Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships at Springboard Enterprises – McLean, Virginia

Overview

Role: Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships
Reports to: CEO
Location: Remote, NYC-area preferred
Salary: $150,000 + benefits
Hours: Full-time, EST (Exempt)
Priority Deadline: March 13, 2026

About Springboard

For 25 years, Springboard, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, has propelled visionary women founders forward by providing programming, networking, and resources that help them take high-growth, high-impact companies to the next level.

The measure of our success is in the results: Springboard alumnae have led groundbreaking advances in health and life sciences, technology, and more, and generated $76 billion in global market value. 28 of Springboard’s alumnae companies have gone public and 10 are unicorns. Alumnae companies include Zipcar, iRobot, Canva, AskBio, Everly Health, and Medable.

In 2025, Springboard celebrated its 25th anniversary and appointed Umbreen Bhatti its new CEO – and today, we’re building on a powerful legacy while defining a fresh, forward-looking vision for our future.

Find us at springboardenterprises.org and on Instagram at @springboardent

About the role

The Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships is a member of Springboard’s senior leadership team, responsible for securing the financial and strategic resources required to scale our programming and deepen our impact. With a clear 2026 fundraising strategy, an engaged and ready-to-mobilize Board and National Trust, a powerful alumnae and advisor ecosystem, and growing national visibility, Springboard is poised for meaningful growth. Significant philanthropic and corporate capital is aligned with our mission, and a deep pool of major donors and partners remains largely untapped – presenting real opportunity for strategic pursuit and partnership.

We are seeking a strategic builder who can translate this momentum into sustained revenue performance – executing our current plan with rigor while partnering closely with the CEO to shape the multi-year strategy ahead.

This leader will drive revenue directly: identifying new opportunities, cultivating relationships, and making compelling asks to foundations, high-net-worth donors, corporate sponsors, and event supporters. They will build and strengthen the infrastructure that powers fundraising success – from research to systems and tracking to donor-facing assets and disciplined follow-through. And they will activate and guide our extensive network of board members, advisors, alumnae, and industry champions, equipping them with the clarity and support needed to open doors and advance strategic opportunities.

This is a full-time, remote U.S.–based position operating on Eastern Standard Time. Due to the remote nature of the role, the Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships will involve significant screen time during regular work hours. This role is expected to travel for donor meetings, events and other partner engagement approximately 25% of the time.

What you’ll do

The Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships will:

Own and deliver revenue strategy and growth:

• Execute Springboard’s 2026 fundraising plan, delivering against defined and ambitious – but realistic – revenue targets, and drawing on experience and data, develop a multi-year fundraising plan for 2027 and beyond.
• Identify, cultivate, and secure grants from private and corporate foundations, and structure aligned corporate sponsorships and partnerships.
• Personally cultivate and make direct asks of high-net-worth individuals, including alumnae and mission-aligned supporters.
• Design and lead targeted, high-impact fundraising events (e.g., salons, convenings, friendraisers), ensuring disciplined follow-up and conversion.

Build and lead the fundraising engine:

• Create and manage the systems that ensure fundraising performance – including CRM rigor, pipeline tracking, moves management, and grant compliance and reporting, ensuring opportunities are tracked, advanced, and closed.
• Develop and maintain compelling, up-to-date donor assets, proposals, briefing materials, and stewardship tools that support confident, high-level asks.
• Oversee the Development budget, aligning revenue projections and expenses with strategic priorities, working with the CEO and Finance.
• Manage part-time Development Operations support and leverage intern capacity to ensure strong documentation, research, and execution.
• Foster cross-team alignment with Communications and Programs so fundraising is fueled by strong storytelling and measurable impact.

Activate a high-impact network:

• In close collaboration with the CEO, design and guide the engagement of the Board, National Trust, friends of Springboard, and, where appropriate, Springboard’s expert network in fundraising activities – e.g., by providing tailored messaging, briefings, and hands-on support before, during, and after introductions to ensure disciplined follow-up and measurable conversion.
• Collaborate with the Community team to strengthen alumnae relationships and invite alumnae into sustained partnership and financial support of Springboard’s mission.

Who you are

We’re seeking a senior fundraising strategist who owns outcomes, not just processes, with a minimum of 10+ years of relevant experience, including progressive leadership positions and working directly with executive leadership, 5+ years designing and growing diversified fundraising strategies.

The ideal candidate is:

• Deeply aligned with Springboard’s mission and energized by this moment. With 25 years of credibility, relationships, and results behind us, we have real scale ahead – you feel the opportunity here and are ready to move with urgency and enthusiasm to help unlock it.
• A thoughtful relationship builder who develops rapport easily and fosters long-term connections. You have high EQ and bring a warm, energetic, and authentic approach and communication style to build lasting relationships with diverse stakeholders and personalities. You value and respect all donors and partners, and lead with purpose, not pitch.
• Relentlessly disciplined and organized. You find missed opportunities painful and build the systems, tracking, and follow-through to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• A compelling writer, storyteller, and communicator. You translate impact into persuasive narratives that inspire action, weaving data and lived experience into messaging that reflects the full ambition of Springboard. You proactively collaborate across teams to ensure the stories and metrics needed to fuel fundraising are captured continuously, not retroactively.
• Resourceful. You approach fundraising the way our founders approach company-building – setting bold goals, experimenting intelligently, and using every available tool to expand your reach and effectiveness. You don’t wait for perfect conditions; you move, test, refine, and keep pushing until opportunity turns into results.

Compensation

$150,000 + benefits.

All full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance (including dental and vision insurance), 401k match, 17 days of PTO, plus additional time off for seasonal office closures and federal holidays. The salary listed above is non-negotiable.

Please note:

Springboard is unable to sponsor work visas at this time, so all applicants must have prior work authorization in the United States before applying.

How to apply

Submit your resume, brief cover letter, and written answers to a short set of questions here no later than March 13, 2026, at 11:59 pm EST. In your Cover Letter, please articulate:

• What interests you most about advancing Springboard’s mission as Vice President, Development and Strategic Partnerships.
• How your career has shaped how you approach fundraising strategy, with specific examples from prior development roles or trends you’ve seen emerge in the field.

We don’t use AI to screen or review applications. If you use AI to create or edit any of your application materials, please copy all of the prompts used into a separate section of your cover letter.

Working at Springboard

Springboard strives to cultivate a workplace where diversity of identity, culture, and life experience is celebrated and respected. We believe that these differences drive creativity, innovation, and a stronger, more competitive team.

We reflect these values by being an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or familial status, disability, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. Springboard is also dedicated to providing reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. If you’re in need of a reasonable accommodation with regards to completing this application, please reach out to us at careers@springboardenterprises.org.