housing, or related nonprofit sectors preferred.