What is a Development Officer?

A development officer is in charge of supervising the learning and development of a company's workforce. As a development officer, it is also your responsibility to identify the need for development through job analysis and interviewing of employees. You will create training materials, deliver the training to the employees that need it, and monitor their progress through questionnaires, appraisal schemes, or any other suitable method. You will also manage the planning, budgeting, and organizing of the training programs. It is also expected of you to research and enlighten yourself on new methods that can be used to address developmental issues.

You must be a team player with interpersonal skills, and you must be creative. You also need analytical skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and you must be approachable. Most development officers have a bachelor's degree in communication, business, psychology, or a related course. You will earn an average of $71,144 per year.

What Does a Development Officer Do

There are certain skills that many development officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed creativity, instructional skills and analytical skills.

Learn more about what a Development Officer does

How To Become a Development Officer

If you're interested in becoming a development officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.3% of development officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 19.2% of development officers have master's degrees. Even though most development officers have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Development Officer
Top Development Officer Jobs Near You

Development Officer Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of consultant you might progress to a role such as office manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title senior human resources manager.

Development Officer

Average Salary for a Development Officer

Development Officers in America make an average salary of $78,541 per year or $38 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $122,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $50,000 per year.
Average Development Officer Salary
$78,541 Yearly
$37.76 hourly
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Roles and Types of Development Officer

The role of a development officer includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general development officer responsibilities:

  • This position will develop and implement fundraising strategies
  • Qualifies, cultivates, solicits and stewards major
  • As a member of the professional staff in the division of community relations

There are several types of development officer, including:

Trainer

Role:

There are a lot of different types of trainers. Your definition of a trainer would be very different from someone else's definition. Maybe you think of a gymnasium setting when you think of a trainer. Or maybe you imagine an office setting. Either way, you would be right.

As a trainer, you have unlimited job opportunities to look forward to. From gym trainers and personal trainers to corporate trainers and technical trainers, you get to decide what office you'd rather work in. A lot of the responsibilities between the different types of trainers remain the same.

At the heart of being a trainer, your goal is to motivate your team. Whether it's pushing out five more push-ups or committing to five more minutes of productivity, you get to be their coach and mentor. You're going to be the person they come to when they're struggling with accomplishing a goal. So your listening skills need to be off the charts.

  • Average Salary: $47,574
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Facilitator

Role:

Just imagine being with different types of people for an activity, a seminar, or any formal occasion with no accurate plans at all. And no instructions to follow. Everyone is allowed to do things as they please. If that doesn't sound like total chaos, I don't know what does. So in terms of saving us from that scenario, bet you'd appreciate what a facilitator does to keep things tidy and organized. Otherwise, events would be horribly disorganized.

Facilitators handle the program's plans from concept to execution. They are busy people who keep running from here and there, to ensure that the event operates smoothly, and the participants are having the best times of their life. Facilitators also do a lot of different interaction with suppliers and vendors of the resources needed for the event, requiring them to sometimes travel and perform field visits, as necessary. In short, an event wouldn't be a success if it wasn't for them.

Being a facilitator, like any other job, feels really satisfying. Especially if you love working with different people. Now, if it sounds like you're up for this ride, you might want to start sending out your resume.

  • Average Salary: $44,851
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Training Coordinator

Role:

Training coordinators are responsible for the coordination and execution of training programs for companies and other organizations. Depending on their particular areas of specialization, the training coordinators may concentrate on logistical and preparation activities relating to training. Alternatively, the training coordinator may be directly involved with the execution. A training supervisor is expected to be active in organizing and implementing training in smaller organizations.

Training coordinators are employed by most businesses large enough to require internal training procedures. Work environments vary with the position, with some coordinators employed in a single office and others traveling to remote locations for training. Because of this, you may need to work late or overnight shifts or to work outside. However, you can make up a hefty pay working in this position that can be broken down to $14 per hour.

Many coordinators also need strong data analysis skills, as they are also responsible for interpreting and reporting data on training program performance. You are further expected to be proficient in both educational methods and the content of the training. A bachelor's degree is often preferred for these positions.

  • Average Salary: $46,698
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree
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States With The Most Development Officer Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active development officer jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where development officers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Development Officer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1California4,746$92,429
2Texas4,622$79,451
3Pennsylvania2,643$69,194
4Georgia2,276$75,398
5New York1,968$91,582
6Minnesota1,913$88,479
7Ohio1,906$63,382
8Florida1,643$69,879
9Michigan1,594$77,561
10Arizona1,552$62,953
11Illinois1,516$83,113
12Massachusetts1,374$82,996
13Indiana1,278$65,284
14North Carolina1,263$80,408
15Tennessee1,245$56,252
16New Jersey1,174$109,592
17Missouri1,138$61,070
18Wisconsin1,131$60,514
19Maryland865$85,157
20Washington856$100,745
21Alabama840$61,883
22South Carolina811$64,208
23Colorado797$72,139
24Iowa687$78,142
25Kentucky661$74,745
26Oklahoma596$51,775
27Kansas584$65,112
28Arkansas568$47,887
29Nevada549$72,728
30Louisiana541$66,786
31New Mexico515$74,134
32Nebraska501$80,951
33Mississippi462$69,796
34Oregon443$78,220
35Connecticut367$97,732
36Idaho343$68,731
37West Virginia283$52,453
38North Dakota255$70,111
39South Dakota249$71,836
40New Hampshire223$90,641
41Rhode Island209$88,668
42Montana185$82,098
43Maine168$76,612
44Virginia140$84,182
45Alaska119$62,082
46Wyoming110$69,993
47Hawaii107$55,639
48Vermont98$72,146
49Utah51$71,977
50Delaware27$81,186

Development Officer Education

Development Officer Majors

Business
23.2 %
Communication
9.2 %
Political Science
9.1 %

Development Officer Degrees

Bachelors

70.3 %

Masters

19.2 %

Associate

4.8 %

Top Colleges for Development Officers

1. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

2. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

5. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-State Tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

6. Harvard University

Cambridge, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$50,420

Enrollment

7,582

7. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

8. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,230

Enrollment

12,161

9. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$8,987

Enrollment

18,946

10. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Top Skills For a Development Officer

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 18.2% of development officers listed stewardship on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and instructional skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Development Officer Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Development Officer templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Development Officer resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Development Officer diversity

Development Officer Gender Distribution

Female
Female
54%
Male
Male
46%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among development officers, 54.0% of them are women, while 46.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among development officers is White, which makes up 60.0% of all development officers.

  • The most common foreign language among development officers is Spanish at 44.6%.

Online Courses For Development Officer That You May Like

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1. Annual Campaigns: Building a Case for Support

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In this comprehensive overview of annual giving programs, you’ll gain an introduction to the basic terminology and concepts of annual giving as well as the various solicitation channels and donor types. Learn how to write a direct mail appeal, craft an impactful email appeal, and develop a script for phone solicitation. You’ll learn how to build a leadership annual giving portfolio and maximize the impact of memberships and events in annual campaigns. You’ll complete the course with the...

2. Major and Principal Gifts

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This course will provide a comprehensive view of major and principal gift development work for students who seek to build upon their experiences gained in the introductory session. Participants will gain an understanding of the philosophy and strategies implemented in major gift development including prospect identification, how to initially engage a potential major gift donor, the process of cultivation and moves management, effective proposal writing, making a successful ask and on-going...

3. Project Management Office (PMO) Setup Guide

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PMO Step-by-Step Implementation Plan...

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Best States For a Development Officer

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a development officer. The best states for people in this position are New Jersey, Washington, Connecticut, and California. Development officers make the most in New Jersey with an average salary of $109,592. Whereas in Washington and Connecticut, they would average $100,745 and $97,732, respectively. While development officers would only make an average of $92,429 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Minnesota

Total Development Officer Jobs: 1,913
Highest 10% Earn:
$139,000
Location Quotient:
1.7

$88,479

Avg. Salary

View 1,913 Development Officer Jobs In MN

2. New Jersey

Total Development Officer Jobs: 1,174
Highest 10% Earn:
$168,000
Location Quotient:
0.88

$109,592

Avg. Salary

View 1,174 Development Officer Jobs In NJ

3. Nebraska

Total Development Officer Jobs: 501
Highest 10% Earn:
$128,000
Location Quotient:
1.33

$80,951

Avg. Salary

View 501 Development Officer Jobs In NE
Full List Of Best States For Development Officers

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Top Development Officer Employers

Most Common Employers For Development Officer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1UBS$125,943$60.5510
2Santander Bank$118,720$57.0829
3JPMorgan Chase & Co.$117,972$56.7214
4American Red Cross$98,366$47.2922
5Bank of America$97,870$47.0520
6Wells Fargo$93,019$44.729
7USAID$90,881$43.6929
8Dana-Farber Cancer Institute$89,039$42.8110
9Comerica$88,471$42.5325
10Peace Corps$80,420$38.6612
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Updated April 6, 2023