Salary :
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Job Title: Chief Development and Marketing Officer
Location: Chicago, DC, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, or Oakland, CA
This position can be remote and requires an ability to travel.
Reports To: Executive Director
Supervises: 4 to 6 direct reports
Sierra Club’s Mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.
Context:
Scope: The Chief Development and Marketing Officer is a key executive leader responsible for driving integrated fundraising, marketing, and stakeholder engagement strategies to grow revenue and elevate Sierra Club’s brand impact. Reporting directly to the Executive Director and serving on the Leadership Team, this leader bridges mission and resources, ensuring that organizational strategy, investments, and revenue are aligned for long-term sustainability.
The role combines visionary leadership with hands-on operational execution—imagining what's possible, building the infrastructure to support it, and leading teams to deliver with clarity, accountability, and care.
The successful candidate will work closely with the Chief Communications Officer on the strategic integration of revenue and constituent engagement, ensuring that fundraising, marketing, community building, brand integrity, and advocacy efforts reinforce one another. The CDMO will establish and foster a comprehensive approach to revenue generation with connectivity at every level of the organization, including fundraising and development, membership, stewardship, marketing and communications alignment, earned income, corporate and cause-aligned partnerships, influencer engagement, and narrative and brand strategy.
Key responsibilities and impact (includes, but is not limited to):
- Oversee and strengthen a complex revenue ecosystem generating more than $160M annually, with a particular focus on growing unrestricted and flexible funding.
- Lead the development and execution of a multi-year, integrated revenue and constituent engagement strategy, in close collaboration with the Communications, Program and Field Departments, that aligns with Sierra Club’s strategic priorities, and long-term financial health; specific focus on expanding and maximizing funding from individual donors.
- Serve as a senior external ambassador and leading voice for the organization, to cultivate and steward relationships with key donors and stakeholders; deepen brand value; build organizational awareness; and grow the Sierra Club community.
- Review all revenue functions, breaking down silos and strengthening team cohesion; enhance cross-functional and intra-unit collaboration to develop a seamless, integrated division that values relational over transactional engagement.
- Manage a sophisticated funding landscape of 501(c)3 funds, 501(c)4 funds and political funds. Balancing these legally distinct and strategic revenue sources is critical to their success.
- Build and embed enterprise-wide systems, data practices, and performance frameworks that enable collaboration, transparency, and informed decision-making across functions and geographies.
- Foster a culture of fundraising and shared ownership of revenue across staff, volunteers, leadership, and Boards, as well as strategic integration with a national network of chapters and chapter leaders.
- Provide strategic counsel to the Executive Director, Boards of Directors, Chapters, and senior leaders on revenue diversification, capital planning, brand-aligned partnerships, impact investing strategies, benchmarking and constituent trends, as well as key convenings and brand alignment opportunities.
- Partner closely with executive peers to ensure alignment across narrative, engagement, financial planning, programmatic and organizational strategy.
The successful candidate will demonstrate the following skills, experience and competencies:
- Extensive development and marketing expertise: 10+ years experience in revenue generation. Exemplary track record directing a large, comprehensive, complex development and/or marketing team, preferably for a decentralized national organization, including demonstrated results across functions, siloes, geographies, and/or affiliates.
- Executive and team leadership: Substantial executive-level leadership experience and demonstrated ability to establish, lead, and drive objectives - particularly in a highly dynamic and evolvingenvironment - at the enterprise level. A results-driven leader who can inspire staff and volunteer leaders, communicate clearly, collaborate across departments and at alllevels of the organization, and provide feedback and coaching to support the achievementof complex goals. Success inspiring board and other volunteer leaders to engage in revenue generation and marketing efforts.
- Systems and process improvement: Experience building internal systems and processes to facilitate and strengthen all components of a successful revenue-generation function.
- Mission and values alignment: A passion for the Sierra Club’s mission and commitment to environmental and social justice.
$275,000 - $325,000 a year
Compensation and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $275,000 - $325,000 annually.
The Sierra Club offers a competitive salary package commensurate with skills and experience plus excellent benefits that include medical, dental, and vision coverage, and a retirement savings 401(k) plan.
This is a category 1, exempt, non-represented, leadership, and managerial position.
Sierra Club values the expertise and talents of foreign nationals. Sierra Club sponsors both nonimmigrant and immigrant visas when certain criteria are met, based on immigration laws and organizational needs. Such sponsorship is at the discretion of the Department Head and Sierra Club People Department in consultation with the Office of General Counsel. The Sierra Club cannot guarantee the approval of a visa petition. The Sierra Club is an equal opportunity employer committed to workforce belonging.
To Apply
The Sierra Club provides equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff members. Employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, lived experience and skills. The Sierra Club does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, immigration status, socioeconomic status, ancestry, age, sizeT, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, familial status, veteran status, disability, AIDS/HIV status, medical condition, prior conviction, arrest history, traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture and protective hairstyles, or any other characteristic protected by law.
The Sierra Club values applicants who are people that identify as Black, Indigenous, and other minority groups; women; queer, transgender, gender non-conforming, and gender fluid people.
Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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