Join our Team as Director, Leadership Giving & Partnerships!

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than a century, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) has worked to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Through a nationwide Movement of local Boys & Girls Club organizations, BGCA reaches millions of young people each year, creating opportunities for them to learn, lead, thrive and build great futures. Our ability to deliver on that mission is strengthened by philanthropic partners who believe in the potential of young people and invest in solutions that can create meaningful, lasting change at scale.

About the Team

The Development & Board Relations team is a small remote team of three that report directly to the CEO and builds and stewards the organizational most complex philanthropic relationships and those closest to the CEO & President, that advance BGCA's mission, strategic priorities and impact across the Boys & Girls Club Movement. Working across BGCA and alongside local Clubs, senior leaders, trustees and external partners, the team ensures philanthropic partnerships and board of governors are thoughtfully managed, commitments are delivered with excellence, and donors remain connected to the impact their investments make possible.

About the Role

The Director, Leadership Giving & Partnerships is a strategic project manager and relationship partner responsible for the successful stewardship and execution of some of BGCA's most significant and complex philanthropic partnerships.

Reporting to and working in sync with the SVP, Development & Board Relations, approximately 80% of this role is focused on project management, stewardship and account management; turning complex commitments into clear plans, coordinating work across multiple teams, managing budgets and deliverables, and ensuring partners receive an exceptional and timely experience from commitment through completion.

You will manage relationships representing significant strategic and financial value, including $50M+ in existing grant commitments and renewal potential. Success requires someone who can see both the big picture and the details: building trusted relationships, managing multiple workstreams, work independently & strategically, synthesizing complex information, monitoring financial performance and creating clear, executive-ready reports for donors, senior leaders and board audiences.

While there will be opportunities to support renewals and future portfolio ownership in this new teams growth, expanded investments and other fundraising activities, this is not primarily a frontline fundraising role. At its core, this role is about ensuring BGCA delivers exceptionally on the partnerships already entrusted to us, and using strong stewardship and relationship management to position those partnerships for continued success.

What You'll Do

Lead Complex Partnership Projects & Deliverables

• Serve as the project management lead for a portfolio of significant philanthropic partnerships, translating agreements and commitments into clear workplans, timelines, milestones and deliverables.
• Manage multiple complex projects simultaneously, coordinating activities across Development, Finance, program teams, local Clubs and other internal stakeholders.
• Establish project rhythms, track progress and maintain accountability to ensure commitments are delivered accurately, on time and in alignment with partner expectations.
• Anticipate potential challenges, dependencies and risks and proactively develop solutions to keep work moving forward.
• Work independently to advance projects while knowing when to engage senior leaders, subject matter experts or other stakeholders.
• Bring structure and clarity to complex work, ensuring stakeholders understand priorities, responsibilities, deadlines and next steps.

Steward & Manage Strategic Relationships

• Serve as a trusted relationship partner for SVP and assigned donors and partners, building credibility through responsiveness, follow-through and a strong understanding of their priorities.
• Develop and execute customized stewardship and engagement plans that strengthen relationships throughout the lifecycle of the partnership.
• Create meaningful opportunities for partners to understand and experience the impact of their investment.
• Navigate complex stakeholder relationships with diplomacy, confidence and sound judgment.
• Build strong relationships internally and externally, using influence and persuasion to create alignment and move work forward.
• Identify emerging partner needs and opportunities to strengthen engagement, retention and long-term relationships.

Manage Financial & Partnership Performance

• Partner closely with Finance and program teams to monitor grant and partnership budgets, expenditures, forecasts and financial commitments.
• Understand the financial components of partnership agreements and ensure spending and deliverables remain aligned with donor intent.
• Identify budget variances, risks or emerging issues and work with appropriate stakeholders to address them.
• Maintain accurate partnership information, documentation, milestones and activity within Salesforce and other systems.
• Provide leaders with clear visibility into partnership performance, upcoming commitments, risks and decisions needed.

Translate Information into Reports & Insights

• Synthesize financial, programmatic and impact information from multiple sources into clear, concise and meaningful narratives.
• Lead the development of high-quality stewardship reports, executive updates, presentations and board-level reports.
• Translate complex information and data into the most important insights for different audiences.
• Partner with subject matter experts, Finance, writers and other teams to gather information and ensure reporting is accurate, timely and compelling.
• Communicate progress, challenges and recommendations clearly to senior leaders and stakeholders.

Support Partnership Growth & Renewal

• Recognize opportunities to deepen existing relationships through exceptional stewardship, engagement and demonstrated impact.
• Partner with fundraising leadership on renewals, expanded investments and select cultivation or solicitation opportunities.
• Contribute partnership knowledge, donor insights and project results that strengthen renewal strategies and funding conversations.
• Participate in donor meetings and presentations when appropriate.

What Success Looks Like

You'll know you're making an impact when:

• Complex partnership commitments are delivered on time, within budget and with a high level of quality and accuracy.
• Donors and partners experience BGCA as responsive, organized, thoughtful and easy to work with.
• Senior leaders have clear, reliable information about partnership progress, financial performance, risks and outcomes.
• Board and donor reports effectively synthesize complex information into meaningful insights and impact stories.
• Internal teams understand their responsibilities, deadlines and dependencies and have the coordination needed to successfully deliver.
• Potential challenges are identified early and addressed proactively.
• Strong stewardship and execution position partnerships for continued engagement, renewal and potential growth.
• Through stewardship and gift management donor experience and expectations are met and donor gift renewals occur and team revenue goals are met.

Why This Role Matters

Significant philanthropic partnerships require more than securing an investment. They require exceptional execution after the commitment is made.  

As Director, Leadership Giving & Partnerships, you'll help ensure BGCA delivers on what we promise. You'll connect people, plans, budgets and information across the organization; build trusted relationships with partners; and turn complex commitments into well-managed work and meaningful results. Your ability to bring structure to complexity, communicate impact and create an exceptional partner experience will help strengthen relationships that provide critical resources and opportunities for young people across the Boys & Girls Club Movement.

Who You Are

You are a highly skilled project manager and relationship builder who enjoys taking complex work and creating clarity, structure and momentum.

You build trust easily and know how to work with different personalities, priorities and perspectives. You are persuasive and engaging, but you don't rely on authority to get things done, you build relationships, make the case and bring people along.

You can move comfortably between strategy and execution. One moment you may be reviewing a multimillion-dollar budget or identifying a project risk; the next, you may be synthesizing information for a board report, coordinating deliverables across several teams or meeting with a partner.

You are highly organized and comfortable working independently. You anticipate what needs to happen next, follow through on commitments and know when something requires escalation.

Most importantly, you understand that exceptional stewardship is about more than reporting back to a donor. It is about building confidence that their partnership is well managed, their investment is being thoughtfully stewarded and their support is creating meaningful impact.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
• Significant experience in project management, account management, stewardship, relationship building and management, strategic partnerships or a related field, with demonstrated success managing complex, high-value relationships or initiatives.
• Experience managing multiple projects involving cross-functional stakeholders, competing priorities, deadlines and complex deliverables.
• Strong financial acumen, including experience managing or monitoring budgets, expenditures and financial reporting.
• Experience synthesizing complex information into clear, executive-level reports, presentations and recommendations, including materials for senior leadership or board audiences.
• Experience with philanthropic partnerships, grants, donor stewardship or nonprofit development is preferred but not required.
• Experience with CRM and/or project-management systems; Salesforce experience is preferred.
• Experience within a national nonprofit, foundation or federated/networked organization is a plus.

Work Environment & Travel

This role requires regular collaboration with colleagues across BGCA, local Boys & Girls Club organizations and external partners. Travel may be required for partner meetings, stewardship activities, organizational events, conferences and other business needs and is estimated at up to 20% (approximately 3–5 days in a given month, which may occasionally include weekends).

Compensation 

The salary range for this role is $120,000.00 BGCA takes into consideration a combination of a candidate’s education, training and experience, as well as the position’s scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required for the role and other external and internal data when establishing a salary level. We are highly invested in every employee’s total well-being and offer a substantial and comprehensive total rewards package.