Director of Partnerships + Development

FLSA: Exempt, PART-TIME, 12 months

Location: Onsite - 2045 Suttle Avenue

Start Date: Immediate

Contract End Date: July 31, 2026

Overview:

Charlotte Lab School is a diverse-by-design, progressive K – 12 charter school in Center City Charlotte. We are reimagining school for the 21st century and are looking for a Director of Partnerships + Development to help us continue to make our vision a reality. At Lab, we empower our students with the skills and mindsets they need to grow into the thinkers, creators, and innovators of tomorrow.

Charlotte Lab School is hiring a Director of Partnerships + Development (DOPD) to grow and lead fundraising during an exciting new phase in Lab’s history. The DOPD will play a critical role in telling Lab’s story and designing a fundraising strategy to help the organization reach new heights and increase its impact in the Charlotte community. The DOPD will also play a leadership role to ensure that Lab is leveraging the City of Charlotte as its expanded, most diverse classroom. The DOPD will manage the development and maintenance of Lab’s community partnerships in service of its curricular and advancement goals. The DOPD - under the guidance of the Executive Director - will develop, refine, and implement a robust internship program for students while leveraging those relationships to develop and cultivate key donor prospects and relationships.

Responsibilities:

• The DOD will report directly to the ED and will serve as a key liaison with the Charlotte Lab School Board of Directors.
• This role requires an excellent relationship builder who can develop dynamic funder relationships with Major Gift prospects of various donor types. The DOPD will be skilled in “managing up” and understanding when and how to leverage leadership (i.e., the ED and Board members) to advance a donor relationship. The DOPD will share responsibility for providing strategic direction to ensure the organization’s fiscal health through resource development.

Strategy & Execution

• Develop a comprehensive operating plan for fundraising and communications, which includes a formalized approach to individual and major gifts activity for the organization. Create and systemize a calendar of activities that emphasizes cultivation and stewardship.
• Maintain and improve development systems that include tracking for individual, foundation and corporate giving and expanded use of a donor management system.
• Establish measurable goals and metrics for fundraising activities and results in order to gauge effectiveness.
• Assess the organization’s capacity to conduct future Capital Campaigns and advise the Leadership Team as they set long-term facilities strategy.
• Refine the existing case statement, funder pitch, and collateral materials to support all development activities.

Fundraising & External Relations

• Serve as lead fundraiser, leading a team to secure gifts from individual donors, corporate partners, and foundations.
• Build personal, philanthropic relationships with individual donors and organizations and prospects that inspire greater giving and engage new supporters, while using strategic relationship management practices to track activity. Personally identify, cultivate, and solicit a portfolio of individual and major gifts for Charlotte Lab School.
• Develop and manage the board fundraising strategy, educating board members about the role they play and supporting them with engaging their own portfolios. Serve as the fundraising liaison to the Board.
• Represent Charlotte Lab School to the philanthropic and civic community and serve as a knowledgeable ambassador in various public and private settings.

People Management

• Act as the primary advisor to Charlotte Lab School’s leadership in managing their respective fundraising portfolios, and lead the multi-faceted preparation needs of other solicitors.

• Create and assign donor portfolios for front-line fundraising staff, including the ED, and lead meetings to evaluate and refine cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.

Partnerships + Internship Program

• Develop, refine, implement, and evaluate student internship program and independent project opportunities as part of the K-12 Quest model;
• Work with school leadership team members to operationalize the internship program and oversee all aspects of student placement, training, logistics, evaluation, and assessment;
• Recruit, develop, and manage a portfolio of community partners to host student interns and projects, proactively developing new partnerships to address key needs that align with Lab students’ needs and areas of interest;
• Work with school leadership team members to define, develop, and measure skills gained through internship and project experiences and develop systems and tools through which students can demonstrate, communicate and share their progress and experiences with the community, prospective employers, and in the college admissions process;
• Design and implement elective/enrichment courses to prepare students for internship experiences, independent projects, and leadership opportunities, including those students who qualify for Occupational Course of Study pathways;
• Assist school leaders and other staff with organizing community engagement opportunities to support student learning.

Qualifications, Skills, Qualities:

The ideal candidate must be ambitious, strategic, and excited to take on a new challenge. They must be a diplomatic leader and enjoy establishing effective processes to achieve goals. Highly developed interpersonal skills are essential. Because this position requires both high level strategy and detail-oriented execution, an ideal candidate must feel comfortable with both strategic planning and hands-on execution to ensure project goals are met.

The following key competencies are a must for this position:

• Sales Orientation and Drive for Results: leads and creates a team culture that encourages the pursuit of funds in a scarce environment; communicates progress against targets, and uses data to motivate team to achieve performance goals
• Persuasive Oral and Written Communication: Sets high expectations for the quality and persuasiveness of communications; conveys genuine passion and organizational commitment when interacting with internal and external stakeholders; is able to translate story and brand for various audiences, designing messages that resonate and motivate
• Funder Engagement and Stewardship: Engages with prospective and current funders to successfully build long-term relationships; positions ED and Board to build and sustain key funder relationships; expertly delivers high yield pitches to funders and secures high percentage of target asks
• Strategy Development: translates strategy into actionable plans and timelines, and drives effective allocation of resources; draws insight from multiple sources to shape vision and strategy

In addition, the candidate must have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree (required), Master’s degree preferred.
• Experienced, strategic thinker with experience in fundraising, preference given if at education or youth-focused organizations.
• Instinct and ability to develop recommendations and strategy for individuals that are consistent with an overall development strategy.
• Gravitas, poise and confidence to steward major donors, and knowledge of when to leverage the senior leadership’s time and energy.
• Extremely detail- and process-oriented, able to develop and implement internal systems necessary to build capacity and organizational structure.
• Mastery of Google suite required; fluency with relationship databases preferred.
• Knowledge of and comfort with complex financial data.
• Unquestioned integrity, commitment to Charlotte Lab School’s mission and a passion for education

Physical Requirements

• The employee must have the ability to perform the following physical tasks. Reasonable
• accommodations may be provided for individuals with disabilities:
• Sit, stand, and walk for extended periods throughout the instructional day
• Lift and carry classroom materials, instructional resources, and student work (up to 50 pounds)
• with or without accommodations
• Bend, kneel, and reach to access materials, work at student level, and assist students
• Climb stairs and navigate multiple levels of the building as required
• Use fine motor skills including writing, typing, and manipulating small objects
• Hear and respond to student needs, questions, and behavioral issues
• See clearly to monitor student work, write on boards, and read instructional materials
• Speak clearly and project voice to be heard in classroom and group settings without
• amplification
• Assist students with personal hygiene needs as appropriate (for primary grades)
• Respond quickly to student safety emergencies and assist students in evacuation procedures
• Transport students or materials as needed for instructional purposes
• Use hand-eye coordination for writing, computer work, and classroom activities

Salary & Benefits

Charlotte Lab School offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience and education level using our compensation rubric. All salaries are determined pending verification of experience by our Finance/HR divisions and Board of Directors budget approval.

Full-time positions include health benefits for the employee and the opportunity to contribute to a 403b retirement plan.

Application Process

You will be asked to include your resume and a detailed cover letter demonstrating your interest in working for Charlotte Lab School. The application process includes an initial phone screening interview, participation in a group interview experience, and follow-up interview with potential supervisor. All instructional candidates are required to provide evidence of strong curriculum planning and delivery, via lesson plans, portfolio, or a video-taped lesson.

Charlotte Lab School is strongly committed to hiring a diverse and multicultural staff and we encourage applications from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Charlotte Lab School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, handicap, age, religion, sexual orientation, national, ethnic origin, or any other reason prohibited by state or federal law.