How to hire a strategic development director

How to hire a strategic development director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step strategic development director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a strategic development director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new strategic development director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a strategic development director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   First, determine the employments status of the strategic development director you need to hire. Certain strategic development director roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A strategic development director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, strategic development directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of strategic development director salaries for various roles:

   Type of Strategic Development Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Strategic Development Director	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$42-87
   Director Of Strategy	A director of the strategy works together with senior managers in a company to determine where the company is going and how it will get there. This role is frequently found in big companies... Show more	$51-95
   Director	Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life... Show more	$31-92

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Strategic Development
   • Business Development
   • RFP
   • Business Relationships
   • Sales Strategy
   • Strategic Plan
   • R
   • Business Cases
   • Strategic Partnerships
   • Pharmaceutical Industry
   • Financial Institutions
   • Market Research
   • Value Proposition
   • KPIs

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Lead strategic and creative direction with well-define, measurable ROI outcomes and integrate marketing services to deliver greater results.
   • Lead centralized, electronic referral center coordinating post-acute service needs of patients discharging from multiple acute facilities in Arizona region.
   • Establish WW economics of new product design prospects - ROI, margin targets, pricing / cost models.
   • Provide mergers and acquisitions due diligence/modeling analysis/management/valuation support.
   • Provide mergers and acquisitions due diligence/modeling analysis/management/valuation support.

   More strategic development director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your strategic development director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A strategic development director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, strategic development directors' average salary in hawaii is 31% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level strategic development directors 51% less than senior-level strategic development directors.
   • Certifications. A strategic development director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a strategic development director's salary.

   Average strategic development director salary

   $127,778yearly

   $61.43 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level strategic development director salary

   $89,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average strategic development director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$152,980	$74
   2	Rhode Island	$141,867	$68
   3	North Carolina	$140,939	$68
   4	Alaska	$136,269	$66
   5	Oregon	$136,245	$66
   6	New Jersey	$133,429	$64
   7	Massachusetts	$132,554	$64
   8	New York	$129,550	$62
   9	Delaware	$126,944	$61
   10	Connecticut	$125,427	$60
   11	Nevada	$123,493	$59
   12	Virginia	$121,034	$58
   13	Illinois	$120,335	$58
   14	North Dakota	$118,349	$57
   15	Maryland	$117,071	$56
   16	Wisconsin	$116,886	$56
   17	Texas	$116,142	$56
   18	Oklahoma	$114,290	$55
   19	Nebraska	$110,702	$53
   20	Utah	$110,158	$53

   Average strategic development director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	SunPower	$156,485	$75.23
   2	Deutsche Bank	$148,622	$71.45	7
   3	Apple	$148,616	$71.45	20
   4	BD	$142,796	$68.65	6
   5	Salesforce	$136,722	$65.73	45
   6	Johnson & Johnson	$136,633	$65.69	94
   7	Waters	$136,140	$65.45	26
   8	Integral Ad Science	$135,632	$65.21	8
   9	Teva Pharmaceuticals	$133,608	$64.23	21
   10	Veeam Software	$132,867	$63.88	4
   11	QuintilesIMS	$130,916	$62.94	44
   12	Citi	$130,776	$62.87	58
   13	MongoDB	$129,710	$62.36	9
   14	Transportation Services, Inc. (tsi)	$128,361	$61.71
   15	Oracle	$128,145	$61.61	2,064
   16	Leidos	$127,480	$61.29	72
   17	America First Credit Union	$125,425	$60.30
   18	AmeriHealth Caritas	$123,513	$59.38	2
   19	SADA	$123,233	$59.25
   20	dancker	$117,112	$56.30	2

4. Writing a strategic development director job description

   A job description for a strategic development director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a strategic development director job description:

   Strategic development director job description example

   As the Senior Director of Advancement, you will be responsible for leading Seneca's philanthropic fundraising and engagement efforts. With the support of the Chief Strategy Officer, you will work to develop and implement both annual and long-range effective fundraising strategies that reflect agency direction and innovation priorities. You will oversee the Development & Strategic Engagement (DaSE) team, which is responsible for donor engagement and annual fundraising. The DaSE team is committed to advancing equity and anti-racism and nurturing a welcoming, inclusive, and highly collaborative team culture.
   
   While this position is primarily remote, the Senior Director of Advancement must be able to travel throughout California and Washington State for relevant community events and to Seneca's headquarters in Oakland headquarters regularly for team/agency meetings.
   
   Seneca Family of Agencies is a nonprofit agency that was established in 1985 with the mission of helping children and families through the most difficult times of their lives. Seneca's range of child welfare, mental health, juvenile justice, and education services annually reach more than 18,000 youth and their families in over 150 distinct programs throughout California and Washington. The private funding of Seneca's donors and grants allows our agency to provide innovative solutions that aren't available through public funding, as well as enhance our services to more holistically meet the needs of our clients. This team works to create and sustain a comprehensive marketing and fundraising strategy for Seneca, to engage Seneca's broader community of volunteers, donors and supporters, and to help enhance visibility for Seneca programs, impact, mission and vision. Responsibilities
   
   Lead a multi-state development team to develop, execute and report on annual and long-range fundraising goals
   
   Provide strategic vision and leadership in identifying and securing new and untapped philanthropic revenue to support program operations and program innovation.
   
   Integrate an equity and justice lens into fundraising and marketing strategy, planning, and activities
   Supervise regional development directors and support their professional development Represent Seneca in public events and forums to grow and sustain organizational network of current and prospective donors, philanthropic partners, volunteers, and other community stakeholders Cultivate relationships with major foundation partners and maintain awareness of philanthropic priorities locally and nationally Drive a dynamic and creative fundraising strategy that keeps pace with rapidly a rapidly changing philanthropic sector and technology Help inform and oversee organizational adherence to brand guidelines and standards Establish and maintain effective working relationships with teams across the organization, and serve as the point person for all agency-level fundraising communications Perform all other duties and special projects as needed Qualifications Minimum of 5 years' progressively responsible experience with private fundraising and development activities in a relevant organizational context High level of organizational, analytical, writing, and editing skills Commitment to integrating DEI and an anti-oppressive lens to fundraising and a team environment Clearance of TB test, fingerprinting clearance, and any other state/federal licensing or certification requirements Proof of COVID-19 vaccinations and booster required Schedule Monday through Friday 9am-5:30pm or 8:30am-5pm Hybrid work schedule Benefits Starting at $108,397 annually, commensurate with experience Additional compensation provided upon passing bilingual language proficiency exam Annual performance evaluations provide the potential for a generous salary increase each year 5 weeks of Paid Time Off an

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5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right strategic development director for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your strategic development director job on Zippia to find and recruit strategic development director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting strategic development directors requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new strategic development director

   Once you've selected the best strategic development director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a strategic development director?