VP, Business Development and Earned Revenue

Code for America believes government can work for the people, by the people, in the new digital age, and that government at all levels can and should work well for all people. For more than a decade, we’ve worked to show that with the mindful use of technology, we can break down barriers, meet community needs, and find real solutions. Our employees build and transform government and community tools and services, making them so good they inspire change. We merge the best parts of technology, nonprofit, and government to help support the people who need it most. With a focus on transparency and fairness, and deep empathy for partners in government and community organizations and the people that our partners serve, we’re building a movement of motivated change agents driven by meaningful results and lasting impact. At Code for America, you contribute to exciting work while learning and developing in a supportive and flexible environment. Our compensation and benefits are holistic and thoughtfully curated to represent our employees and our mission. Help us drive real generational change that lasts. Code for America is looking for a talented VP of Business Development and Earned Revenue who will establish evidence-backed earned-revenue models that advance Code for America’s mission and contribute to its long-term financial sustainability. Impact will include paying customers, viable delivery economics, disciplined investment decisions, and a practical path to growing the strongest offerings. About the role: The VP of Business Development and Earned Revenue will build and prove Code for America’s earned-revenue strategy, from identifying promising business models to testing them with paying customers and growing what works. Code for America is a nonprofit with an approximately $40 million annual budget, funded primarily through philanthropy. This leader will identify which mission-aligned offerings, buyers, and business models can strengthen that funding base, test them with paying customers, and guide decisions about where to invest and grow. This is a hands-on executive role for someone who has built a new line of business from an uncertain starting point. Working with the CEO and across Product, Programs, Engineering, and Finance, the VP will translate ideas into focused commercial experiments, personally secure early paid engagements, and turn the strongest opportunities into repeatable offerings. Those offerings may include products, standardized services, implementation support, or a combination. As a member of the executive leadership team, the VP owns Code for America’s earned-revenue strategy, makes portfolio decisions within an agreed investment threshold, and brings larger investment decisions to the CEO and Board. The VP leads in a matrixed environment, partnering with Delivery and Enablement teams. The Strategic Partnerships team will continue to own ongoing government partnership development within Code for America’s existing strategy. The VP will collaborate with that team when testing paid government offerings. Ownership of government buyer relationships, commercial testing, and customer commitments will be defined in a shared agreement with Strategic Partnerships leadership before outreach begins. Specific revenue and learning targets will be agreed with the CEO. Success in the first year will include: A prioritized earned-revenue strategy grounded in customer discovery, mission value, and business cases with explicit assumptions. A small number of paid tests that generate revenue and credible evidence about buyer demand, pricing, procurement, and delivery economics. Clear recommendations – made in close partnership with the CEO – about which models deserve further investment, which need refinement, and which should stop, with a practical growth and staffing plan for the strongest opportunities. This role will report to the CEO and is expected to travel no more than 25 % of the time. Code for America is based in California and can employ those who reside full-time within the United States. This is a remote position. In this position you will: Earned revenue strategy and opportunity selection Lead the development of Code for America’s earned-revenue strategy in partnership with executive leadership, identifying the offerings, buyers, and business models most likely to generate sustainable revenue and meaningful mission impact. Conduct customer and market discovery to understand buyer needs, budgets, willingness to pay, alternatives, and purchasing processes. Assess opportunities with Product, Programs, Engineering, and Finance, considering Code for America’s capabilities, differentiation, delivery capacity, mission value, and financial potential. Develop business cases that make assumptions explicit, including pricing, acquisition and delivery costs, ongoing support needs, potential demand, and the time and investment needed to reach sustainability. Prioritize a manageable set of hypotheses and decide, in close partnership with the CEO, which opportunities to test, defer, or decline. Potential buyers may include government agencies, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and private-sector companies. Paid experiments and business model validation Translate promising ideas into bounded commercial experiments with a defined offering, buyer, price hypothesis, resource commitment, timeline, and criteria for continuing, changing, or stopping. Personally identify and cultivate early customers, shape paid pilots or initial engagements, and negotiate commercial terms in partnership with relevant contracting and compliance staff. Develop and test pricing and payment models suited to the offering and buyer. Establish whether customers will pay enough to support a viable delivery model. Partner with Product, Engineering, and Programs to define pilot scope and learning goals, and confirm staffing –in coordination with department leads, Resource Management, and People Operations– technical feasibility, and delivery commitments before agreements are signed. Evaluate actual customer value, willingness to pay, procurement feasibility, cost to deliver and support, and potential for repeat purchases or renewals. Identify which elements can be standardized and where customization is justified. Turn results into clear recommendations to expand, refine, or stop an opportunity. Adapt direction as evidence emerges and communicate what changed, why, and what the organization should do next. Repeatable offerings and commercial growth Turn validated opportunities into repeatable offerings with clear buyer segments, value propositions, pricing, purchasing pathways, delivery models, and financial expectations. Build a focused sales approach and pipeline for prioritized offerings. Work with MarComms and Product Marketing on positioning and lead generation, and pursue distribution or implementation partnerships where they improve adoption or economics. Work with the Strategic Partnerships team on government buyers, aligning relationship ownership, commercial testing, and customer commitments. Recommend the staffing and investment needed to grow proven models. Build, lead, and develop an earned-revenue team as approved, with its structure shaped by the work and evidence. Investment decisions and operational readiness Set revenue and learning goals with executive leadership and report progress against both. Track paid conversion, revenue, delivery costs and margins, renewal or repeat demand, and customer concentration as appropriate to each model. Provide executive leadership and the Board with clear business cases, forecasts, risks, and recommendations for investment. Distinguish promising experiments from models ready for larger commitments. Partner with Finance, Product, Programs, Engineering, and contracting and compliance staff to establish the invoicing, procurement, payment, security, support, and reporting arrangements needed for selected offerings. Coordinate with Philanthropy to align earned revenue with Code for America’s overall funding approach, including any investment needed to develop or validate offerings and a clear understanding of ongoing philanthropic support needs. Represent Code for America with prospective customers, partners, and funders on earned revenue, and help define how Code for America talks about its paid offerings with government partners. Other duties as assigned Engage in ad hoc projects and initiatives as required by the organization’s evolving needs. About you: This role is suited to a commercial leader who can create direction through customer discovery and testing, then build the discipline needed to grow a viable business. Experience may come from products, standardized services, implementation work, or a combination. At least 12 years of experience in business development, commercial strategy, new business creation, or related work, including executive-level responsibility. A demonstrated record of building a new line of business from an early stage: identifying what to sell and to whom, personally securing early paying customers, and establishing a repeatable model. Experience designing and running commercial experiments, evaluating evidence, and making decisions to invest, change direction, or stop. Ability to create practical structure without requiring certainty before acting. Strong financial and commercial judgment, including pricing and packaging, financial modeling, full delivery and support costs, margins, forecasts, and investment tradeoffs. Experience working closely with product, technology, and program or delivery teams in a matrixed organization to shape feasible offerings and connect customer demand to organizational capabilities. Hands-on customer development, sales, and contract negotiation skills, with the ability to build trust, navigate complex stakeholders and purchasing processes, and secure early agreements without an established sales team or proven offering. Experience building and leading teams, coaching staff, and coordinating cross-functional work. Ability to shape staffing around validated needs and lead through influence before a dedicated team is in place. Executive-level communication skills: clearly explain assumptions, results, risks, and recommendations to leadership, the Board, colleagues, and prospective customers. Ability to navigate complex stakeholders and purchasing processes, and establish clear ownership and commitments across organizational boundaries. A collaborative, curious leadership approach that welcomes feedback, changes course with new evidence, and values the expertise of colleagues and people closest to the problem. A deep commitment to Code for America’s mission of making government services work well for the people who need them most. Sound judgment about which commercial opportunities fit Code for America’s mission, and willingness to decline those that don’t. Curiosity about emerging AI tools and a commitment to using them responsibly and effectively. Ability to work effectively in a remote environment and willingness to travel up to 25% of the time. It’s a bonus if you have: Experience with healthcare, managed care organizations, nonprofits, or other buyers relevant to Code for America’s work. Experience with government procurement or selling technology or services to government agencies. Familiarity with SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, TANF, EITC, or other public benefits programs. Experience developing earned-revenue models in a nonprofit or social-impact organization. Experience commercializing technology or working with product teams through iterative development. What you’ll get