Director of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships
Chestertown, Maryland

Help More Children Find the Place They Were Meant to Learn

Radcliffe Creek School is seeking an energetic, relationship-driven Director of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships who believes deeply in our mission and is excited to invite others to become part of it. Located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Radcliffe Creek School is the region's only independent K-8 school dedicated exclusively to educating students with learning differences and unique learning profiles. Through strengths-based, personalized, multi-sensory instruction, we help students discover their strengths, build confidence, and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

This is far more than a fundraising position. It is an opportunity to build lasting relationships, inspire generosity, and expand the community of people invested in our students and our mission. Working alongside the Head of School and Board of Trustees, the Director will strengthen relationships throughout the Eastern Shore while expanding RCS's philanthropic reach across Maryland and beyond.

Why Radcliffe Creek School?

Students often come to Radcliffe Creek after experiencing frustration, self-doubt, and repeated academic challenges. Here, they find a place where they are understood, challenged, and celebrated for who they are. They leave with greater confidence, resilience, self-advocacy, and a stronger sense of what they can accomplish. As Director of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships, you will help make those transformations possible by connecting individuals, foundations, businesses, and community partners with a mission that can change the trajectory of a child's life. If you are energized by meaningful relationships, inspired by transformative education, and excited to help others invest in work that matters, we would love to meet you.

Position Summary

The Director of Advancement and Strategic Partnerships is responsible for creating and implementing a comprehensive advancement strategy that strengthens relationships, inspires philanthropy, and advances the mission of Radcliffe Creek School. Reporting directly to the Head of School, this leader works closely with the Board of Trustees and Advancement Committee to grow annual giving, major gifts, foundation support, planned giving, special events, and community partnerships.

The Director will supervise the Events, Communications & Advancement Associate and provide strategic leadership for the school's advancement initiatives while ensuring that every interaction with donors, families, alumni, grandparents, volunteers, and community partners reflects the warmth, authenticity, and mission of Radcliffe Creek School. The ideal candidate is a gifted relationship builder who listens well, communicates with authenticity, and genuinely believes in the transformational impact of specialized education.

Essential Responsibilities

Advancement Strategy

• Develop and implement a comprehensive advancement plan aligned with the school's strategic priorities.
• Establish annual fundraising goals and strategies for achieving them.
• Partner with the Head of School and Board Advancement Committee to identify priorities and opportunities for growth.
• Evaluate fundraising performance and recommend new strategies based on measurable outcomes.

Major Gifts & Philanthropy

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors.
• Build meaningful relationships with current and prospective donors, grandparents, alumni families, foundations, and corporate partners.
• Expand philanthropic support both within the Eastern Shore community and among regional and national organizations whose missions align with students with learning differences.
• Develop compelling proposals, grant requests, and donor communications.
• Coordinate donor recognition and stewardship efforts that foster long-term relationships.

Community Engagement

• Serve as one of the school's primary ambassadors.
• Represent Radcliffe Creek School at community events, civic organizations, networking opportunities, and donor meetings.
• Build relationships that increase awareness of the school's mission throughout Maryland and beyond.
• Help foster a culture of philanthropy among trustees, parents, faculty, alumni, and friends of the school.

Leadership

• Supervise and mentor the Events, Communications & Advancement Associate.
• Partner with outside communications and marketing professionals to ensure messaging remains consistent with the school's mission and strategic priorities.
• Collaborate with the Admissions team to ensure the school's story is communicated consistently across all external audiences.
• Support the planning and execution of fundraising events and stewardship activities.

Qualifications

Successful candidates will bring many of the following:

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Five or more years of successful experience in advancement, fundraising, nonprofit leadership, independent schools, higher education, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success cultivating and stewarding donors and philanthropic partnerships.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong organizational and project management abilities.
• Experience working with donor databases and fundraising software.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across departments.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for someone who:

• Believes deeply in the mission of educating students with learning differences.
• Builds authentic, lasting relationships with ease.
• Inspires confidence through warmth, integrity, and professionalism.
• Enjoys connecting people with meaningful opportunities to make a difference.
• Is entrepreneurial, strategic, and excited to grow an already strong foundation of community support.
• Sees every donor relationship as a partnership, not a transaction.
• Brings energy, optimism, curiosity, and creativity to their work every day.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary range: $75,000-$85,000 commensurate with experience
• Benefits: 
  • 50% Tuition Remission
  • 401 K after one year of service
  • Health benefits
  • Paid PTO and sick/safe leave
  • Life Insurance

Send your resume and a cover letter to Dr. Jennifer Durham, Head of School at jdurham@radcliffecreekschool.org

 

Advancement & Events Associate

Radcliffe Creek School
Chestertown, Maryland

Help Bring the Radcliffe Creek Community Together

Radcliffe Creek School is seeking an energetic, creative, highly organized Advancement & Events Associate who loves bringing people together and making great ideas happen. Located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Radcliffe Creek School is the region's only independent K-8 school dedicated exclusively to educating students with language-based learning differences and other unique learning profiles. Through strengths-based, personalized, multi-sensory education, we help students discover their strengths, build confidence, and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.

The Advancement & Events Associate will play an important role in bringing that mission to life for our families, donors, prospective families, and broader community. This person will coordinate the events and experiences that connect people to Radcliffe Creek School, support the school's advancement efforts, and help ensure that our community knows what is happening and feels invited to be part of it. This is an ideal role for someone who is organized enough to manage a detailed event plan, creative enough to imagine something that has never been done before, and flexible enough to jump in wherever needed to make it happen

Position Summary

Reporting to the Director of Advancement & Strategic Partnerships, the Advancement & Events Associate is responsible for the planning and execution of school events, support of advancement initiatives, and coordination of regular school communications. Events will represent the largest portion of this position and include community-building events, admissions events, fundraising events, donor and stewardship gatherings, and milestone celebrations.

The Associate will manage established signature events, including Run for Radcliffe and Discover, Create, Thrive events, while also helping the school imagine new ways to bring current families, prospective families, donors, grandparents, alumni families, and community members onto campus and into the life of the school.

During the 2026-2027 school year, the Associate will also play a significant role in planning and executing Radcliffe Creek School's 30th Anniversary celebration. The successful candidate will be a doer, a planner, a problem-solver, and a warm representative of the school who takes pride in creating experiences that feel welcoming, thoughtful, and distinctly Radcliffe Creek.

Essential Responsibilities

Events & Community Engagement

Serve as the primary coordinator for school events from concept through execution, including:

• Discover, Create, Thrive events
• Run for Radcliffe
• Admissions open houses, information sessions, and prospective-family events
• Donor and stewardship gatherings
• Grandparent, alumni, and community events
• Faculty and family community-building events
• Radcliffe Creek School's 30th Anniversary celebration
• Other special events throughout the school year

Responsibilities include:

• Develop event timelines, budgets, invitations, registration processes, vendor coordination, setup plans, volunteer needs, and follow-up.
• Coordinate event logistics across faculty, staff, families, trustees, vendors, and volunteers.
• Work collaboratively with Admissions to develop creative opportunities to introduce prospective families and community partners to Radcliffe Creek School.
• Regularly consider new events and experiences that could increase engagement, strengthen relationships, support admissions, or introduce new audiences to the school.
• Ensure that events reflect the warmth, creativity, professionalism, and mission of Radcliffe Creek School.
• Evaluate events after completion and identify opportunities to improve or expand them in future years.

Advancement Support

Working closely with the Director of Advancement & Strategic Partnerships and the Head of School:

• Support annual giving campaigns, donor stewardship, sponsorships, and other fundraising initiatives.
• Assist with donor communications, acknowledgments, mailings, and stewardship activities.
• Maintain accurate donor and constituent information in the school's advancement database.
• Coordinate logistics for donor visits, meetings, and special gatherings.
• Assist with prospect research and preparation for donor and foundation meetings.
• Help manage sponsorships and community partnerships associated with school events.
• Support grant and foundation work through research, organization, data collection, and preparation of supporting materials.
• Help identify opportunities to deepen relationships with parents, grandparents, alumni families, local businesses, and friends of Radcliffe Creek School.
• Provide administrative and project support to the Director of Advancement & Strategic Partnerships as needed.

School Communications

Approximately 10% of this position will support regular communications with the school community.

Responsibilities include:

• Create and distribute the school's weekly family newsletter.
• Gather information from faculty and staff to ensure families receive accurate and timely information.
• Draft and distribute reminders and time-sensitive communications regarding school events, schedule changes, cancellations, and other school information.
• Photograph school activities, classroom experiences, and special events to document and share the life of the school.
• Maintain an organized library of school photographs for use in advancement, admissions, publications, and marketing.
• Coordinate with school leadership and outside marketing partners to ensure communications are consistent with the Radcliffe Creek School voice and brand.
• Help identify the stories, moments, and student experiences that best illustrate the impact of a Radcliffe Creek education.

Qualifications & Characteristics

We are looking for someone who brings energy, creativity, organization, and a genuine belief in the mission of Radcliffe Creek School. The successful candidate will:

• Have experience in event planning, advancement, nonprofit work, communications, schools, hospitality, community engagement, or a related field; bachelor's degree preferred.
• Be exceptionally organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple projects and deadlines while following through.
• Be creative and proactive, with the confidence to bring forward new ideas and turn them into memorable experiences.
• Communicate exceptionally well and build warm, professional relationships with families, donors, volunteers, vendors, and community partners.
• Take initiative, anticipate what needs to happen next, and be willing to jump in wherever needed.
• Be comfortable both behind the scenes making things happen and serving as a visible representative of the school.
• Bring strong technology skills; experience with photography, newsletters, email communications, databases, or event platforms is a plus.
• Enjoy working collaboratively in a small-school environment where flexibility, humor, and a willingness to pitch in matter.
• Be available for occasional evening and weekend events.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary range: $45,000-$55,000 commensurate with experience
• Benefits: 
  • 50% Tuition Remission
  • 401 K after one year of service
  • Health benefits
  • Paid PTO and sick/safe leave
  • Life Insurance

Send your resume and a cover letter to Dr. Jennifer Durham, Head of School at jdurham@radcliffecreekschool.org