*** This is an On-site position located in beautiful San Diego ***

Key Job Functions: 

The Director of Development, Foundations leads Workshops for Warriors’ (WFW) fundraising pillar focused on regional and national foundations—cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors whose philanthropy powers WFW’s mission to rebuild America’s advanced manufacturing workforce through veterans and transitioning service members. This role manages all foundation giving strategies, including research, qualification, cultivation, grant applications, and reporting.  

Duties and Responsibilities:  

• Lead the “Foundations” fundraising pillar as part of WFW’s comprehensive revenue strategy.  

• Develop and execute annual and multi-year giving plans reginal and national foundations.  

• Identify funding opportunities that align with Workshops for Warriors’ mission and programs.   

• Collaborate with leadership and program staff to identify funding needs and align them with grant opportunities.   

• Personally manage a portfolio of 75–100 high-capacity foundation relationships.  

• Lead solicitations for gifts of $5,000–$1,000,000+, ensuring alignment with campaign priorities and mission outcomes.  

• Write grant applications and impact reports.  

• Using Salesforce, track submission deadlines, reporting requirements, and renewal cycles.   

• Implement disciplined moves management practices in Salesforce to ensure consistent contact, next steps, and measurable progress toward solicitations.  

• Work closely with the Development Operations team to ensure accurate tracking, forecasting, and reporting of foundation contributions.  

• Coordinate with Corporate, Individual, and Government giving leads to identify cross-sector funding opportunities.  

All other duties as assigned.   

Qualifications & Work Experience:  

To perform this job successfully, the candidate must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily (with or without an accommodation). The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  

• Bachelor's Degree or any combination of education and experience which would provide an equivalent level of experience. 

• A minimum of 5 years of progressive fundraising with a clear emphasis on foundation relations and grant strategy. Veteran focused preferred.  

• Proven track record of securing foundation grants, with a history of winning competitive awards.   

• Experience managing a multi-million dollar fundraising pipeline or portfolio.  

• Experience with Salesforce. 

• Strong grant writing expertise, including, 

• Prospective research  

• LOIs 

• Full Proposals 

• Narrative writing 

• Budget development 

• Post-award reporting 

• Compliance tracking 

• Ability to handle sensitive information with discretion. 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 

• Strong working ability of Microsoft Office products (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) 

• Very people oriented, supports a positive working environment. 

• Ability to work independently and as part of a team. 

Mission and Values 

Contribute to achievement of the Mission and Vision of our organization by:  

• Fostering Positive Relationships- Communication, teamwork and trust are the three hallmarks of good relationships with co-workers and students. 

• Exceeds Expectations- Sees every task or situation as an opportunity to go above and beyond. 

• Accountable- Taking personal responsibility for their work, owns mistakes and does not blame others or make excuses.  

• Mission Driven- Work and decision-making are focused on what is best for the organization, not ego-driven.  

• Tenacious- Employee demonstrates determination, persistence, and grit. Doesn’t give up! 

Important Notes  

Position Details: This is a full-time salaried (exempt) position (40+ hours/week).  

Pay: This pay does not include any opportunity for incentive compensation and is only reflective of the base pay for this position. 

The range of pay for this California-based position is $125,000.00 - $150,000.00 annually.  

The actual compensation offer will carefully consider a wide range of factors including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location. If your experience looks a little different from what we’ve listed and you think can bring value to Workshops for Warriors, we would love to learn more about you and encourage you to apply. 

Benefits and Perks: Workshops for Warriors makes available comprehensive benefits the first of the month following the date of hire. Options include Medical (50% employer contribution), dental and vision coverage (100% employer contribution), a 401k program with employer match, 8 paid holidays, Flexible work hours (position dependent), and paid time off. While the Company intends to maintain these employee benefits, it reserves the absolute right to modify, amend or terminate these benefits at any time and for any reason. 

Dress code: Our office staff works in a business casual or relaxed business casual environment. 

Because the dress code does vary by position and department, please consult with your hiring manager to confirm your applicable dress code at the time of hire.  

Supervisory: No supervisory responsibilities.  

Physical Requirements: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.  

The employee frequently is required to stand; sit; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is regularly required to push, move, lift or otherwise bear 10-30lbs.  Applications may include but are not limited to repetitive work using a computer keyboard, mouse and headphones while sitting and/or standing at an assigned work desk area. 

Work Environment: The employee works in an office/administration building in an urban industrial neighborhood. Other areas within the school are mixed use such as classrooms, welding and machining areas. 

Employee may have additional environmental hazards such as: chemical, electrical, flammable, or mechanical in nature.  

E-Verify Compliance Statement:
Workshops for Warriors, Inc. participates in the E-Verify program. We ensure employment eligibility of all employees by using the E-Verify electronic verification system.

Policy for Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Prevention:
Workshops for Warriors is committed to providing a professional work environment free from discrimination and harassment, including discrimination and harassment based on a protected characteristic, and an environment free from retaliation for participating in any protected activity covered by this policy.

Workshops for Warriors is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Accordingly, we have adopted and maintain this anti-discrimination policy designed to encourage professional and respectful behavior and prevent discriminatory and harassing conduct in our workplace.

Workshops for Warriors employees are expected to assume responsibility for maintaining a work environment that is free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Employees are encouraged to promptly report conduct that they believe violates this policy so that we have an opportunity to address and resolve any concerns. Managers and supervisors are required to promptly report conduct that they believe violates this policy. We are committed to responding to alleged violations of this policy in a timely and fair manner and to taking appropriate action aimed at ending the prohibited conduct.

EEO Statement: Workshops for Warriors is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees, applicants, unpaid interns, and volunteers without regard to actual or perceived: race (including hair texture or protected hairstyles, e.g. braids, locks, and twists), color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin (including language use restrictions), ancestry, citizenship, disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, family and medical leave status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.

All openings are subject to change without notice, due to the volume of applications / resumes received, we are unable to respond to status inquiries. Please be assured that your information is being properly handled and forwarded to the appropriate hiring staff. If your skills and qualifications meet the needs of the job, you will be contacted.