ABOUT BEST NC:
BEST NC (Business for Education Success and Transformation in North Carolina) is a dynamic and innovativenonpartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to improving education in North Carolina. We are proud tohave a membership that includes influential business leaders committed to shaping the future of education inour state. Our mission is to unite business leaders, educators, policymakers, and community members arounda shared passion for transforming education in North Carolina; and a belief that every student in NorthCarolina should receive a high-quality education.
BEST NC Core Values:
- Student-focused
- Evidence-based and Solutions-oriented
- Optimistic & Courageous
- Collaborative
- Committed to Continuous Improvement
LOCATION:
BEST NC’s offices are in Cary, NC. We operate on a hybrid work schedule with required in-person attendance 2days per week, plus key events. The office is open every day for anyone who prefers to work in the office.
Limited travel is required to support events, typically day trips within the state and generally not more thanone per month on average.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
BEST NC is seeking a senior, development and communications professional to serve as Director of
Development & Communications. This role owns BEST NC's voice with its members, board members,
policymakers, and the broader education field — managing the full member engagement cycle, leading grantdevelopment and reporting, producing the organization's flagship communications, and serving as a thoughtpartner to the President & CEO. If you are an experienced fundraiser and communicator who thrives onrelationships and writing, and cares deeply about education, we want to hear from you.
PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Member Engagement & Fundraising
- Manage the member engagement cycle: quarterly newsletters, regular one-on-one touchpoints(scheduling and preparing the CEO), identification of new member candidates, membership and boardrecruitment and retention, and elevating current members to higher member tiers
- Coordinate member events with support from the Programs & Events Manager
- Maintain SFDC (Salesforce) hygiene for all member and donor data
Annual Innovation Lab
- Lead planning effort for the Annual BEST NC Education Innovation Lab – including: convening a planning committee to identify a theme, agenda, and speakers
- Work with Programs & Events Manager to execute logistics
Board Management
- Work with CEO to plan content for quarterly board meetings including guest speakers and draft deck
- Provide Board updates on communications, membership, and other development activities
Grant Management
- Own the full lifecycle of general operating and special grants – prospecting, applications, relationshipmanagement, and reporting, working closely with staff and consultants to meet deliverables
Communications & Content
- Produce the quarterly member newsletter, annual report content, policy briefs, and monthly Catalystnewsletters (content calendar, content creation, and execution of digital pushes including one-offs) incoordination with policy and graphic design colleagues
- Draft stakeholder emails and biweekly Board updates
- Collaborate with the Programs & Events Manager on event communications, invitations, and recapcontent
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- 5+ years of experience in development, member engagement, or fundraising at a mission-drivenorganization
- Demonstrated grant writing and reporting experience, including general operating and project grants
- Strong portfolio that includes long-form writing (annual reports, grant narratives) and short-form
- (newsletters, member communications, stakeholder updates)
- Track record of member or donor recruitment and retention, ideally in North Carolina
- Comfortable as a thought partner to the CEO and as a representative of the organization to businessand philanthropic executives
- Experience with Constant Contact or similar email platforms
- Proficiency in Salesforce or a comparable CRM
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
Preferred
- Familiarity with AI-assisted drafting tools and willingness to standardize their use
- Background in K-12 or higher education, policy, business advocacy, or a related field