Development Manager

About Elemental Excelerator

Elemental is a nonprofit investor in climate technologies with deep community impact. We bring more than a decade of experience across the climate sector, with an active and maturing portfolio of 150+ companies. Elemental fills two gaps fundamental to addressing climate change: funding projects for climate technologies in communities, and embedding equity and access into climate solutions. We invest in transformative technologies to create systems change for a more resilient, equitable future.

Elemental invests deeply in entrepreneurs from traditionally excluded backgrounds and embed equity and access through every aspect of development through implementation. We heavily focus on project deployments that meaningfully bring in community input and deliver community impact. We do more than write a check; we find innovative and creative ways to identify and fill financing and support gaps in the market. Our wraparound services include policy strategy, equity and access coaching, commercialization support, corporate connections, diverse talent acquisition, follow on funding partnerships and beyond.

About the role
Elemental is seeking a passionate self-starter, with an eye for detail and a way with words, to join our Growth Team as Development Manager. In this role, you will directly support and implement Elemental’s dynamic fundraising program and help meet our annual revenue goals. You will be responsible for writing compelling concept notes and winning grant proposals, while managing the entire funding cycle – from prospect tracking, proposal ideation and application submission to grant reporting and donor stewardship.

Both strategic and energetic, the Growth Team is expected to execute the organization’s ambitious strategic and revenue goals. The Development Manager will report directly to the Managing Director, Growth and collaborate closely with the rest of the Development Team, including the Director of Grants Administration and Development Analyst.

Key Responsibilities Include:

PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

• Research, develop, and write sophisticated, data-driven funding proposals and grant applications
• Manage philanthropic and government grant application and diligence processes, including gathering materials, budgets and documentation
• Develop creative and compelling concept notes, materials and presentation decks for donors and prospects
• Manage an efficient content gathering and proposal development process across the organization’s program teams and finance and accounting department.

GRANT REPORTING

• Design and build regular presentations for each funder and develop visual content and talking points with program leads
• Track impact metrics required by each funder for grant reporting and support program leads with creating evaluation plans for each grant project
• Write clear and accurate grant progress and final reports, that inspire and capture our progress and impact

GRANT MANAGEMENT

• Manage and organize filing systems with all fundraising content and materials
• Track the life cycle of grants in Airtable and synthesize development progress for the team on Basecamp and other platforms

About You

You could be a great addition to our team if you are an experienced grant writer with a creative side. You bring a strong understanding of both how to structure sophisticated grant proposals and how to design beautiful pitch decks. You are skilled in grant management and understand budgeting, as well as working collaboratively with program teams across the organization to execute projects and report back impact to donors. You believe deeply in social and racial equity and have a pulse on climate philanthropy, climate finance and the federal funding landscape. You adapt to emerging funding opportunities and are able to quickly translate donor interests with program needs. And if climate tech is new to you, you are curious and ready to dive into learning.

Qualifications (even if you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications, we still encourage you to apply!)

Desired skills:

• Proven experience in soliciting and securing new funding, from conceptualizing unique pitches to providing impeccable donor stewardship once funding is awarded
• Exceptional writer, content creator, and data-driven storyteller
• Finds joy in pulling together content, writing detailed proposals and reports, and designing presentation decks
• Ability to balance multiple, complex fundraising initiatives simultaneously in a fast-paced environment
• Strong comfort in managing CRMs, including Hubspot and AirTable and content creation tools, including Keynote and Google
• Highly collaborative spirit with ability to quickly adapt, change and iterate content and materials to meet the needs of the team and/or donor

Standout skills:

• Demonstrated success in developing and securing 6 and 7-figure gifts from both philanthropic donors and foundations
• Demonstrated success managing federal RFPs and government awards
• Experience at a management consulting firm, preferably with a focus on climate action/environmental sustainability

And if you are interested in this opportunity but don't have direct experience, here are transferable skills that we believe are applicable and will help you in this role:

Compensation & Benefits

This is a full-time "at-will" position working at least 40 hours per week; and you will be asked to travel for work periodically.

The salary range for this role is $75,700 - $126,800 which is based on market data and the organization's compensation philosophy. Individual salary offers will depend on and may vary with location, relevant education, knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer comprehensive employee benefits, including a professional development stipend and three weeks paid time off (more details here).

Location

We will consider candidates located in New York and Washington DC. Elemental has a hybrid working model and if you are within a reasonable distance to one of our offices, we ask employees to come into the office at least one day a week to build community with the team. Currently, most people come in 1-2 times a week, but we encourage those who are interested to come in more often if they’d like.

Other Details:

We will accept and review applications on a rolling basis. Although all applications will be considered, we may be unable to respond to all inquiries. Please note that we do read cover letters, so we advise spending adequate time on them to share your relevant stories and experiences with us. We also ask that you refrain from using tools like Chat GPT and keep the cover letter to 1-2 pages long.

Elemental is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and has a strong commitment to diversity. Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Candidates from the following groups are especially encouraged to apply: Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) communities; people who have disabilities; and people from low-income backgrounds.

Elemental is also committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs, and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws.