Development Director

Job title: Development Director – Speak Up for the Poor

Location: Pacific Northwest of the USA, location flexible.

Terms: Full-time position. The Development Director will earn from $90,000 to $110,000 based on experience and qualifications, and receive health insurance. The position will offer a very flexible work schedule with minimal daily oversight, and will have a generous holiday schedule. The position requires frequent regional and national travel, and an annual trip to Bangladesh to stay connected with our work on the ground.

About Speak Up: Speak Up is a fast-growing non-profit organization (NGO) incorporated in the United States focusing on empowering girls in poverty. We currently work in Bangladesh where our Girls Empowerment Program serves more than 2,500 girls in 44 slums and villages, primarily through funding education and stopping child marriages. Our results speak clearly:
Our team has stopped more than 1,000 child marriages; empowered more than 125 girls in poverty to complete a higher-education; transformed the lives of countless girls and their families; changed entire village cultures through empowered girls; and trained scores of young women to be our own staff and interns.

We look to significantly increase our funding to replicate our work around the country and region. Our 2025 fundraising total will be around $800,000. With increased funding we plan to open new international sites in 2027 and expand our work around Bangladesh.

About the role: The Development Director will double Speak Up’s fundraising income over three years through fundraising and public relations efforts. The DD will lead Speak Up’s fundraising, primarily in the USA, through a combination of grant-writing; large- and medium-donor acquisition; corporate partnerships; and the growth of our Sponsorship Program which today accounts for 60% of our income. The DD will develop Speak Up’s fundraising efforts internationally, including Canada.

The DD will report to Speak Up’s International Director. The DD will ideally be based in an urban center in the Pacific Northwest of the USA to capitalize on Speak Up’s regional presence. We do not have a physical office space, so the job location is flexible. The establishment of a physical office in the PNW will be a strategic goal in 2026-27.

• Managing all aspects of Speak Up’s fundraising efforts.
• Fundraising goal of at least $1 million in 2026.
• Implementing a social media and public relations strategy.
• Managing a team of staff and volunteers, some remote.
• Overseeing the fundraising side of our Sponsorship Program.
• Communicating Speak Up’s vision to a global audience.

• 5 years high-level experience in Fundraising Development.
• A track-record of fundraising at least $1 million annually.
• Experience in leading a team of staff or volunteers.
• Skills in grant-writing and reporting.
• Effective public speaker and communicator.
• Skills in social media engagement.
• A passion for girls and women’s empowerment issues.
• An energetic, visionary mindset to catalyze new funding.
• Great personal initiative and integrity to handle solo work.