Senior Director of External Affairs – New York

Position: Senior Director of External Affairs, New York

Position Type: Internal-External

FLSA Classification: Exempt

Reports to: Managing Director of External Affairs

Start date: July 2026

Location: New York City, New York

Salary Range: $106,208 – $123,046 is the hiring salary range for this role (i.e. the range a candidate would be offered to start).

About OneGoal

OneGoal transforms postsecondary advising and support so that every student can define their own future. Together with our partners, we’re building a movement to close the opportunity gap. We work side-by-side with partner schools and districts to build their knowledge and capacity. The result is more equitable and effective support for all students. Our unique approach, honed over 15 years, prioritizes strong human relationships. And it’s proven to deliver real student impact. 82% of OneGoal high school graduates enroll in a postsecondary institution, and 73% of those who enroll persist one year after high school. An independent study by the University of Chicago found that OneGoal students are about 40% more likely to earn their postsecondary degrees than students from similar backgrounds. We are looking for individuals to join us in our pursuit of equity.

The Person

As the Senior Director of External Affairs, you will ensure that OneGoal-New York creates, refines, and saturates the local philanthropic community with a compelling vision around how we are leading the movement to transform postsecondary advising and support. Your mission is to execute short- and long-term institutional, individual, and corporate fundraising strategies by building strong internal and external relationships, communicating our impact compellingly, and using data to inform your work.

You will do this by:

Managing Grants Strategy & Foundation Funding (40%)

Execute independently on an annual and multi-year vision for the foundation portfolio to raise ~$1M in foundation revenue goal by 6/30/2027
Manage a portfolio of ~12 donors and submit all grant deliverables on time
Develop strong relationships with a portfolio of foundation program officers, remaining responsive to their questions and needs, and sharing compelling, new information about OneGoal and the education landscape related to their motivations and barriers
Draft and submit detailed and thoughtful foundation proposals and grant reports

Managing Mid-Level Individual and Corporate Revenue (30%)

Develop and execute against tiered mid-level individual and corporate donor action plans
Support the Managing Director of External Affairs & Executive Director with board member engagement and recruitment, Major Gift Donor admin, and create network giving plans and tactics
Clearly articulate the impact and importance of investments to potential donors through research, data analysis, and thoughtful meeting preparation
Independently manage corporate portfolio by executing on engagement events, putting together pitch decks, and being primary point of contact
Represent OneGoal at networking events and in meetings with corporate donors/mid-level donors
Launch and manage an Associate Board

Managing Development Operations (20%)

Monitor and analyze internal performance data (progress to goals and key progress indicators) to inform funding risks and opportunities
Ensure all donor activities in our CRM database (Salesforce) are accurate and up to date
Manage all aspects of gift processing and stewardship; ensure consistency across database content and internal tracking systems
Regularly conduct prospect research and qualification work to inform the fundraising pipeline and to set up the team for year-over-year revenue growth
Monitor and analyze internal performance data (progress to goals and key progress indicators) to inform funding risks and opportunities

Engaging in personal learning and supporting team culture (10%)

Work to achieve meaningful outcomes, contribute to building a strong team and culture, actively engage in all OneGoal regional and national spaces, and commit to your own learning + development aligned to our Core Values

Though the Senior Director of External Affairs is likely to see himself/herself/themselves in the following examples, these are not requirements. These examples are designed to help you determine if this opportunity aligns with your own passion and purpose.

You love the big picture but are obsessed with the details.

You’re able to easily navigate between high-level/big picture strategy and the day-to-day details that keep a team running and executing on key outcomes.
You love managing the details and have systems/processes that ensure that things don’t fall through the cracks and that you consistently have a clear picture of where things are relative to short- and long-term goals.
You get energy from planning and from moving a project from start to finish and you are constantly thinking about the potential for impact with each action you take.

You are a compelling and effective communicator.

You have tremendous ability to adapt messages to different audiences in order to inspire stakeholders.
You discern the appropriate mode of communication, depending on the situation and audience, to build champions and convert skeptics.

You understand the power of language and story-telling and have experience and skill drafting grants, letters of inquiry and other external marketing collateral that effectively and concisely tells a compelling story others are eager to invest in.
You are attentive to the details for how to modify written and verbal stories and pitches to appeal to specific audiences.

When it comes to data, you believe that actionable insights drive learning, efficiency and improvement.

You enjoy making data and analysis digestible and meaningful for all types of learners and audiences.
You value the power of both qualitative and quantitative data–and you understand that data only tells part of the story.
You understand the importance of data collection and data integrity.

You see challenges as opportunities to take your critical thinking skills and impact to the next level. You operate with a strong sense of personal responsibility when it comes to solving challenges.

You value working collaboratively and innovatively.

You constantly strive to learn from and share learnings with your teammates, no matter your current knowledge or experience.
You know when and how to engage other key stakeholders that have the insight and positional authority to help you and others overcome obstacles and seize viable beneficial opportunities in a timely way.
You thoughtfully evaluate the OneGoal program and identify ways to elevate our program’s effectiveness.

Qualifications:

Grant writing or strong, aligned experience leveraging persuasive writing to achieve outcomes (Required)
Exceptional organizational abilities and attention to detail (Required)
Live in New York City area and willing to travel to the office/events as needed, including some evenings (~5 days per month) (Required)
Lived experience of the Fellows we serve (Preferred)
Experience in, and understanding of, the New York philanthropic and education landscape (Preferred)
Proven track record of achieving ambitious goals and creating effective systems (Preferred)

This position requires that the employee be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 on or before the start date. Consistent with applicable laws, OneGoal will provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified employees and prospective employees with a disability (as defined by applicable law) or sincerely-held religious beliefs, provided that such accommodation would not result in an undue hardship on OneGoal.

Our Team

Guided by a clear set of core values and beliefs, you will join an impressive group of more than 200 OneGoal staff across the country who believe in the untapped potential within students. The OneGoal team challenges themselves and others to regularly ask, “Is there a better way?” We believe that in order to create the change we seek, each person we hire brings a remarkable and diverse set of experiences, skills and characteristics that individually and collectively, will contribute to the radical change needed to move us towards a more just nation.

The Tangible Good

OneGoal offers competitive compensation based on the market for nonprofits our size. Our benefits package* includes: over eight weeks of paid time off (or 43 business days), between vacation days, wellness time, and holidays; paid medical or parental leaves should you have need; medical, dental, vision, short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance; as well as a 401(k) with a 3% match.

We believe in compensating staff members fairly in relation to each other, their qualifications, and their impact on behalf of the organization, and take internal and external fairness seriously. OneGoal does not negotiate salary offers; instead each salary offer is determined carefully using external and internal benchmarking. You will have an opportunity to discuss salary in more detail after you begin the hiring process.

*OneGoal reserves the right to change benefits at any time according to business need.

If you require a reasonable accommodation to submit an application or to participate in the application or interview process, please reach out to our Human Assets Team to request an accommodation. Our Human Assets Team can be contacted at 773-321-2630 or HumanAssets@onegoalgraduation.org.

OneGoal does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of actual or perceived sex, race, color, ancestry, citizenship, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability (mental or physical), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, pregnancy, breastfeeding or related medical condition, parenthood, genetic characteristic or information, military or veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law.