Job Description

Executive Vice President, Chief Development Officer
Obama Foundation
Location: Chicago, Illinois – Hybrid work model based at the Obama Foundation office in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago

Obama Foundation Mission
Our mission at the Obama Foundation is to inspire, empower, and connect people to change their world.

We seek to build an active democratic culture where people are equipped and motivated to make change, not just at the polls or in the halls of power, but in their communities, in the places where they live, work, and play.

Around the world, we’re empowering rising leaders to more powerfully participate by connecting them with the skills, resources, and networks to maximize their potential and take their local impact global. We’re forging pathways to essential opportunities for young people, through education, mentorship, and career development, no matter where they’re from.

On the South Side of Chicago, we’re building a home for this vision, a global center for change with programming that invites visitors – whether they’re coming from down the block or across the globe – to bring change home.

The words wrapped around the Museum building reflect President Obama’s remarks on the Edmund Pettus bridge to mark the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches. “Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”

President Obama’s words animate our work at the Foundation as we seek to revive our trust in our culture of democracy and the spirit of active citizenship in communities across the globe.

Role Summary & Context for Recruitment
The Obama Foundation seeks a mission-driven leader to fill the critical role of the Executive Vice President, Chief Development Officer (“CDO”). The CDO will work closely with the CEO, Chief Financial Officer, leadership team and staff, and the Board of Directors, and will direct and lead the Foundation’s efforts to advance donor understanding of and engagement with the programs and priorities of the organization. The CDO will conceptualize, organize, and implement a comprehensive and strategic development program that will sustain and fully leverage the reach of and support for the Obama Foundation to meet the organizational mission and strategy and ensure organizational sustainability. The CDO will report to the Foundation CEO, serve as a key member of the executive team, and oversee a Development team currently comprising approximately 45 staff. Priorities for the CDO include planning and executing a $2B+ endowment campaign to ensure the ongoing sustainability of the Obama Presidential Center that will open in 2026.

Opportunities & Challenges
Evolution from a nascent to a mature and fast-growth organization: The CDO will build the strategy and operational plan for the Foundation’s fundraising activities. Critical to this will be the creation and implementation of processes, reporting, and analytics to enable effective execution and stewardship.

Communication and reach: The CDO will span grassroots to global sophistication in developing and implementing short and long-term plans for fundraising and increasing and diversifying income sources. Collaboration will be internal with the CEO, executive team, Board of Directors, and Development staff, and external with a broad range of constituents and partners.

Leadership, talent, and development: The CDO will structure and scale the team to execute the fundraising needs and opportunities for the Foundation today and for the future. The CDO will recruit a broad-based team, cultivating individual and team growth, and build succession planning.

While the Obama Foundation will consider a broad range of backgrounds, the ideal candidate will have the following qualifications/experience:

• Authentic connection to and passion for the Obama Foundation mission.
• 20+ years of proven leadership experience in planning and implementing a successful, comprehensive fundraising operation for a nonprofit organization, including major gifts, annual fund, planned giving, corporate and foundation giving, e-philanthropy, and direct mail, as well as leadership in a major fundraising campaign (planning, implementation, and successful conclusion); an established track record of increasing philanthropic revenue (with an emphasis on major giving).
• Knowledge of and fundamental adherence to the principles, ethics, and best practices of modern fundraising, including the integration of various giving programs to diversify the funding base and cultivate greater donor commitments.
• Experience leading a diverse staff. Ability to lead, recruit, evaluate, and develop a diverse team of development professionals and contribute to the ongoing fostering of a high-functioning, results-oriented, multi-racial/multi-ethnic workforce. Track record of maintaining best practices, clear goals, and shared accountability, as well as conceptualizing and executing development office growth.
• Demonstrated success in developing the case for support and strategic, innovative fundraising plans, and executing those plans to grow fundraising and exceed goals. Demonstrated experience cultivating, training, building relationships with, and working in collaboration with executives, senior staff, and volunteer leaders on development-related activities, providing them with quality support and intelligence and increasing their comfort with and success in fundraising.
• Successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts from individual and institutional donors at the level of six to seven-figures or greater.
• A forward thinker with a track record of utilizing new methods of constituent engagement and connectivity, who will be driven by innovation in developing advancement best practices.
• The ability to extract and analyze data to make effective, efficient decisions about donor strategy and process. Working knowledge of modern data management practices and innovations that can streamline advancement processes and contribute to the integration of related functions.
• Ability to travel on a national scale, as needed, consistent with public health guidelines.
• Graduate degree preferred, Bachelor’s degree required.

The Obama Foundation is committed to creating a diverse work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. The Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, parental status, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws. We encourage individuals of all backgrounds to apply. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail careers@obama.org if you require a reasonable accommodation to complete this application.

Download the full position description via the following link:

The Obama Foundation has retained DSG Global to assist in this confidential search process. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (current resumes and cover letters) may be submitted via the following link or directed to the leaders of the search team.

Gerard F. Cattie, Jr.
Global Managing Partner and Practice Founder, DSG Fundraising & Advancement
gcattie@divsearch.com | 212.542.2587

Denielle Pemberton, Esq.
Global Managing Partner and Chief Legal Officer
dpemberton@dsgco.com | 301.928.8071

Liz Ewing
Managing Director and Co-Practice Leader, Financial Officer Practice
liz.ewing@divsearch.com | 973.713.0933

Ian McCray
Managing Director, DSG Fundraising & Advancement
ian.mccray@divsearch.com | 802.989.3764

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