Senior Director, Business Development and Investor Relations

Position Title: Senior Director, Business Development and Investor Relations

Position Type: Regular Full-Time

Department: Ground-Up Investing

Location: Washington, DC - Hybrid or Remote (if outside the local area)

Salary Range: $123,000 - $162,500 - $203,000

Corus International provides a competitive, growth-oriented, yet fiscally responsible compensation program. When determining an offer for employment, multiple factors are considered including relevant years of experience, education, skills, internal equity, and budget. Our overall approach is to target the minimum to midpoint for starting salaries, based on these factors.

Additionally, Corus provides a comprehensive and competitive employee benefit package to protect our valued and dedicated staff and their families. Our benefits include three medical plan options with comprehensive prescription drug coverage, low-cost dental coverage with 100% paid vision insurance. Corus also provides a generous retirement plan and PTO to include vacation, sick, holiday, parental, jury, international travel, and bereavement leave; employer-sponsored basic life/AD&D insurance; employee wellness incentives, and employee work/life balance and assistance programs.

Position Summary:

The Senior Director of Business Development and Investor Relations reports directly to the Managing Director of Ground Up Investing and is responsible for leading the organization's capital raising and investor relations strategy.

Ground Up Investing in an impact first investment fund whose majority shareholder is Corus International. Ground Up Investing has invested in companies that have provided over $50 million in incomes for low-income, rural families around the world and helped farmers adapt 50,000 acres to climate changes. In the next decade, Ground Up Investing aims to put $1 billion into the hands of low-income rural families by investing in local, market-changing entrepreneurs who support small-holder farmers to increase their incomes and adapt to climate and weather changes.

The Senior Director is responsible for designing and leading a $20 million capital raise to launch Ground Up Investing's second fund. In parallel, the role will build the strategy, team, growth plan, track record, systems, and investor relationships required to enable the successful launch and management of a third fund of $75 million in subsequent years.

Achieving these milestones will position Ground Up Investing to invest in companies that support over $1 billion in income growth for low-income rural families and enable climate adaptation across 1 million acres of land.

Responsibilities:

Resource Acquisition - High Net Worth Individuals (35%)

• Develop, lead, and execute a comprehensive strategy to secure $5-10 million in philanthropic grants and impact investments from High-Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs).
• Build and manage a robust pipeline of prospective HNWI donors and investors, guiding relationships through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Partner closely with Corus's Fundraising team to identify, prioritize, and engage individuals, families, congregations, and faith-based networks-particularly within the U.S. Lutheran community-interested in participating in Ground Up Investing (GUI) as donors and investors.
• Position GUI as the most trusted, accessible, and mission aligned impact investment platform for the U.S. Lutheran community by articulating a compelling blended value proposition.
• Lead high touch engagement efforts, including individual meetings, small group briefings, and tailored grant and investment proposals aligned with donor and investor motivations.

Resource Acquisition - Impact Investors, Foundations, and DFIs (25%)

• Design and implement a capital raising strategy to secure $5-10 million in senior debt commitments from corporate foundations, private foundations, fund of fund impact investors, and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs).
• Position GUI's senior debt offering as a highly protected investment vehicle with sector leading social return on investment, emphasizing risk mitigation, impact outcomes, and alignment with investor mandates.
• Lead outreach, due diligence coordination, and negotiations with institutional and quasi-institutional investors in collaboration with internal finance and investment teams.
• Cultivate long term relationships with mission aligned investors to support current fundraising goals and future funds.
• Monitor trends in impact investing, blended finance, and development finance to refine strategy and identify new sources of catalytic capital.

Investor Relations (20%)

• Cultivate and sustain trusted, long-term relationships with donors and investors through proactive engagement, transparency, and consistent communication.
• Serve as a primary relationship manager for key donors and investors, ensuring confidence in GUI's strategy, governance, and impact performance.
• Support fundraising goals of $20 million for GUI's second fund and $75 million for GUI's third fund, enabling investments that will support $1 billion in income growth for smallholder farmers and climate adaptation across 1 million acres of land.
• Collaborate with investment, finance, and impact teams to ensure accurate, timely, and compelling reporting to donors and investors.

Marketing & Communications (10%)

• Partner with Marketing & Communications staff and external consultants to define and execute a marketing and communications strategy that advances GUI's short- and long-term business development goals.
• Strengthen GUI's thought leadership in blended finance and international development through strategic messaging, content development, and targeted visibility.
• Support development of investor facing materials, including pitch decks, impact reports, case studies, and digital content.
• Ensure consistent, mission aligned messaging across fundraising, investor relations, and external communications.

Leadership & Management (10%)

• Build, lead, and mentor a Business Development, Investor Relations, and Marketing & Communications team to support GUI's fundraising and engagement objectives.
• Establish clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned with GUI's strategic plan.
• Foster a collaborative, high performance culture that integrates fundraising, investment, and impact perspectives.
• Contribute as a senior leader to organizational strategy, planning, and decision making in support of GUI's mission and long-term sustainability.

Supervisory:

• Hire and manage an expanded business development and investor relations team.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, International Development, Public Policy, Communications, or a related field required; or the equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
• A minimum of 10 years of relevant experience, with a demonstrated track record of success in fundraising or sales, preferably within impact investing, ESG, private credit or international development.
• Demonstrated success securing seven figures to $10M+ investments, gifts, and/or contracts from High-Net-Worth Individuals, foundations, impact investors, and development finance institutions.
• Experience building and sustaining trusted, long-term relationships with High-Net-Worth Individuals, donors, and investors, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Demonstrated leadership experience building and managing high performing teams.
• Experience working collaboratively cross functionally with investment, finance, impact, and executive teams.
• Proven ability to design and execute multiyear sales or fundraising strategies.
• Ability to clearly articulate investment and impact value propositions to diverse audiences, including faith-based communities and institutional investors.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to translate long term goals into actionable fundraising, investor relations, and market positioning plans.
• Strong collaboration skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including development of pitch materials, proposals, and impact narratives.
• Commitment to international development, climate adaptation, and inclusive economic growth, particularly in mission driven or values-based environments.
• Ability to travel up to 25% annually.
  

Physical and Mental Requirements:

• The physical requirements that may be needed to execute responsibilities may include bending, standing, and walking, etc.
• The mental requirements that are essential to satisfactorily executing the responsibilities outlined in this job description include, but are not limited to: learning new tasks, comprehending, and retaining information, completing tasks independently, effectively communicating verbally and in writing, demonstrating proficiency in using computer software to perform assigned tasks.

Other Duties:

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities for the position. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice. All positions are required to perform any additional tasks assigned by the supervisor. Global positions that are bound by contracts will not be changed without notice and approval.

Working Conditions, Travel and Environment

• Corus has a hybrid work policy, allowing work to be done remotely; two days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in the office is required. The employee must be available to work outside normal office hours or weekends as required.
• This position must be able to travel as required for standard domestic business purposes.
• Must have authorization to work in the country of assignment.

As a member of the Corus Family, each employee is expected to:

• Foster a work environment where everyone feels valued and included.
• Support employees' evaluation and promotion processes based on skills and performance.
• Promote a safe, secure, and respectful environment for all members of Corus family, stakeholders in general, and particularly for the communities we serve.
• Follow Corus Code of Conduct helping to prevent any type of abuse including workplace harassment, sexual abuse and exploitation, and trafficking in persons.
• Adhere to the Organizational Core Values.

Corus International is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran, or any other classification protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.