Director Foundations and Government
Summary:
The Director Foundation & Government Support oversees
the operations of Safe Horizon’s foundation and government support team within
the Development & Communications department, ensuring timely and accurate
planning, design, production and submission of proposals and grant reports from
foundation and government funders. The Director will play an exciting role in
generating new partnerships in support of Safe Horizon’s programs as the agency
seeks to significantly increase private revenue to enhance its mission and
strategic initiatives. The Director will be an expert frontline fundraiser and
seasoned supervisor with 7 years of experience in grant writing and
cultivating relationships with funders, as well as a demonstrated track record
of securing 6 – and 7 – figure grant awards. This position will focus on
fundraising for general operating support, cross-agency initiatives and grants
to further Safe Horizon’s strategic planning goals and may lead or co-lead
government procurements as needed. This
position will supervise the Manager Foundation & Government Support and a
Grant Writer and reports to the Associate Vice President Foundation &
Government Support.
The Director Foundation & Government Support will
proactively bring creative ideas, solutions and approaches to raising Safe
Horizon’s profile and generating new, lasting funder relationships. The ability to cultivate and sustain
relationships with external partners is essential, as is a strong commitment to
Safe Horizon’s organizational values and vision. The Director will work closely with the
Associate Vice President Foundation & Government Support as a key thought
partner in developing annual fundraising goals and strategies and will
collaborate with the Associate Director Foundation & Government Support to
advance department goals.
This is an exciting time to join the team as Safe Horizon
launches its next five-year strategic plan which focuses on expanding
opportunities for survivor leadership, advocacy, community-centered practices
and anti-racism across all areas.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Supervises and mentors Manager of Foundation and Government Support and Grant Writer; identifies opportunities for their professional development and growth; guides staff to set and attain individual and team goals.
- Generates, builds and leads a robust foundation portfolio, focusing on grants for general operating support, cross-agency programmatic efforts and strategic initiatives.
- Manages the proposal, report, and renewal process for private foundations across the team, including collaborating with Program and Research and Evaluation to gather narrative and statistical information and with Finance to ensure timely and accurate program/project budgets.
- Contributes, as needed, to government procurements and other cross-agency funding opportunities.
- Writes compelling proposals and reports that are tailored to specific funder interests.
- Leads all aspects of grants development and management, including defining and monitoring outcomes in collaboration with Program and the Research and Evaluation
- Department, and developing tailored budgets in partnership with the Finance Department.
- Proactively cultivates relationships with existing and prospective donors through discussion, correspondence, meetings, and site visits.
- Researches whether and how funding interests relate to Safe Horizon’s programs and guides strategic decisions related to how we pitch, position, choose, shape, or design ideas/programs for funding according to funder interest and context.
- Implements all aspects of internal management of grant awards, including awards processing, finance requests, data requests and reporting requirements in partnership with Development, Finance, R&E and Program colleagues.
- Shares learnings from Program and Research & Evaluation colleagues with the Development and Communications Department and partners with others across the department to amplify client impact stories and advance organizational priorities.
- Collaborates with the AVP of Foundation and Government Support to delegate and oversee grant writing by the grant writing team, and provides proofreading, copying, editing, and mentoring as professional development opportunities.
- Monitors online and print publications for foundation news, industry trends, and public and private requests for proposals, evaluating them for relevance to Safe Horizon’s mission and programs.
- Collaborates with AVP of Foundation and Government Support and Associate Director of
- Foundation & Government Support to ensure smooth functioning of Foundation and
- Government Support team, operational excellence and increase efficiencies within the department.
- Assists the AVP of Foundation and Government Support by providing guidance and input on leadership of the team, management of important funder relationships, and other key areas.
- Performs other duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- 7 years of fundraising experience, preferably from both public and private sources.
- 3 years of supervisory experience; candidates with experience supervising development professionals are preferred.
- Demonstrated track record of successfully generating 6-7 figure gifts, with an emphasis on grants for general operating support and advancing strategic priorities.
- Advanced/superior writing skills – the successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to capture the purpose, importance and impact of programs and projects with an emphasis on effective structure, grammar, succinctness, and alignment with foundations’ giving interests.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both verbal and written), including strong presentation and negotiation skills.
- Experience coaching and mentoring staff and a demonstrated ability to lead others to new levels of success.
- Experience with budget preparation and/or analysis – ability to review budgets and ensure alignment with the funder’s interests and the proposal narrative.
- Ability to work independently and under stress, manage demanding and conflicting priorities to meet deadlines with well-crafted proposals and reports.
- Sophisticated data management and research skills.
- Excellent project management and relationship management skills.
- Sophisticated knowledge of the victim services or parallel social justice field, with the ability to contribute to programmatic decisions related to funding opportunities.
- Strong commitment to Safe Horizon’s organizational values of client-centered, trauma-informed practice, anti-racism, and community-centered programming with the ability to integrate agency values into leadership, strategy, grant design and writing.
- Strong working knowledge of local and national foundation donors, government systems, and funding trends.
- Experience with Salesforce (or comparable donor database) and MS Suite.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; background in social justice or human services preferred. - Ability to travel within New York City as needed.
Hiring Pay Range: 82,000.00 - 92,250.00 Salaried
Full-time Hours: 35 Hours per week
Full-time Benefits: Vacation Time, Paid Sick Time, Holidays, Medical, Dental, Vision, 403(b) Retirement Plan, Company Life Insurance, Medical/Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Tuition Assistance Program, Commuter Benefits Program, Gym Reimbursement, Parental Leave, Employee Learning Center
