Vice President of Advancement

About FESI

The Foundation for Energy Security & Innovation (FESI) was created to help accelerate innovative solutions in support of American energy security, prosperity, and leadership. We are the official congressionally chartered, nonprofit partner of the Department of Energy (DOE). Founded in 2022 under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Foundation is uniquely positioned to serve as a bridge between the DOE, industry, researchers, and funders helping to accelerate the speed, scale, and stability of American energy innovation. In partnership with DOE, National Laboratories, industry, and funders, FESI can engage in ways no other organization can. Our philanthropic capital strategy draws from corporations, foundations, individuals and family offices, nonprofits and think tanks, and global partners. FESI is in a rapid startup phase, building its team and launching strategic initiatives. We operate at the intersection of a mission-driven foundation and a fast-moving startup. That means we pair purpose with speed, discipline with creativity, and scale with entrepreneurial energy. We embrace curiosity as a daily habit, keep things fun even when the work gets tough, and hold ourselves to high standards of integrity. Everyone shows up prepared. We put people first because that’s how the mission is successful. We’re still designing many of the systems, processes, and norms that will define the Foundation in the long term. Every team member is responsible for both strategic thinking and hands-on execution.

The Opportunity

As the only congressionally chartered philanthropic partner of the U.S. Department of Energy, FESI sits at a rare institutional intersection: connecting DOE, national laboratories, private capital, philanthropy, industry, and commercialization ecosystems in ways no other organization can. This is a chance to build the advancement function of a first-of-its-kind institution — from the ground up. The VP of Advancement will be the architect of how private and philanthropic capital flows toward some of the most consequential energy and innovation challenges facing the country. You won’t be inheriting a mature operation. You’ll be designing strategy alongside the CEO and senior team, building meaningful relationships across the public and private sectors, and establishing the institutional infrastructure that makes FESI a trusted, durable, and nationally recognized capital partner for decades to come. The ideal candidate is a seasoned fundraiser and institutional builder who brings deep experience engaging ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI), family offices, corporate and private foundations, philanthropic collaboratives, and social impact investors.

Key Responsibilities

• Private and Philanthropic Advancement & Fundraising
  Frame and execute FESI’s comprehensive institutional fundraising strategy, with a primary focus on securing unrestricted and multi-year operating support that enables long-term organizational sustainability.
  Cultivate a wide network of relationships that surface opportunities across FESI’s advancement, commercialization, and philanthropic partnership functions.
  Develop and steward relationships with ultra-high-net-worth founders, technology and industrial leaders, American Dynamism-aligned philanthropists, and strategic institutional partners.
  Support endowment and permanent capital growth over time, in coordination with the CEO and Board.

• DOE Philanthropic Partnership
  Position FESI as a trusted philanthropic and catalytic capital partner to the U.S. Department of Energy.
  Mobilize private and philanthropic capital to: Bridge funding gaps, Support pilots, demonstrations, and capacity DOE cannot directly fund, Serve as primary steward of funder relationships connected to DOE aligned work.
  Collaborate with Programs to ensure capital deployment reinforces DOE intent.

• Storytelling & External Leadership
  Shape and communicate the external narrative of FESI’s impact, progress, and institutional momentum — translating technical and commercialization outcomes into donor-ready, investor-ready language.
  Represent FESI publicly as a champion of American innovation, energy leadership, and public-private collaboration.
  Engage confidently with high-profile, high-expectation partners — including direct collaboration with the CEO on sensitive and critical engagements.
  Support regional and national visibility of results in partnership with Programs and the Commercialization Platform team.

• Team & Organizational Leadership
  Build and lead the advancement team over time as funding and organizational capacity grow.
  Operate as a genuine thought partner to the CEO and senior team on capital strategy, institutional positioning, and external relationships.
  Serve as a steward of organizational culture and a key contributor to leadership decision-making.

What We're Looking For

• Required
  Bachelor’s degree required, plus 12+ years of progressive fundraising and advancement leadership, with demonstrated success engaging UHNWI, family offices, foundations, and impact-aligned investors.
  Proven track record of securing major gifts and multi-year commitments — ideally including transformational $1M+ relationships — from a diverse donor base.
  Strong working knowledge of the DOE landscape — including how programs, funding mechanisms, and national laboratories operate.
  Demonstrated experience translating technically complex programmatic or commercialization outcomes into compelling, donor-ready funding narratives.
  Experience in blended or braided finance: combining philanthropic, public, and private capital toward shared goals.
  Proven ability to engage confidently with high-profile, high-expectation partners, including direct collaboration with organizational principals on sensitive and critical engagements.
  Experience navigating policy environments to align philanthropic efforts with regulatory frameworks and broader impact goals.
  Strong judgment in politically and commercially complex environments.
  Entrepreneurial operating orientation — comfortable building from scratch where no playbook exists, and capable of functioning as both strategist and executor.
  Fluency in advancement/CRM systems (FESI uses Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud).

• Preferred
  Fluency in financial and campaign management tools.
  Competency in compliance, ethics, and governance (IRS, donor privacy, basic board governance).
  Market and commercialization fluency — understanding how capital flows through innovation ecosystems.
  Familiarity with mission-related investment (MRI) or program-related investment (PRI) structures is a nice-to-have, though not required.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base Salary: $250,000-$280,000 (Washington, DC benchmark; national role adjusted for regional cost of labor for candidates based elsewhere).

• Benefits: Health, dental, and vision insurance
  403(b) retirement plan with employer match
  Short- and long-term disability and life insurance
  Paid time off and all federal holidays, plus the week between Christmas and New Year’s
  Flexible work schedule and hybrid options

Work Environment

• This role is open to candidates based anywhere in the United States. While remote-eligible, the position requires a significant presence in Washington, DC due to close collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy and other federal partners. The VP of Advancement should expect to be in DC periodically, with flexibility for specific engagements as they arise. FESI will cover reasonable, job-related travel expenses. Relocation is not required for this position.