About the Center for Child Protection
The Center for Child Protection (CCP) in Austin, TX, is a nationally accredited children’s advocacy center and the only nonprofit in Travis County involved in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children. For over 30 years, CCP has provided a safe, child-friendly facility where children impacted by abuse or violence can receive trauma-informed services, including recorded forensic interviews, therapy, medical care, and crisis counseling—all completely free of charge in English and Spanish. In collaboration with CCP’s Child Protection Team agency partners, the goal is to reduce trauma for these children while helping them and their families move forward toward hope and healing. The Center for Child Protection also provides free child abuse education programs for parents, professionals, and the wider community to promote awareness and prevention efforts. Together, with agency partners and an informed, engaged community, CCP is working to end child abuse in Travis County.
Founded in 1989, the Center plays a vital role in supporting children and families through a coordinated, trauma-informed response. It offers a wide range of free, bilingual services in a safe and child-friendly environment, including forensic interviews, on-site medical exams in partnership with Dell Children’s Medical Center (CARE Clinic), and individualized therapy provided by a team of licensed professionals. The organization also provides community education and prevention programs, offering multilingual training sessions with continuing education credits to caregivers, educators, and other community members.
The Center serves three to five new children each day and conducted over 938 forensic interviews last year alone. Since its founding, it has supported more than 25,000 children. The statistics the Center shares underscore the urgency of its work: 53% of its cases involve sexual abuse, 95% of victims know or trust their abuser, and one in ten children will experience sexual abuse before turning 18. The Center operates primarily out of its Austin headquarters, with a satellite office in Lakeway providing additional services by appointment. All offerings are free of charge and accessible in both English and Spanish.
In addition to its direct services, CCP is deeply embedded in the Austin community, hosting a robust series of annual fundraising and awareness events. Through its Community Spotlight Series, it partners with local groups to extend support and education to families in need. By integrating compassionate care with legal, medical, and therapeutic services, the Center ensures that child victims of abuse receive the protection, healing, and justice they deserve.
Position Summary
The Chief Development Officer (CDO) will lead the Center for Child Protection’s comprehensive fundraising strategy to expand and diversify revenue in support of the organization’s mission to end child abuse in Travis County. As a key member of the senior leadership team, the CDO will oversee individual giving, major gifts, special events, corporate sponsorships, and institutional partnerships, while serving as a strategic advisor to the CEO and board on philanthropic growth and donor engagement. This is a highly visible role that requires both big-picture strategy and hands-on leadership in donor stewardship, cultivation, and fundraising execution.
The CDO will manage and mentor a dedicated development team and collaborate across departments to amplify the Center’s impact—especially its innovative prevention and education initiatives. The CDO will also serve as the lead strategist for the organization’s signature fundraising events, including Dancing with the Stars Austin and PlayBingo Ladies Luncheon, which together raise over $3 million annually. In addition to event revenue, the CDO will focus on building a stronger major gifts pipeline, increasing unrestricted support, and cultivating deeper, long-term donor relationships.
Because of the Center’s mission, this work is emotionally charged and deeply personal. The next CDO must possess the emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and personal resilience to navigate the complexities of child abuse prevention and response. They will need to communicate about sensitive issues with compassion, clarity, and care—while empowering donors to be part of the solution. This is a rare opportunity for a courageous, collaborative, and strategic development leader to join a high-impact organization at a moment of transformation and growth.
Essential Job Functions
Fundraising Strategy + Leadership
Develops and implements a multi-year, comprehensive fundraising strategy to achieve revenue goals, ensuring alignment with the Center’s mission, vision, and values.
Pursues support and resource initiatives to sustain Center operations.
Researches and pursues corporate and individual funding opportunities.
Develops a long-range funding strategy and plans with input from the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors.
Identifies and solicits funders for capital improvement projects for the Center.
Donor Relations + Stewardship
Maintains historical information related to donor base, cultivations, meetings, and solicitations.
Develops and maintains relationships with a major donor portfolio.
Cultivates and stewards relationships with individual donors, major gift prospects, and institutional funders.
Board Engagement
Collaborates with the CEO and Board to engage key donors and build fundraising capacity.
Provides regular reports and data-driven insights to leadership and the Board.
Develops, executes, and sustains community relationships in conjunction with other development staff.
Identifies and recommends potential Board members to the Board Development Committee.
Team Leadership
Serves as a liaison to selected community organizations and entities as requested by the CEO.
Supervises the donor relations, corporate, events, and community data teams, building, mentoring, and managing a high-performing development team.
Initiates and conducts Center Friend Visits.
Serves on the Executive Management Team, attending biweekly Executive Team meetings.
Participates in the on-call manager rotation.
Represents the organization and speaks at community events, as requested.
Attends monthly staff meetings, other internal meetings, and community meetings, as assigned.
Maintains a comprehensive knowledge of the mission, core values, and vision of the organization and the children’s advocacy model.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
Seven or more years of progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising, development, or philanthropy.
Bachelor’s degree required; preference for studies in nonprofit management, business, marketing, communications, or related area, but all fields considered.
Proven success in securing major gifts, grants, and corporate sponsorships.
Strong, demonstrable leadership and team management experience.
Excellent relationship-building, communication, and public speaking skills.
Knowledge of donor databases (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, or similar CRM).
Ability to develop and execute multi-channel fundraising campaigns.
Passion for the organization’s mission and commitment to ethical fundraising.
Reporting Relationships
The Chief Development Officer reports to the Chief Executive Officer and has the following supervisory responsibilities:
Director of Donor Relations
Donor Relations Associate**
Donor Relations Manager
Individual Giving Manager
Senior Manager of Giving Programs
Database Coordinator
Community Data Coordinator (2)
Corporate Engagement Manager
Corporate Volunteer Associate
Events Manager (2)
Event Support Associate
*Bold indicates direct report
** indicates part-time position
Location
This is a full-time, on-site position based in Austin, Texas.
Compensation + Benefits
The salary range for this position is $160,000-170,000. Center for Child Protection offers a generous benefits package which includes:
Medical insurance
Dental and Vision insurance
Life and AD+D insurance
Voluntary short-term disability insurance
Voluntary accident and critical illness insurance
Voluntary Life and AD+D insurance
Health Savings Account (HSA) for eligible employees
401(k) retirement plan with employer contribution of 3% of base salary
Paid time off: 24 days; accrues at 8 hours of vacation and 8 hours of sick time per month; holidays; and employee birthday
As a reflection of our firm’s commitment to equity and equal pay for all, Cooper Coleman requires that salary ranges or salary starting points be published for every search we conduct. The practice of not posting salaries perpetuates the gender and racial wage gap and discriminates against women, people of color, and other historically excluded populations by causing individuals to negotiate from a disadvantaged starting point.
EEO + Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
The Center believes that all persons are entitled to equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate against its employees or applicants because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship status, disability, pregnancy, gender identity, protected medical condition, military status, genetic information, or any other basis prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law. This policy extends to all aspects of our employment practices, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, discipline, promotion, transfers, compensation, benefits, leaves of absence, termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.
Background Checks + Credentials Verification
Before sending your resume for this position, please read it over for accuracy. Cooper Coleman verifies its candidates' employment and academic credentials at the time of offer. Due to the nature of the work involved, the Center for Child Protection conducts multiple background checks before finalizing an offer.
Submission Instructions
To apply, click the apply now button and complete the brief application. All expressions of interest must be made through this link.
Cooper Coleman LLC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified candidates and will refer candidates without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or identity, age, ability, veteran status, or any other legally protected basis.