Development Director, Events & Fundraising

Job title: Development Director, Events & Fundraising

About the Role The American Cancer Society is seeking a Development Director focused on events and major donor fundraising in Honolulu. This hybrid role leads strategy, planning, and execution of a $750k+ annual fundraising portfolio, including at least one $500k+ event, and collaborates cross-functionally to drive donor engagement and revenue growth.

What You'll Do

• Build, sustain, and elevate high-impact relationships with key donors, sponsors, volunteers, and community partners to achieve revenue goals and long-term engagement.
• Recruit, engage, and mobilize executives and leadership volunteers to support revenue plans, focusing on event chairs, ambassadors, and leadership teams.
• Partner with Corporate & Philanthropy teams to create tailored donor experiences to attract and retain high-value supporters and align event partners with broader Society cultivation efforts to grow revenue beyond events.
• Ensure best-in-class event experience through oversight of complex planning, logistics, brand positioning, budgets, and vendor relationships.
• Monitor fundraising progress and expenses against budget, proactively adjusting strategies to exceed aggressive financial goals and optimize ROI.
• Convene and coordinate the various contributors to event success — Corporate, Philanthropy, Marketing, coordinators, Area Lead, event execution, etc.
• Champion community presence and brand elevation, positioning events as premier experiences that deepen public interest and engagement.
• Travel/availability: Limited travel to meetings, training, and events; in-market travel approx. 3 days per week; ability to attend evening and weekend meetings and programs.

What We're Looking For

• BS/BA or equivalent; 4+ years in fundraising, corporate engagement, volunteer partnership, and relationship development.
• Experience driving revenue through sales excellence—prospecting, identification, cultivation, solicitation, evaluation, stewardship—with a focus on large, multi-year partnerships.
• Proven ability to lead high-functioning collaborative event teams, including internal and external stakeholders, to execute event deliverables.
• Strong leadership: creates a climate where people are motivated to do their best to achieve objectives; able to handle multiple priorities, project and timeline management and planning; monitor and adjust activities to changing circumstances and priorities to meet goals; address issues and mitigate risks.
• Able to work through others to accomplish goals; builds support for ideas among key stakeholders and decision makers.
• Proven relationship-building, persuasion, and influence skills.
• Ability to recruit, train, and motivate executive, C-suite level & high-influence leadership volunteers.
• Strong customer service orientation with experience addressing and resolving issues.
• Proactively monitors data and adjusts activities to meet goals; strong market, community and constituent knowledge & experience.
• Effectively builds formal and informal networks, inside and outside the organization; leverages knowledge and networks to remove barriers and achieve outcomes.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $70,000 – $77,000 per year.
• Benefits include generous paid time off, medical, dental, retirement benefits, wellness programs, and professional development programs.
• We are an equal opportunity employer.