Director of Development & External Affairs

Company: Mission Edge
Location: San Diego
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

Position Title: Director of Development & External Affairs Department: Administration Report to: Deputy Executive Director Secondary Reporting: Executive Director Salary Range: $105,000 - $130,000 annually, DOE; eligible for performance-based bonus incentives tied to success metrics created and achieved. Type: Full Time, Non-Exempt Position Summary The Director of Development & External Affairs leads Stepping Stone of San Diego?s fundraising strategy and external presence in support of our mission as an LGBTQ specialized addiction recovery and housing nonprofit. This senior leadership role oversees core revenue functions including institutional giving, major gifts, corporate and foundation partnerships, special events, and giving campaigns. The Director also leads external affairs, builds government relationships, and stewarding community partnerships and public relations. The role oversees communications and marketing in coordination with Stepping Stone?s marketing vendor. Stepping Stone launched its formal development program through the hiring of our Development Manager in 2023. As we are in our 50th anniversary year, we are expanding our development capacity and seeking a roll-up-your-sleeves leader who can scale fundraising, strengthen systems, and operate comfortably in a growing organization. This is a self-starter role that requires minimal oversight to initiate planning, set goals, and drive execution. The Director partners closely with the Deputy Executive Director, Executive Director, Board of Directors, Development Manager, senior leadership, and key stakeholders to grow philanthropic revenue and deepen donor and sponsor relationships. This role directly supervises the Development Manager and sets clear priorities and accountability, so the development function is proactive, measurable, and aligned with organizational goals. Essential Functions Development Strategy, Leadership, and Revenue Growth: Develop, implement, and continuously improve an annual and multi-year development plan aligned with organizational priorities and growth goals, including revenue targets by stream (grants, major gifts, corporate/foundation partnerships, events, and campaigns). Establish clear success metrics, dashboards, and reporting rhythms for senior leadership and the Board; regularly analyze results and adjust strategy to improve performance. Lead an annual development calendar with disciplined planning for solicitations, stewardship, renewals, events, and communications that support fundraising outcomes. Partner with Finance/Operations leadership to ensure alignment on revenue forecasting, donor restrictions, documentation, and audit-ready grant and donor files. Institutional Giving (Government, Foundation, and Corporate Grants): Provide strategic oversight of a contracted Grant Writer, grant prospecting, proposal development, submission timelines, and reporting requirements across government and private funding sources. Ensure cross-department coordination to gather program outcomes, budgets, compliance documentation, and client impact stories needed for competitive proposals. Maintain funder relationships and strengthen renewal strategy, including site visits, briefings, and stewardship touchpoints. Oversee development of standard grant tools (organizational boilerplate, program descriptions, logic models, outcomes, budget narratives) to increase efficiency and quality. Major Gifts, Sponsorships, and Relationship Management: Partner with the Executive Director and Board to identify, engage, and solicit high-capacity donors and key sponsors; prepare meeting strategies, briefings, and follow-up plans. Build and manage a moves management pipeline for individuals, corporations, and foundations, including qualification, cultivation plans, solicitation strategy, and stewardship. Manage a personal portfolio of key donor and sponsor relationships, with an emphasis on cultivating and soliciting major gifts and multi-year commitments. Lead sponsorship strategy and benefit fulfillment across events and campaigns, ensuring sponsor recognition deliverables are met and relationships are strengthened year over year. Fundraising Events and Giving Campaigns: Provide executive oversight and revenue strategy for Stepping Stone?s signature fundraising and community events (including the Pink Gala), including budgets, sponsor/table strategy, donor experience, and performance evaluation. Oversee and generate annual giving campaigns (e.g., Giving Tuesday, year-end appeal and other new campaigns) including segmentation strategy, messaging, and donor experience optimization. Lead capital campaigns from feasibility through close, including campaign strategy, case development, prospect pipelines, gift tables, volunteer leadership, and execution plans to meet multi-year fundraising goals. Set clear roles and work plans between the Director and Development Manager and other key staff for event execution, sponsor fulfillment, ticket/table sales, and post-event stewardship. Ensure event and campaign processes are documented and repeatable, including run-of-show planning, volunteer coordination, and vendor management when applicable. Maintain a strong pipeline of auction/raffle/in-kind support as appropriate to event strategy. External Affairs, Partnerships, and Public Relations Serve as a senior ambassador for Stepping Stone, building and maintaining relationships with City, County, State, and public agency leaders, community partners, institutional stakeholders, and influencers to increase visibility and support. Proactively identify and create strategic engagement opportunities for the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Director with key funders, stakeholders, community leaders, and partner organizations (briefings, tours, introductions, speaking opportunities, and relationship-building meetings). Build and manage partnership pipelines that can lead to sponsorship, cause-marketing, in-kind support, referral partnerships, and collaborative funding opportunities. Coordinate media relations and thought leadership efforts (press strategy, pitches, op-eds, and organizational statements) in partnership with leadership and the marketing firm. Represent Stepping Stone at community events and convenings, including occasional evenings and weekends. Communications & Marketing Oversight Oversee communications and marketing strategy led by the marketing vendor, ensuring a consistent voice, brand alignment, and mission-forward storytelling. Serve as the internal connector with program teams and key stakeholders to source stories, impact data, and content for web, email, social, donor communications, and event marketing. Oversee marketing vendor scopes, deliverables, timelines, and performance. Development Planning, Operations & Team Growth Lead the creation and execution of Stepping Stone?s annual development plan, partnering across programs, operations, and leadership to assess funding needs, set revenue goals, and track progress. Translate organizational priorities into clear fundraising strategies, timelines, and accountability (campaigns, events, major gifts, grants, sponsorships). Report out on strategy, goals and benchmarking to Executive leadership, and across the organization the lead to a clear plan for ROI on development efforts Supervise, coach, and support the Development Manager, including goal setting, work planning, feedback, and professional development. Oversee and grow the development operations: gift processing, acknowledgements, pledge tracking, stewardship plans, donor recognition, and donor database hygiene. As Stepping Stone grows, help build the development ?bench? (contractors, interns, event support, and future hires). Other duties as assigned. Success metrics Success metrics will be finalized in partnership with the Deputy Executive Director and Executive Director within the first 90 days of employment, based on baseline performance and annual organizational priorities. Suggested metrics may include: Development Plan and Fundraising Growth: Publish an annual development plan and 12-month calendar with revenue targets, provide monthly reporting against targets. Increase total contributed revenue and unrestricted revenue year-over-year (targets set after baseline review). Major Gifts, Sponsorships, and Pipeline Discipline: Maintain an active moves-management pipeline with timely follow-up and documentation in the CRM (targets set after baseline review). Meet annual major gift asks/commitments and sponsorship renewals/new commitments as set in the development plan. Minimum Qualifications Passion for Stepping Stone?s mission serving LGBTQ communities and advancing addiction recovery services. 5 years of progressive senior/executive level fundraising development experience across multiple revenue streams (major gifts, institutional giving, corporate/foundation partnerships, events, and campaigns). Demonstrated success developing and executing fundraising strategy with measurable growth. Strong relationship-building, communication, and presentation skills; comfort engaging donors, executives, and community stakeholders. Strong project management skills and ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines with excellent attention to detail. Experience supervising staff and/or managing vendors/consultants. Proficiency with common office productivity tools (Microsoft Office/Google Workspace) and comfort learning CRM systems. Preferred Qualifications Experience in San Diego?s nonprofit and philanthropic ecosystem, including relationships with local public agencies and funders, corporate partners, and community leaders. Experience overseeing communications/marketing strategy, including vendor management and multi-channel campaigns. Proficiency with donor CRM systems and fundraising analytics (e.g., Raiser?s Edge, Salesforce, Network for Good, Bloomerang, etc.). Experience with planned giving and/or multi-year giving strategies. Experience fundraising in behavioral health, housing, HIV services, or LGBTQ community-based settings. Environmental Factors and Conditions/Physical Requirements Working mostly indoors, in a climate-controlled environment. Long periods at a desk and in front of a computer monitor. Holiday, weekend, or evening work may occasionally be required. Eligible to work remotely and/or hybrid in-office arrangements consistent with organizational policy and role responsibilities. Benefit Package Stepping Stone is proud to offer a generous benefits package for employees, representing the potential additional $10,000 on average per full-time employee above base pay, including but not limited to: Health Premiums company paid, including Acupuncture and Chiropractic Dental & Vision company paid Flexible Spending Accounts (Health Care & Dependent Care) Generous paid time off ? including 120 hours (15 days) of vacation, 11 paid holidays (additional 4 floating holidays), and a separate bank for sick time. Employee Assistance Program 403(b) Retirement Employer Match up to 5% Life/AD&D Insurance company paid Long Term Disability Insurance company paid

Keywords: Mission Edge, La Quinta , Director of Development & External Affairs, PR / Public Relations , San Diego, California