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Development Director

Preferred application deadline was Friday, April 17, 2026 at 5pm PT. Our application will remain open until May 31, 2026.

About UnCommon Law

UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self-narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.

About the Role

The Development Director is a dynamic and strategic leader and team manager responsible for designing and leading UnCommon Law's comprehensive fundraising efforts to help grow and sustain UnCommon Law's impact and next phase of growth. This role is responsible for all aspects of resource development, including foundation, corporate, and individual giving; major gifts; donor and funder prospecting and stewardship; grant writing and reporting; and multi-year campaigns. The Development Director will build and manage systems that strengthen organizational fundraising capacity, including developing a scalable volunteer engagement strategy and pipeline to deepen community investment. As a public-facing leader, the Development Director will cultivate relationships with donors, partner organizations, policymakers, and other community stakeholders, while providing internal leadership, strategy, and accountability for fundraising efforts across the organization. We are seeking an experienced, relationship-driven leader who brings strategic clarity, effective systems, and strong execution to advance UnCommon Law's work on behalf of incarcerated people.

We encourage people who have been directly impacted by incarceration to apply. We do not require candidates to have a college degree, and we welcome candidates with non-traditional backgrounds and experience. The strongest candidates will let us know how their experiences and abilities relate to this role. We greatly value lived and related experience, and transferable skills. Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

This exempt position reports directly to the Executive Director and offers an annual salary range of $126,400 to $165,000. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our values. New hires are typically placed between the minimum and midpoint range. Final salary offers are determined based on the candidate's job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as assessed during the interview process and aligned with our structured salary schedule.

Our office is based in Oakland, CA, and we offer a hybrid work model to our employees. We are open to considering fully remote arrangements for highly qualified candidates. If applying as a remote applicant, we ask that you share in your cover letter the strategies and practices you have used to build effective remote work, collaboration, accountability, and supervision. Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Fundraising Execution, Donor Engagement, and Grants Management

• Spearhead the development and execution of a comprehensive fundraising strategy to meet short- and long-term revenue goals, including setting priorities, goals, and approaches to grow revenue across individual, foundation, and corporate giving.
• Oversee all aspects of donor and funder engagement to identify, build, and steward relationships that generate sustained support, including major gifts and other strategic opportunities.
• Own and grow a portfolio of major donors and funders, leading relationship strategy and execution while partnering with the Executive Team and Board to support and engage key relationships.

• Strengthen organization-wide fundraising capacity by developing systems, processes, and tools for donor tracking, engagement, and stewardship.
• Lead grant prospecting, proposal development, and submission, ensuring compelling narratives, alignment with organizational priorities, and compliance with funder requirements.
• Manage the full lifecycle of grants, including maintaining a grant calendar, developing and submitting grant proposals, stewarding funder relationships, and overseeing reporting, deliverables, and impact tracking.
• Develop and manage a volunteer pipeline to support fundraising events and strengthen long-term community engagement.

Event Planning

• Lead the strategy, planning, and execution of all fundraising events, including the annual UnCommon Heroes gala and other campaigns, aligned with overall development goals.

• Develop and manage the annual fundraising events calendar, including budgets, timelines, performance goals, and success metrics.
• Partner cross-functionally with Communications and Operations to ensure events are well-coordinated, effectively promoted, and aligned with organizational priorities.
• Cultivate and manage relationships with sponsors, vendors, and community partners to maximize visibility, engagement, and fundraising outcomes.
• Serve as a spokesperson and representative of the organization at events, engaging donors, partners, and community stakeholders.
• Oversee all event logistics, including coordination with staff, vendors, and volunteers, to ensure seamless execution.

Leadership and Supervision

• Provide supervision and day-to-day management to development staff, volunteers, and contractors, while fostering strong collaboration across teams and stakeholders.
• Build and maintain relationships with diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, community members, and directly impacted individuals, to advance fundraising and organizational goals.
• Actively participate as a member of leadership to help shape organizational direction, influence key decisions, and contribute to building a strong and sustainable leadership pipeline.
• Contribute to organizational strategy by identifying and advancing values-aligned opportunities through innovative fundraising approaches.

Organization-wide

• Collaborate cross-functionally with other teams, including but not limited to Communications and Finance and Operations, to support data-informed fundraising strategies, grant development and reporting, and organizational financial processes including audits.
• Participate in regular staff meetings, training, team-building activities, and retreats, contributing to a collaborative and aligned organizational culture.
• Assist in cross-team initiatives and projects as needed to support broader organizational priorities.

Experience:

• 2-7 years of direct experience in a similar role leading fundraising for a growing non-profit with a budget of at least $5 million.
• Demonstrated experience in grant prospecting and management ability to research and identify grant opportunities that align with organizational goals. Proven ability to lead the development and submission of grant proposals, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and compelling narratives.
• Demonstrated experience in development, including identifying potential donors and foundations for partnerships and can develop strategies to cultivate and sustain those relationships. Experience in managing large scale capital campaigns.
• Experience in development and ongoing management of internal systems, including our CRM platform (EveryAction) and DonorBox, with dedication to meticulously tracking and analyzing interactions with donors (individuals, foundations, and government entities), their contributions, and the outcomes of fundraising campaigns.
• Strong experience in creating, promoting, and orchestrating large scale fundraising events such as galas.
• Experience managing a team and leading cross-functional collaboration. Experience incorporating input as well as setting a vision while being a thought partner and supporting the Executive Director.

Skills and Attributes:

• Experience thinking and working strategically; ability to think imaginatively about fundraising and possibilities for storytelling.
• Outcome-oriented mindset, with a proven ability to develop and successfully implement team strategy with a focus on measurable outcomes.
• Highly organized with attention to detail; ability to work independently and coordinate multiple, diverse projects, set realistic deadlines, and manage a timeline.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to forge meaningful relationships with diverse stakeholders.
• Integrates organizational values in day to day work, including in supervision of other employees.
• Personal qualities of integrity, credibility, and unwavering commitment to the organization's mission.
• Compassion for incarcerated persons and their family members, and a demonstrated interest in criminal justice reform.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and be self-motivated.
• Effective and persuasive communication skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Google Suite, Box, and Slack, or an ability to learn on the job.

Benefits and Support:

Currently, UnCommon Law offers 100% Paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for employees and covers 75% for dependents. To support our team's mental wellbeing, we also provide a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) of $200/month in reimbursable funds for therapeutic expenses. We have a flexible time off policy and close for two weeks from late December to early January each year. We offer a generous family leave policy, flexible hours, FSA and Retirement plans, regular access to training and clinical support, and generous sick leave. In addition to the formal benefits, we are committed to building and maintaining an equitable culture that is sustainable and joyful and where each team member can thrive. You'll see this in the acknowledgements in weekly staff meetings, in-office lunches, and community gatherings.

Application instructions:

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your interest and relevant experience for the role, along with contact information for two professional, academic or other relevant references to our hiring portal (https://uncommonlaw.bamboohr.com/jobs/). Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

Please note that all correspondence in the hiring process will be through the BambooHR portal. Following the submission of your application, you should receive an automatic response (via email) thanking you for your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.

As part of our hiring process, we may request references. UnCommon Law staff will let a candidate know when to provide references, and we will reach out to references ourselves. While we appreciate the wonderful support many of our community members wish to provide for one another during the hiring process, unsolicited references via social media or other unofficial channels will not be considered in a candidate's application.

UCL is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. UCL does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or prior contact with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people impacted by incarceration as well as from traditionally underrepresented communities.