How To Become A Development Vice President: What It Is and Career Path

What is a development vice president and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

A development vice president leads the development team in creating and implementing strategies to raise funds. They oversee fundraising campaigns, build relationships with donors, and manage development professionals. They work with other executives to align fundraising goals with the organization's overall mission. Development vice presidents also analyze data to track progress and adjust strategies. They possess leadership, communication, and organizational skills. A successful development vice president secures the financial stability of an organization.

ScoreDevelopment Vice PresidentUS Average

Salary

9.1

Avg. Salary $156,085

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 4.44%

Black or African American 11.17%

Hispanic or Latino 15.67%

Unknown 5.53%

White 62.68%

Gender

female 33.05%

male 66.95%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a development vice president?

Pros

High salary and benefits package
Exposure to cutting-edge technologies and industry trends
Chance to work on exciting and challenging projects
Potential for bonuses and profit-sharing
Ability to negotiate contracts and partnerships with other companies

Cons

High stress levels due to responsibility for project success
Long hours and frequent travel required
Pressure to meet aggressive deadlines and deliverables
Responsibility for hiring and firing team members
Potential for being held accountable for project failures

Key steps to become a development vice president

Explore development vice president education requirements

Most common development vice president degrees

Bachelor's

73.7 %

Master's

17.2 %

Associate

4.5 %

Start to develop specific development vice president skills

Skills	Percentages
Business Development	8.88%
Java	8.02%
Development Finance	6.28%
Oversight	5.73%
Project Management	5.33%

Complete relevant development vice president training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New development vice presidents learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a development vice president based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real development vice president resumes.

Research development vice president duties and responsibilities

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Manage SDLC process, while participating in requirements gathering, functional documentation, data analysis, and implementation plans.
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Get development vice president experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a development vice president. The most common roles before becoming a development vice president include vice president, development director team lead and director.

Prepare your development vice president resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your development vice president resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a development vice president resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable development vice president resume templates

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