Chief Development Officer

Job Summary

Community Food Share, the Feeding America food bank serving Boulder and Broomfield Counties, provides access to fresh, nutritious food to neighbors experiencing food insecurity, and local partners fighting food insecurity. We are looking for a charismatic, collaborative fundraiser to join our diverse team and lead our fundraising efforts, to support our mission of feeding people in the Boulder and Broomfield communities.

The Chief Development Officer (CDO) serves as a senior leadership team member and an active participant in making strategic decisions affecting Community Food Share. The ideal candidate is skilled at working in a team environment and fostering a culture of strategy execution, collaboration, and open communication.

This position is responsible for developing and implementing fundraising strategies to support Community Food Share’s current and long-term strategic objectives. The Chief Development Officer leads the development and execution of fundraising strategies and oversees both the fundraising and marketing teams. The Chief Development Officer works closely with the CEO and other key stakeholders to build sustainable, authentic relationships with funders and the public to support Community Food Share’s work and mission.

Shared Leadership Philosophy

At Community Food Share, leadership is rooted in collaboration, trust, and shared accountability. Leaders work across departments to align strategy, elevate one another’s expertise, and ensure that decisions are informed by data, lived experience, and community voice. We value clear communication, mutual respect, and a willingness to both lead and support as needed. Our leaders model curiosity, adaptability, and care for people, recognizing that strong relationships—internally and externally—are essential to advancing our mission and sustaining impact.

About Community Food Share

Community Food Share is the Feeding America food bank serving Boulder and Broomfield Counties, helping provide more than 30,000 nutritious meals every day through our onsite and mobile pantries and a network of 40+ local partners.

Our team of 40+ staff members and more than 2,300 volunteers work at the center of a community-wide effort to ensure more than 60,000 neighbors each year have reliable access to nourishing food. The work is dynamic, collaborative, and deeply rooted in the belief that strong communities take care of one another.

Working at Community Food Share means contributing to something larger than any one role. It is a place where thoughtful ideas turn into real programs, where partnerships strengthen the community, and where the impact of the work can be seen every single day.

Essential Responsibilities
Strategy, Leadership & Organizational Alignment
• Develop and implement a comprehensive philanthropy strategy aligned with Community Food Share’s mission, strategic plan, and organizational priorities.
• Provide strategic direction and executive oversight for a comprehensive communications and marketing strategy, led by the Director of Communications and Public Relations, ensuring alignment with fundraising and organizational priorities.
• Oversee the development and execution of annual fundraising and marketing plans, department goals, and special initiatives.
• Contribute to the overall strategic direction of Community Food Share as a member of the senior leadership team.
• Advise the CEO and Board of Directors on fundraising strategy, donor engagement, and philanthropic trends.
• Ensure fundraising strategies are appropriately resourced and aligned with organizational capacity and long-term goals.
• Lead crisis-responsive or time-sensitive fundraising efforts as needed.

Fundraising Programs & Donor Engagement
• Oversee fundraising strategies for individuals, major donors, planned giving, private foundations, corporations, government funders, sponsorships, and cause marketing.
• Direct the development and implementation of donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and engagement strategies.
• Manage a personal portfolio of principal gifts, engaging leadership and volunteers as appropriate.
• Support the CEO, Board members, and key volunteers in donor cultivation and solicitation efforts.
• Identify opportunities to grow donor relationships, retention, and long-term investment.
• Oversee the planning and execution of special campaigns and fundraising initiatives.

Collaboration & Cross-Functional Partnership
• Ensure full integration of fundraising and communications strategies, including campaign planning, messaging, and donor engagement across all channels.
• Ensure that all donor-facing communications and campaigns are strategically aligned, audience-informed, and reflective of Community Food Share’s brand and impact.
• Accountable for achieving contributed revenue goals and ensuring that communications and marketing strategies effectively support donor acquisition, retention, and engagement.
• Work collaboratively with program, volunteer, and operations teams to align fundraising priorities with organizational impact.
• Serve as a visible ambassador for Community Food Share by attending events, meeting with donors and partners, and representing the organization publicly.

Analysis, Reporting & Systems
• Provide regular, accurate, and standardized reporting on fundraising performance to the CEO and Board of Directors.
• Monitor progress toward fundraising goals and advise senior leadership on trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Maintain systems for tracking donor relationships and engagement, including moves management.
• Ensure data accuracy, reporting integrity, and alignment between fundraising and finance systems.
• Use analysis and insights to refine strategy, strengthen performance, and guide decision-making.

People, Budget & Resource Management
• Create and manage the Philanthropy department budget and oversee responsible use of resources.
• Supervise and support philanthropy staff through hiring, coaching, goal-setting, and performance management.
• Provides strategic leadership and direction to the Director of Communications and Public Relations, ensuring clarity of roles, priorities, and decision-making authority.
• Ensure that communications strategies both elevate Community Food Share’s mission and drive measurable fundraising outcomes.
• Manage the use of consultants and contract staff to support fundraising initiatives.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, and mission-centered team culture.

Culture
• Promotes collaboration and communication among team members to ensure successful program implementation and on-going program support. Welcomes diverse thinking and directs the philanthropy team in a manner that promotes maximum competence, collaboration, open communication, effective service delivery and a positive work environment.
• Considers the benefits and consequences to the team when acting, openly shares ideas and information with others, effectively completes work activities with and through others, helps others achieve goals and complete work to meet the needs of the team and the organization. Constructively evaluates actions, when necessary, not people and effectively negotiates win-win outcomes.
• Fosters a success-oriented, accountable environment within the organization.
• Participates in the organizational strategic planning process as it relates to reporting department.
• Leads strategic planning within department; sets departmental performance goals in alignment with organizational goals.
• Ensures that team members’ work is accurate and timely, that the team operates with a culture of accountability maintaining customer service to donors, participants, and other stakeholders – external and internal – as a priority.

Travel
• Travel locally in service area may be required, as well as occasional overnight travel out of area for events and conferences.
The above is a fair representation of the duties and responsibilities for this position but is not meant to be all inclusive. Other duties may from time to time be assigned at the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer.

Qualifications & Skills
Alignment with Community Food Share’s mission and a compassionate appreciation for hunger issues are essential to the successful performance of all responsibilities. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:

Education and Experience
• A minimum of seven years’ experience in fundraising with a track record of meeting or exceeding targets.
• Demonstrated success in cultivating and soliciting individuals, institutional foundations, corporations, and/or government funders.
• Proficiency in donor databases/CRM systems. Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge experience preferred.
• Demonstrated success in working as a member of a team and developing effective working relationships with staff, volunteers, and donors.
• Previous responsibility for creating a strategic fundraising plan and operational goals to support it.
• Success with a board of directors, advisory board, or key volunteer committee in reaching fundraising goals and objectives.
• Experience in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors.
• Experience in utilizing fundraising tactics to engage and upgrade donors is critical.
• Experience managing external fundraising contractors is preferred.

Skills and Abilities
• Enthusiastic, highly motivated, collaborative, and emotionally intelligent leader.
• Superior management skills: ability to influence and engage direct and indirect reports and peers.
• Excellent verbal communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills and the ability to effectively work with a diversity of people and personalities.
• Ability to respond professionally with grace, respect, and tact in high-pressure situations.
• Ability to communicate clearly in person and in writing.
• Thorough, organized, and detail-oriented approach to work.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, coordinate, and manage individual and team work.
• Ability to make decisions and solve problems independently, effectively and creatively.
• Compelling public speaking skills.

Knowledge
• Knowledge in the food bank funding community is a plus. Interest in the work Community Food Share does is critical.
• Understands the confidential nature of fundraising efforts and donor information and maintains confidentiality.
• Business and finance acumen.
• The ability to discern and interpret financial statements, track against budgets, ensure compliance and tracking of restricted gifts, and translate key financial information to team-members and donors.
• Raiser’s Edge NXT experience is preferred.
• Proficiency with Classy, and Asana, or another project management tool is a plus.
• MS Office Suite including proficiency in Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Behaviors
• Commitment to the organization’s mission and vision.
• Provides excellent customer service to internal and external stakeholders.
• Gives and receives feedback in a respectful and productive way.
• Represents Community Food Share in a professional manner at all times under a variety of conditions.
• Maintains confidentiality.
• Manages multiple priorities under aggressive deadlines; manages time efficiently.
• Maintain safety as a priority.
• Possesses strong ethical character.
• Prioritizes good judgment and discretion.
• Commitment to the organization’s mission and vision.
• Thorough, organized, and detail-oriented approach to work.
• Highly collaborative working style with strong interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver results with a strong sense of urgency.
• Exhibits an honest and committed effort to deliver as promised, never compromising quality.
• Self-aware and continuous learning.
• Manages team and works independently with minimal supervision.

Interpersonal Skills
Alternative or combined skills in understanding, counseling, and/or influencing people are important in achieving organizational objectives, causing action, understanding others, or changing behavior. Skills of persuasiveness, influence or assertiveness, sensitivity to the point of view of others, as well as generational, gender and cultural competency and awareness are requisite to success in this position.

Physical Demands
This position is primarily an office/administrative position. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit and/or stand for long periods. Employee is frequently required to reach with hands and arms. Employee may be required to bend, kneel, crouch, crawl, push, pull, stoop, climb stairs and ladders, balance, walk for extended periods of time; use hands to finger, grasp, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms above the shoulder; be able to talk; and hear with or without aid. The employee may occasionally lift, leverage, and/or move up to 50 pounds repetitively. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, color vision, distance vision and ability to adjust focus. The physical demands described here are representative of those to be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

Health Related Event Protocol
The Health-Related Event Protocol is in effect anytime required by federal, state or local health orders, or as required by the organization for public safety.

Remote Work Eligibility: This position is classified as eligible for a hybrid remote work schedule. Hybrid is defined as being at the discretion of the supervisor and dependent upon the needs of the organization and the job responsibilities, as well as any public health orders which may be in effect at the time. Hybrid workers may be required to flex their schedules to work several days in the facility and must be able to be in the facility within 48 hours of being notified to appear. Hybrid workers are assigned offices or cubicles onsite as they may be required to work frequently in the facility. Community Food Share will provide IT equipment for work performed in the facility; a laptop may or may not be available for remote work. Hybrid workers will be required to have access to a stable internet connection. (TEAM ORANGE HYBRID)

Work Environment
Community Food Share operates in a working warehouse environment. While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be exposed to wet and/or humid conditions and moving equipment. The employee may be exposed to high, precarious places; outside weather conditions; and extreme cold in the walk-ins. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate but may be loud with machinery and equipment in operation. The work environment characteristics described above are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.
Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions of this position.

To apply for this position, please submit a current resume and cover letter detailing your qualifications and interest in this position to careers@communityfoodshare.org