Job  Board

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) supports the safety, health, and spiritual strength of Native children. Grounded in Native values, we work to keep Native children with their families and their communities.

NICWA is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1983 and based in Portland, Oregon. Our members include Tribal Nations, individuals—both Native and non-Native—and private organizations from across the United States and Canada concerned with Native and First Nations child and family issues. Together, our board, staff, and partners work to protect Native children and keep them connected to their families, communities, and cultures.

The Opportunity

With the pro-ICWA decision in the Haaland v. Brackeen case (2023), we had a wave of new audiences and advocates looking to support the Protect ICWA Campaign and NICWA. The development communications manager played a crucial role in supporting this momentum and will continue efforts to retain and expand these audiences. This role reports to our communications director to lead annual giving and donor stewardship efforts. The development communications manager will implement and evaluate a comprehensive multi-year program fostering a culture of appreciation, recognition, and ongoing engagement of NICWA’s various constituents to increase funding that directly impacts Native children and families. A member of the NICWA executive team, which coordinates and carries out communications and development work, this role will also work closely with the executive director, development manager, communications manager, and development project coordinator.

We are a well-regarded Native-led national organization with strong leadership, deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, and strong relationships with local Tribal communities as well as Tribes nationwide. We have an engaged board of directors who help shape our work and carry out our organizational fundraising goals. We have a highly collaborative workplace. The way we do our work is just as important to us as the quality and outcomes of our work, and we invest in our employees and our organizational culture.

Candidate Profile

NICWA seeks a leader who is passionate about the well-being of Native children and families, is a skilled communicator, and will help grow our donor program. This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced nonprofit fundraiser with established skills for translating our mission and its impact to perspective donors. This leader will strengthen and build new and existing relationships. Our development communications manager will stay current with the latest fundraising trends including, but not limited to, data management, software, research methodologies, and stewardship best practices. They will have experience or a keen interest in adapting industry best practices for a culturally specific organization. They will also have a strong work ethic and will be flexible and mission-driven in the types of work they perform. The ideal candidate will have experience working in a hybrid environment, as the position will work from home on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, and in office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Key Skills, Attributes, and Areas of Expertise

The development communications manager will have:

•Attention to Detail—have demonstrated experience in project management with creative problem-solving skills

•Knowledge of Indian Country—be familiar with Native culture and have knowledge of the challenges facing urban, rural, and Reservation Native and Tribal communities

•Relationships—build, maintain, and leverage strong and sustainable relationships with colleagues and community members

Qualifications

•Bachelor’s degree in communications, nonprofit management, public administration, marketing, public relations, business, or related field

•Three to five years of relevant work experience in fundraising or the equivalent is highly preferred

•Annual fund, prospect research, solicitation of gifts, donor stewardship, communications, and event experience is preferred

•Knowledge of Native culture and social service systems with demonstrated working experience with Tribal organizations, Tribal service systems, and Tribal government structures is preferred

•Proven ability to close gifts of $1,000 or more; must demonstrate comfort in making in-person funding requests/asks

•Knowledge of a donor database system; Raiser’s Edge NXT is preferred

NICWA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, disability, veteran, or any protected status. If you are interested in the position, but do not meet all qualifications, please feel free to apply, and identify the support you would need in your cover letter.

To learn more about this position, organizational culture, and benefits of working for NICWA, please join our webinar entitled “Job Opportunities at NICWA” on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. PT. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_l__oTSo8QkGnwRSLa8itKA

To Apply:

Complete application materials include: a cover letter, resume, and NICWA’s employment application (which can be found at https://www.nicwa.org/employment/) Please submit completed application materials to Operations Coordinator Andrea Zaragoza at andrea@nicwa.org by September 2, 2025.