Development Manager
Posted: March 25, 2026
Closing: April 24, 2026, 5:00 PM ET
The Alliance for Early Success is seeking a senior-level development professional to serve as the bridge between the Executive Director and the broader development ecosystem. The Development Manager will ensure that funder relationships are continuously nurtured, that emerging opportunities are prioritized, and that the Alliance is always scanning for new leads, issue alignment, and strategic openings. The ideal candidate is energized by cultivating relationships across the philanthropic landscape, connecting funder interests to meaningful impact, building systems and practices that sustain those relationships over time, and engaging partners with clarity, responsiveness, and equity in pursuit of the Alliance mission and vision.
The Alliance for Early Success convenes, funds, and supports a community of early childhood state policy advocates spanning all 50 states and the District of Columbia. By creating this community, the Alliance accelerates progress in securing crucial state funding and policies that provide children with what they need in the early years to realize their full potential for a lifetime. The Alliance also provides state advocates with access to a robust network of national responsive support providers, policy and strategy experts who can expand their capacity by providing customized support based on their situation, need, and political landscape. The Alliance challenges and supports grantees as they look inward and outward in order to become more equitable and anti-racist advocates. Above all, the Alliance listens to where they are, where they’re trying to go, and how we can fuel that mission.
Funded by many of the leading investors in early childhood philanthropy, the Alliance’s unique support of state early childhood advocacy makes us a national leader in accelerating the effectiveness of policy advocacy for young children across the country.
About the role:
This newly created position will be a relationship- and strategy-forward role that reports directly to the Executive Director. The Executive Director has strong relationships with key funders and actively fundraises. This role ensures that engagement with those funders—from preparation to follow-through—is thoughtful, well-coordinated, and strategically aligned. The Development Manager:
- Elevates opportunities to increase the Alliance’s visibility and network with investors and potential investors, including high-net-worth individuals
- Works closely with the Deputy Director, Communications and Strategy, to develop investor messaging that is tightly aligned with the Alliance’s differentiating positioning
- Coordinates with the Deputy Director, Advocacy and Impact, to bring advocacy and state-level insight into funder requests and reports
- Ensures consistent, value-added stewardship throughout the year
- Maintains high-level funder intel and ecosystem awareness
- Surfaces new funding opportunities (foundation, corporation, individuals)
In this job you will:
Revenue Generation/Fundraising Strategy Development
- Execute and refine the overall revenue generation/fundraising strategy
Funder Relationship Management
- Maintain a 360° view of each funder: priorities, timelines, staff changes, strategic shifts, issue trends
- Develop and update relationship action plans for each funder
- Prepare call briefs, talking points, follow-up emails, and stewardship messages
- Join funder calls, listen for insights and opportunities, note action items
- Monitor funder communications, newsletters, and announcements for opportunities or red flags
- Coordinate a consistent rhythm of funder engagement (check-ins, updates, and milestone sharing) working with the Executive Director and key staff to ensure timely outreach
Proposal Writing and Project Management
- Own the grants calendar, deadlines, and workflows
- Project manage proposals and reports across communications and program teams
- Draft proposals, concept notes, and narrative sections in collaboration with staff team
- Build and maintain proposal and report templates
Prospecting and Ecosystem Scanning
- Track developments in the funder ecosystem relevant to the Alliance mission
- Identify aligned prospects and recommend engagement strategies
- Build pipelines (leads, intel, connections)
Internal Collaboration
- Work with staff to translate program direction into funder-ready language
- Coordinate with communications on messaging, annual materials, and funder updates
- Collaborate with finance on budgets and grant-related revenue forecasts
Systems
- Ensure funder touchpoints are documented and deliverables are clearly tracked
- Build routines that create clarity and consistency
- Upgrade or maintain CRM/database practices
To be successful in the role, you will need:
- Demonstrated experience (4+ years) shaping and executing a strategic vision and plan for philanthropic partnerships
- Proven ability to build strong relationships and collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, including internal staff and funder representatives
- Experience in funder research and analysis, including prospecting and aligning donor interests with organizational priorities
- Strong grant management skills, with a proven track record of meeting deadlines and managing priorities with precision
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to convey complex issues and programmatic work in compelling, funder-aligned language
- Experience managing multiple, high-value partnerships simultaneously
- Knowledge of the charitable sector and the philanthropic landscape
- The ability to travel 3-5 times per year (1-4 days per trip) for organizational events and network convenings
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience cultivating community with a network of members, affiliates, or grantees
- Experience working at the state level and/or multi-state networks
- Experience with CRM systems (such as Insightly) and knowledge-management platforms
- Experience working in fully remote team environments
Some benefits of working at the Alliance include:
- Strong remote culture—we’ve been virtual since our start in 2005 – that provides flexibility, promotes connections without proximity, and prioritizes regular opportunities for in-person connection
- The opportunity to work with a team of high-impact, low-ego professionals who are passionate about progress
- A flexible vacation policy that includes all federal holidays, your birthday off, and a full office closure the last week of the year.
- A generous health reimbursement account and retirement plan
- Dependent care benefits to support child and family care needs
- Fully paid group life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability coverage
- Access to confidential counseling and coaching services
- An annual professional development stipend
Position Type: Full-Time, Permanent
Location: This is a fully remote role that may be performed anywhere in the 50 United States.
Work Authorization: Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States. The Alliance is not sponsoring employment visas for this role.
Classification: Exempt
Compensation: $99,000 – $134,000. Final salary is set according to market data and the Alliance’s established salary structure.
The Alliance for Early Success understands diversity strengthens organizational decision making. We are working to diversify our team and strongly encourage members of traditionally under-represented communities to apply, including people of color, LGBTQ-identified people, gender-nonconforming people, people with disabilities, veterans, and people who speak a language in addition to English.
How to Apply:
Upload a resume, along with a cover letter that highlights one or two examples of your experience cultivating relationships with new and existing investors. For each example, tell us what role you played, what did the funding support, and what changed or moved forward as a result?