Development Director

Primary Function

Reporting to the President/CEO, the Director of Development is responsible for planning, directing, and implementing a successful fundraising program to achieve fundraising and underwriting goals.

The Director must have superb management skills to successfully lead a results-oriented staff in growing donors and revenue to support the needs of the organization. The position oversees the Major Gifts, Leadership Society, Gift Planning and Annual Membership programs, and provides oversight to stewardship and database activities ensuring programs are well executed. The Director provides oversight to the Underwriting program and its staff, ensuring effective strategy and achievement of goals. Working closely with the Senior Leadership Team, the Director's effective collaboration and partnership supports and encourages the achievement of organizational goals.

Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership (10%)

• Provide development, underwriting, and donor strategy for the President & CEO and other senior management and staff.
• Provide effective and inspiring leadership that produces dollars, volunteers and advocates.
• Provide leadership support and management of development efforts for the Development Committee and Board of Trustees.
• Evaluate the strategies currently used to solicit gifts and underwriting sponsorships with the goal of increasing revenue as well as efficiency and effectiveness.
• Participate as an active member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in partnership with CEO and colleagues.
• Represent WSKG at community events, meetings, conferences and other relevant forums across the region.
• Treats all internal and external stakeholder with respect regardless of differences in backgrounds, lifestyles, viewpoints and needs in areas such as race, gender, ethnicity, creed, sexual orientation and others.
• In partnership with SLT, develop fundraising priorities to share with external constituents to secure funding.
• Provide expert technical assistance and guidance to all program staff interested in securing private funding from individuals, corporations and foundations.
• Develop and implement processes that promote clear communication and the healthy flow of information with staff and board and ensure that everyone in the organization understands their role in development.

Program Management and Oversight (55%)

• Create, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive, multi-year plan to increase underwriting sponsorships, donors and dollars in support of WSKG. The plan will include audience segmentation, timing, messages, and goals. Develop, implement, and evaluate specific strategies to improve performance where appropriate.
• Monitor progress toward the annual and multi-year goals. Provide a rigorous, systematic review and analysis of all development and underwriting activities to find ways to do things more effectively and efficiently. Develop appropriate formats for regular, routine reporting on performance to share with a broad array of internal and external stakeholders. Provide accurate and timely reporting and analysis to volunteers, supervisor, and colleagues for use in management decision making.
• Serve as the leader of the team, with day-to-day oversight for the entire development and underwriting program and its staff. Provide advice, support, and guidance to staff. Evaluate staff performance annually. Hire and train staff as appropriate by being versed in all aspects of the development and underwriting program and the work of volunteer management, personal solicitation, and broad-based campaigns.
• Provide the framework for, and oversight of goalsetting and benchmarking; recognition of volunteers and donors; events; volunteer recruitment; training and support; along with related activities of identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for donors and underwriting sponsors.
• In coordination with the Director of Marketing & Community Engagement, maintain a comprehensive communications schedule and calendar on behalf of development, including donor communications, donor centered publications, and communication and publications around special events, online giving, and donor recognition.
• Develop strategy and implement solicitation and messaging for all development and underwriting programs, including solicitation and stewardship, ensuring timely and effective written and oral communication to meet all program deadlines.
• Provide leadership, feasibility goal setting, and direction, implementation and evaluation of all broad-based solicitation, including pledge drives, direct mail, email, and personal solicitations and related stewardship functions.
• In partnership with the Senior Leadership Team, design, manage, and guide campaign efforts as appropriate.
• Oversee gift entry and acknowledgement and ensure accurate administration of donor data.
• Oversee fundraising special events, with an emphasis on donor cultivation and recognition events.
• Develop and manage the annual giving budget based on programmatic goals and objectives as reviewed and approved annually.

Volunteer Management (20%)

• Serves as the primary staff liaison to the Development Committee of the board. Ensures the committee reaches their full potential in support of the fundraising effort. This includes establishing goals for the committee in conjunction with the chair; identification, recruitment, training, and support of volunteers; and analysis and evaluation of various efforts. Update databases to monitor, discern, and track the appropriate activities. Personally contact members of the committee to ask for their support.
• Advocate for annual membership to the Board of Trustees. Partner with staff and the Development Committee to ensure all members are asked for gifts and that the 100% participation goal is met.

Major Gift Portfolio Management (15%)

• Responsible for a portfolio of approximately 15 donor households, and with active participation of the President & CEO and other senior management staff and board members/volunteers, cultivate and manage long-term relationships with individuals for the purpose of securing gifts to support the programs and mission of WSKG across the region.
• Coach staff and board on their roles to identify and cultivate prospective donors within their networks and to steward existing donors. Provide advice, coaching and support on the execution of appropriate potential donor engagement strategies.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Bachelor's degree or relevant experience.
• Eight or more years in development; thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving programs and detailed understanding of annual fundraising programs, such as direct mail, email, pledge drives, membership and personal solicitation programs. Previous experience in public media is preferred.
• Conversant in relevant and contemporary technologies and how they can be used in support of development, including management of major and planned gifts, direct mail and electronic solicitation programs to measure and manage results.
• Proven record of leadership, management and supervisory skills. Possess a supportive and accessible management style, a strong commitment to personal and professional development, with a proven track record in motivating, training and managing a staff with diverse skills and experience.
• Superior communication skills with the ability to connect to a variety of audiences, clarity, crispness, and persuasiveness in written and oral communications. Proven ability to guide a successful broad-based messaging platform including a mix of print, electronic, radio, television and social media in support of the program.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends and travel.
• Experience in personally soliciting gifts.
• Extensive experience working with volunteers; demonstrated ability to work successfully and effectively with a wide range of constituents and manage complex relationships; proven collaboration and teamwork skills.
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment-excellent interpersonal skills, outstanding personal initiative.
• Knowledge of modern data management practices and techniques including data-based computerized information systems, data modeling, and models of analysis that lead to effective decision making on behalf of the program. Strong Excel skills, including use of formulas, pivot tables, and v-lookups, are required; familiarity with Allegiance is preferred.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a teammate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may be regularly required to stand, sit, talk, hear, reach, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer, telephone, and keyboard.
• Regular interaction with co-workers and the community is required.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements clue to computer work.
• Light to moderate lifting may be required.
• Regular, predictable attendance is required as business demands dictate.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a teammate encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Moderate noise (i.e., business office with computers, phone, and printers, light traffic).
• Ability to work in a confined area.
• Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $90,000.00 - $110,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Vision insurance

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Evenings as needed
• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Education:

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

Experience:

• Fundraising: 8 years (Preferred)
• Senior leadership: 2 years (Preferred)
• Data management: 4 years (Preferred)
• Schedule management: 3 years (Preferred)
• Volunteer management: 2 years (Preferred)

Ability to Commute:

• Vestal, NY 13850 (Preferred)

Ability to Relocate:

• Vestal, NY 13850: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Willingness to travel:

• 25% (Preferred)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $90,000 - $110,000