Director, Development — Phoenix
ABOUT PER SCHOLAS
For 30 years, Per Scholas has been on a mission to drive mobility and opportunity in the ever-advancing technology landscape by unlocking the untapped potential of individuals, uplifting communities, and meeting the needs of employers through rigorous tech training. By teaming up with dynamic employer partners, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to innovative startups, we're forging inclusive tech talent pipelines, fulfilling an ever-increasing need for skilled talent. With national remote training and campuses in 20+ cities and counting, Per Scholas offers no-cost training programs in the most sought-after tech skills, spanning Cloud, Cybersecurity, Data Engineering, IT Support, Software Engineering, and more. To date, 30,000+ individuals have been trained through Per Scholas, propelling their professional trajectories into high-growth tech careers with salaries three times higher than their pre-training earnings. Learn more by visiting PerScholas.org and follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Per Scholas candidates must reside in one of the following states, provided the position does not carry a specific office location requirement: AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, IN, KS, MD, MA, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TX, WA.
JOB TITLE: Director, Development — Phoenix
OFFICE: Phoenix
REPORTS TO: VP of Local Markets
Per Scholas is seeking a strategic, entrepreneurial, and results-driven Director, Development to lead development efforts in the Phoenix market and other markets as assigned. The Director will have primary responsibility for building and growing a sustainable local revenue pipeline in Phoenix, while also supporting development priorities, opportunities, and portfolios in additional Per Scholas markets as organizational needs and priorities evolve.
The Director will focus on four core areas of work: generating new local leads and building market pipelines, stewarding and growing a portfolio of local partners, advancing government funding opportunities, and collaborating with national channel teams on larger and multi-market investments.
This role is designed to strengthen Per Scholas' presence and revenue potential in the Phoenix market while providing flexible development capacity across other assigned markets. The Director will develop relationships across corporate, philanthropic, civic, workforce-development, and public-sector communities and work closely with local market leadership to understand growth priorities and translate those priorities into compelling opportunities for investment.
In Phoenix, the Director will serve as the primary development lead, building a strong local pipeline, cultivating and growing relationships, advancing government funding opportunities, and partnering closely with Phoenix market leadership. The Director may also be assigned to support other markets where additional development capacity, prospecting, portfolio management, or strategic opportunity development is needed.
The Director will also serve as a critical connector between local markets and Per Scholas' national development infrastructure, ensuring that local intelligence and relationships inform national channel strategies while coordinating partner engagement across teams.
This is a highly collaborative position requiring close partnership with Corporate, Foundation, Government Relations & Contracts, Individual Giving, Development Operations, Program, Finance, and local market leadership.
The ideal candidate is a relationship-oriented fundraiser and business developer who combines strong prospecting and pipeline-building skills with disciplined portfolio management, strategic thinking, and the ability to navigate complex, cross-functional partnerships across Phoenix and other assigned markets.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
In this role, you will focus on four core priorities
- Generate local leads and build a strong development pipeline in Phoenix and other assigned markets
- Steward and grow a portfolio of local partners
- Identify and advance government funding opportunities
- Collaborate with national channel teams on larger and multi-market opportunities
Local Lead Generation & Pipeline Development
- Build and continually expand a qualified pipeline of prospective corporate, philanthropic, civic, and public-sector partners in Phoenix and other assigned markets.
- Proactively identify new funding prospects through research, networking, referrals, community engagement, and existing Per Scholas relationships.
- Develop relationships with Phoenix-area business, philanthropic, civic, and workforce-development leaders, while also supporting relationship development in other assigned markets.
- Use market intelligence, Salesforce data, and other prospecting tools to prioritize opportunities based on potential value, strategic alignment, relationship strength, likelihood of success, and timing.
- Create and execute prospect strategies that move relationships from identification and qualification through cultivation, solicitation, and close.
- Build a balanced pipeline that includes both near-term revenue opportunities and longer-term strategic prospects across Phoenix and assigned markets.
- Maintain accurate and actionable pipeline information in Salesforce, including prospect stage, next steps, anticipated timing, relationship ownership, and revenue potential.
- Work closely with Phoenix market leadership, other assigned market leaders, and national channel colleagues to identify warm introductions and leverage existing relationships.
- Develop strategies to convert emerging relationships into sustained philanthropic, corporate, and public-sector partnerships.
Local Portfolio Stewardship & Revenue Growth
- Manage and steward a portfolio of local corporate, foundation, philanthropic, and other partners, with primary responsibility for Phoenix and additional markets as assigned.
- Build trusted relationships with funders and partners by understanding their priorities and connecting them to Per Scholas' mission, outcomes, and local market opportunities.
- Develop and execute individualized cultivation, solicitation, renewal, and stewardship strategies for portfolio accounts.
- Identify opportunities to deepen existing relationships through increased investment, multi-year commitments, expanded engagement, sponsorships, or other forms of partnership.
- Ensure partners receive timely, meaningful, and high-quality stewardship in coordination with program, market, and development colleagues.
- Maintain strong knowledge of portfolio partner priorities, giving history, relationships, engagement, and potential for future investment.
- Lead or support proposals, presentations, solicitations, renewals, and negotiations for local funding opportunities.
- Develop strategies to retain and grow key partners while continually identifying opportunities to introduce new prospects into the portfolio.
- Ensure portfolio activity, relationship strategies, and revenue forecasts are accurately reflected in Salesforce.
Government Funding Opportunities
- Partner closely with the Government Relations & Contracts team to identify, qualify, and advance local, state, and federal government funding opportunities relevant to Phoenix and other assigned markets.
- Develop and maintain relationships with relevant government, workforce-development, economic-development, and civic stakeholders in Phoenix and, as assigned, other markets.
- Bring local market intelligence, relationships, and emerging opportunities to the Government Relations & Contracts team to inform public funding strategies.
- Identify government funding opportunities that align with Per Scholas' workforce-development programs, learner outcomes, and market growth priorities.
- Support the development of government proposals, applications, contracts, and related materials by coordinating with Government Relations & Contracts, Program, Finance, and other internal partners.
- Coordinate local government engagement while ensuring alignment with Per Scholas' broader government funding strategy.
- Track emerging public-sector priorities, funding announcements, workforce initiatives, and policy developments that may create opportunities for Per Scholas.
- Help position Per Scholas as a trusted workforce-development partner in Phoenix and other assigned markets.
Collaboration with National Channel Teams
- Collaborate closely with Per Scholas' Corporate, Foundation, Government Relations & Contracts, and Individual Giving teams to identify and advance larger, strategic, or multi-market opportunities.
- Serve as a local market connector for national channel teams, providing Phoenix-specific and other assigned-market relationships, intelligence, context, and opportunities.
- Coordinate partner strategy and engagement across local and national teams to ensure clear roles, consistent communication, and a seamless partner experience.
- Identify when a local prospect has the potential to become a larger or multi-market partnership and engage the appropriate channel team early in the process.
- Support national channel teams in cultivating relationships with companies, foundations, and other funders that have a presence or strategic interest in Phoenix or other assigned markets.
- Participate in joint cultivation, site visits, meetings, proposals, presentations, solicitations, and stewardship activities as appropriate.
- Ensure local market priorities and opportunities are represented in broader channel strategies.
- Help resolve relationship ownership and coordination questions across local and national teams in partnership with development leadership.
Phoenix Market Partnership & Growth
- Partner closely with Phoenix market leadership to understand programmatic priorities, learner demand, employer needs, and market growth opportunities.
- Translate Phoenix's programmatic and workforce-development priorities into compelling cases for investment.
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