Chief Development Officer

CSIS |Center for Strategic and International Studies

Chief Development Officer

Washington, DC

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, the Center) is a bipartisan, nonprofit policy research organization dedicated to advancing practical ideas to address the world’s greatest challenges.

Founded in 1962, CSIS’ purpose is to define the future of national security. The organization is guided by a distinct set of values: non-partisanship, independent thought, innovative thinking, cross-disciplinary scholarship, integrity and professionalism, and talent development. CSIS’ values work in concert toward the goal of making real-world impact.

Today, CSIS is one of the world’s preeminent public policy institutions on foreign policy and national security issues.  Policy makers rely on CSIS’ work and its intellectual integrity. The Center’s more than 240 full-time staff and large network of affiliated scholars conduct research and analysis and develop policy initiatives that look to the future and anticipate change. They organize conferences, publish, lecture, and make media appearances that aim to increase the knowledge, awareness, and salience of policy issues with relevant stakeholders and the interested public. CSIS is regularly called upon by Congress, the executive branch, the media, and others to explain the day’s events and offer recommendations to improve U.S. strategy. CSIS has impact when its research helps to inform the decision-making of key policymakers and the thinking of key influencers, working toward a vision of a safer and more prosperous world.

CSIS is ranked the number one think tank in the U.S. by the University of Pennsylvania’s “Global Go To Think Tank Index.”

CSIS has recently completed a major strategic plan. At the core of this plan is a shift in the Center’s approach to raising revenue to a top-down focus to increase the amount of money raised centrally by the organization. CSIS is seeking a Chief Development Officer who can partner with the organization’s senior leadership and policy experts to create new large-scale opportunities for revenue generation, and to facilitate fundable, collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts. The successful candidate is expected to be a thought leader and will have the opportunity to impact the effectiveness of CSIS and its scholars in defining the future of national security.

Reporting to the President and CEO, The CDO will provide overall, Center-wide leadership for strategy, support, and execution of all fundraising activities. This individual is responsible for formalizing a comprehensive, strategic development program that focuses on high-level gifts or grants, integrating development activities with all areas of CSIS, and catalyzing an organization-wide culture of philanthropy.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of development experience in roles of progressive leadership responsibility, with a working knowledge of all areas within development, including individual major and principal gifts, institutional relations, prospect research, development operations, and stewardship, as well as campaign planning and implementation, preferably within a nonprofit organization that is national or international in scale. Demonstrated ability to successfully work in a nonprofit setting that prioritizes new donor discovery and engagement.
• Demonstrated ability to provide strategic and operational management, with at least seven years of senior-level development management experience, including creating and managing a budget. A supportive and accessible management style and strong record of recruiting and developing talented individuals. A history of increasing the effectiveness of a development program and staff through established objectives and performance standards.
• Experience in international fundraising and the cultural sensitivity it requires. A global orientation and knowledge of strategies and trends in global philanthropy.
• Demonstrated ability to strategically move individuals and institutional funding sources across the spectrum of prospect development. A history of securing six and seven-figure gifts, as well as experience working with engagement strategies for cultivating major gift donors.
• Passion for CSIS’ mission and areas of focus. Intellectually curious, with a broad understanding of the national security and international policy issues CSIS covers.
• Open-minded and impartial with no partisan bias. The ability to work on both sides of the aisle with a nonpartisan approach to all matters.

The Center for Strategic & International Studies is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

CSIS has retained Diversified Search to assist in this confidential search process. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (current resumes and cover letters) should be directed electronically to:

Gerard F. Cattie, Jr.

Managing Director

Practice Leader – Development & Philanthropy

Diversified Search

The Chrysler Building, 405 Lexington Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, NY 10174

gerard.cattie@divsearch.com | 212.542.2587