Remote Contract Position Through Dec. 2025
1099 Independent Contractor
About Skeleton Key Strategies
Skeleton Key Strategies (SKS) is a boutique consulting firm with deep roots in the nonprofit and NGO space, made up of seasoned professionals with over 25+ years of nonprofit leadership and consulting experience. Our data, process, and operations expertise has been honed by years of working in programmatic, fundraising, and technology roles at organizations large and small. Our fluency in the needs and nuances of nonprofits allows us to serve as translators, facilitators, and storytellers, helping organizations to bridge the strategic gap between where they are and where they want to be.
We work with progressive clients who contribute to solutions at the intersection of multiple vectors of equity and justice – racial, gender, disability, sexual identity and expression, reproductive, economic, environmental, animal, etc. We strive to live up to our obligations as allies and advocates, both on and off the clock. As a company, we make regular contributions to Black- and Indigenous-led causes in the U.S., and mandate ongoing professional EDI education for all members of our consulting team.
We are a fully remote company with consultants based across the U.S., and in the U.K. and E.U. We are proudly Queer-owned.
Our Consulting Approach
We often work with nonprofits at a critical inflection point in their evolution, when the momentum of their mission and demands of their donors, supporters, and staff outpaces what their systems and processes can support. We immerse ourselves in the internal wisdom, culture, and priorities of our clients to ensure that we understand their needs inside and out, allowing us to craft holistic recommendations that support the organization’s strategic growth.
The consultant will represent and adopt SKS’s approach to engage and support the client engagement. As a remote collective, we often operate independently but rely on one another asynchronously to manage our client stakeholders and project timelines, create deliverables and work products per our engagement scope, review presentations, discuss client learnings and experiences, and provide feedback on both client delivery and individual performance.
Role Summary
Skeleton Key Strategies seeks a reliable and trustworthy 1099 independent contractor to serve as a Term Fundraising Data Engineer. This full-time, embedded role will support one of our current enterprise nonprofit clients in the healthcare sector. You will report to the SKS lead consultant for the engagement, with daily task management provided by the client-side Engineering Team Lead.
Responsibilities
Core Technical Work
- Use tools like Python, DBT, and Civis Platform to maintain a well-tested analytical layer (e.g., modeling donor data into event streams)
- Apply data warehousing and SQL best practices to ensure reliable, fast analytics
- Collaborate on architecture decisions that impact data quality
- Design and maintain complex data pipelines across teams
Collaboration & Stakeholder Engagement
- Work closely with client teams in Fundraising, Analytics, and IT
- Partner with client stakeholders to scope work, define standards, and ensure consistency
Communication & Team Integration
- Translate complex technical solutions into accessible language
- Participate in weekly SKS team meetings, asynchronous collaboration, and project planning
- Engage in special projects or other duties as assigned within the engagement scope
Consultant Expectations
- Uphold SKS’s commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging in all work
- Communicate proactively and transparently
- Meet deadlines while working independently and asynchronously
- Maintain strong judgment on when to escalate issues or ask for support
- Track and report all billable and non-billable hours as agreed upon
Qualifications
Required Technical Qualifications
- Proficiency with SQL and databases (e.g., Redshift)
- Python scripting for ETL/data wrangling/orchestration
- DBT expertise
- Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce, EveryAction)
- Experience with BI tools (e.g., Tableau)
- Understanding of software engineering practices (e.g., version control)
Required Non-Technical Qualifications
- Understanding of nonprofit fundraising terms and practices
- Strong communicator: empathetic listener and persuasive speaker
- Independent, organized, and proactive
- Analytical and solution-oriented
- Available to work synchronously during U.S. Eastern Time (M-F, 9am–5pm ET)
Preferred Technical Qualifications
- Experience with AWS tools (e.g., S3, IAM, EC2)
- Familiarity with the Civis Analytics Platform
- Experience with data architecture design
Time Commitment
This is a term-limited role through December 31, 2025, scoped for an average of 25–30 hours per week. Time off will be coordinated with SKS and the client. Candidates must be able to commit to the full term. If you expect to enter a full-time W2 role before the end of the engagement, please reflect on your long-term availability before applying.
Compensation
This is a 1099 independent subcontractor role. Compensation is $150-200/hour USD commensurate with experience, which will be determined by mutual agreement between subcontractor and SKS. We may also offer additional paid onboarding. We provide all necessary tools including Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, Harvest, and more.
How to Apply
Please submit a resume and a cover letter about your interest and availability to careers [at] skeletonkeystrategies [dot] com. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
