Chief Development Officer

Pact is an international nonprofit that builds solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven, and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Pact seeks a visionary and strategic Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead the organization’s global resource development strategy and execution. Reporting directly to the CEO and serving as a key member of the Executive Leadership Team, the CDO will drive Pact’s growth agenda by leading the development and diversification of revenue streams across public, private, and philanthropic sectors in the United States and globally.

The CDO will oversee business development, donor cultivation, strategic partnerships, and proposal design functions—focusing on both traditional institutional donors (e.g., the U.S. Government, European governments, and multilateral organizations) and private sector opportunities (e.g., corporations, foundations, high-net-worth individuals, and family offices). The CDO will also play a critical role in shaping Pact’s brand visibility and reputation as a trusted global development partner. 

The successful candidate will be a collaborative leader, a seasoned fundraiser, and an expert strategist with a track record of delivering transformational growth in complex international nonprofit settings.

Organizational Growth & Revenue Strategy

• Design and lead a bold, multi-year global revenue growth strategy aligned with Pact’s mission, technical strengths, and global and country-level priorities.
• Identify and prioritize growth opportunities across public donors, as well as foundations, corporations, and multilateral funders. Develop pathways for market expansion into new geographies in Pact’s multi-sector development context, including health, governance, environment, livelihoods, and more.
• Set annual revenue and diversification targets in collaboration with executive and global leadership.
• Leads engagement with the Board of Directors Development Committee in collaboration with the CEO.

Business Development Leadership

• Oversee the lifecycle of business development, from pipeline forecasting and capture strategy to proposal development and post-submission learning.
• Position Pact to competitively pursue large-scale bilateral and multilateral funding opportunities, including complex cooperative agreements and contracts.
• Create and refine systems that support creative, efficient, and high-quality proposal submissions with strong technical, costing, and recruitment strategies.
• Lead bid/no-bid decision-making processes and ensure proposals align with Pact’s financial and strategic priorities. 
• Directly support capture and proposal efforts for priority opportunities, stepping in as needed to provide leadership, troubleshooting, and/or content development.

Private Sector & Philanthropic Engagement

• Build and expand strategic partnerships with corporations, private foundations, and philanthropic investors.
• Develop customized value propositions that reflect private sector and donor priorities (e.g., ESG, shared value, social impact).
• Collaborate with the communications and program teams to package and position Pact's thought leadership, evidence, and global impact to external partners. Personally cultivate and steward key donor and partner relationships, including high-net-worth individuals, Corporate Social Responsibility/Environment, Social, Governance and other executives, and foundation leaders.
• Personally cultivate and steward key donor and partner relationships, including high-net-worth individuals, Corporate Social Responsibility/Environment, Social, Governance and other executives, and foundation leaders.

Institutional Positioning & External Representation

• Represent Pact at global donor forums, strategic events, and conferences to strengthen the organization’s reputation and expand visibility.
• Collaborate with communications and technical teams to ensure alignment between marketing, branding, and business development efforts.
• Monitor donor trends and competitor activity to inform positioning, pricing, and priority-setting.

Team Management & Internal Collaboration

• Lead and mentor a high-performing global team including business development, opportunity development, pricing, capture, and partnership professionals.
• Build capacity across Pact’s global network for business development and resource mobilization, especially in country and affiliate offices.
• Promote an organizational culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and data-driven decision-making.
• Foster the use of AI, digital tools, and knowledge systems to enhance proposal quality, pipeline forecasting, and market intelligence.
• Employee complies with all company policies and procedures, including completing all compliance training topics by the deadline to satisfy each and receiving the corresponding acknowledgment statement that the training has been completed.

• Typical experience for this position is a Master’s degree and 15+ years relevant experience or equivalent combination of education and experience, including 12 years of management experience, preferred.
• Minimum of 15 years of progressive leadership experience in global development, including institutional fundraising, proposal development, and partnership management.
• Demonstrated success leading growth and securing large-scale (>$50M) awards from major public donors (USAID, FCDO, EU, UN agencies, etc.).
• Proven experience engaging private foundations and corporations, especially in CSR, ESG, and blended finance contexts.

• Proven success raising private funding for an international organization; fundraising campaign experience a plus.
• Exceptional strategic thinking, planning, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong understanding of donor landscapes and industry trends in global development and humanitarian assistance.
• Strong communication skills with experience effectively communicating key information clearly and effectively to all levels of staff, leadership, and the Board, as well as donors.
• Established leader with a collaborative style and the ability to identify and leverage the strengths of the business development team, clarify roles and responsibilities, and develop and implement constant learning to support individual and organizational goals. 
• Must have ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively in a dynamic, cross-functional, and cross-cultural team environment to achieve Pact’s mission.
• Deep commitment to Pact’s mission of building systemic solutions that advance the capacity and resilience of communities worldwide.

The salary for this position is determined based on a wide variety of factors including but not limited to an individuals skill sets, experience, training, certifications, education, as well as business needs and internal equity. At Pact, employees are typically not hired at the top of the range for their role and compensation decisions are made based on the aforementioned circumstances. A reasonable estimate of the current range is $200,000-280,000.