Assistant or Associate Director, Development & External Affairs – Foundation Relations

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is Seeking a Full-Time Assistant or Associate Director of Development & External Affairs

The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) is seeking a full-time Assistant or Associate Director of Development & External Affairs to support the fundraising and engagement efforts of the organization. The position will oversee day-to-day communication, stewardship, and solicitation of foundation and government grants, as well as manage the internal functions associated with identifying and cultivating prospective funders.

CDT offers the opportunity to work collaboratively across a wide variety of tech policy and social justice issues—and gain experience working on a small but dynamic fundraising and engagement team. While the responsibilities for this position are geared toward CDT’s foundations and government grants portfolio, the successful candidate will have the option to deepen their professional experience across development and external affairs. This job can be a leadership opportunity for a seasoned foundation relations professional or a growth opportunity for a highly organized, detail-oriented development professional eager to gain experience.

About CDT

CDT is a 30-year-old nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates to protect civil rights and civil liberties in the digital age. CDT fights for tech policies and practices that protect people’s rights and our democracy—in areas ranging from data privacy and AI to government surveillance, online content moderation, elections, and the use of technology in education and government services.

CDT advocates to policymakers in the U.S. and Europe, engages with companies to improve their policies and product designs, shapes public opinion on major tech policy issues, and advocates in the courts. In addition to our advocacy work, CDT’s research team produces deep-dive original research to address pressing issues in technology policy.

Responsibilities

Core job functions include:

• Execute and grow the organization’s foundation and government grant funding strategy, driving key analytics and metrics of success.
• Manage day-to-day correspondence with foundation and government funders, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Lead and facilitate all grant writing and budgeting efforts.
• Boost CDT’s ongoing pipeline of prospective funders—matching organizational strengths with foundation and government areas of interest, conducting prospect research, and benchmarking against the nonprofit sector and peer organizations.
• Grow CDT Europe’s foundation funding pipeline and build partnerships for government funding within the EU, member states, and more.
• Facilitate internal grant check-in meetings and maintain a tracking system to ensure fulfillment of grant deliverables.
• Record engagements with foundation and government funders within appropriate database(s), using customer relationship management (CRM) common practices.
• Guide CDT’s finance and program directors to provide timely input for proposals and reports, overseeing grant deadlines and submission processes.
• Support the CEO and Director of Development & External Affairs in communications with foundation and government funders.
• Assist in outreach, where appropriate, for fundraising and engagement events, including sponsor solicitation, in-kind partnerships, and solicitation tracking.
• Contribute to team and organization operations, including development of policies and procedures, gift documentation, systems management, annual work plan, etc.
• Add value by solving problems, improving processes, taking on additional assignments, and welcoming opportunities to lead across fundraising and engagement projects.

Qualifications

Applicants must have:

• 3+ years (7+ years for Associate Director) of development experience in foundation and government funding.
• Excellent writing skills, both in correspondence and grant proposal/reports.
• Keen attention to detail and agility within fast-paced environments.
• Adeptness at verbal and interpersonal communication.
• Drive for efficiency, time management, and organization.
• Team-oriented work style and skill at directing people and projects toward shared goals in a collaborative and positive manner.

Additional qualifications may include:

• Proficiencies in Salesforce, Google Drive, mass emailing (marketing platforms and mail merge).
• Demonstrated interest in civil rights and civil liberties, equity and justice, and technology policy issues.

Compensation

The compensation for this position ranges from $60,000 to $100,000. Compensation is determined on a tiered pay scale based on years of experience and the responsibilities of the role. Candidates may request guidance on where they would fall within the salary range at any time during the application/interview process. CDT provides a generous benefits package that includes health care and dental coverage for employees and dependents, a retirement plan, paid vacation, sick days, and parental leave.

This position is based in CDT’s Washington, D.C. office, which operates on a hybrid schedule with an expectation of 3 days in office per week. A different hybrid schedule may be considered in exceptional cases and is available if needed as a disability accommodation.

To Apply

Please send a cover letter and a resume to [email protected].

The Center for Democracy & Technology is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation in any of its activities or operations. We believe that a diverse staff enables us to do better and more impactful work. Women, people of color, people with disabilities, members of LGBTQIA+ and other historically marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply.