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Our client is a premier non-profit in the education space. Its mission is to enlist the nation's most promising future leaders in the movement to eliminate educational inequality. Embarking on a stage of significant growth, the organization is looking for a team of highly talented individuals to help shape both the future of the organization and the education landscape.

The Director of Development will lead the campaign to raise approximately eight million dollars over the next 2 years in operating revenue, with a particular focus on growing our base of individual donors. The Director of Development will report directly to and work closely with the Executive Director on setting and executing high level development strategy, managing a team of talented development professionals and working directly with a portfolio of donors and prospects. This individual must be comfortable in an entrepreneurial environment, possess an exceptionally high level of personal responsibility and be equally comfortable managing back-end processes, engaging with donors and creating strategy.

Team Overview:

By this fall, only the second year in existence, our client’s Dallas operation will have more than doubled its corps size to 250 teachers. Our client is part of a national leadership force of 7,800 first- and second-year corps members who are, on average, effecting 1.5 years of academic progress in a single year. This means that in a single year, through the work of the corps members alone, the organization will be helping to level the playing field for around 21,000 students in low income communities across Dallas.

Regional staff members work to train and support corps members, continually strengthen relationships with local schools and districts, foster the leadership of local alumni and continue to grow the regional funding base to ensure that our client can have an even greater impact. As a Charter region, all staff members play an integral role in laying the foundational trajectory for the region.

Responsibilities:

Managing and Operating:

• Working closely with the Executive Director and the regional board of advisors to create and execute the regional strategic and operational plans to ensure that the region maximizes opportunities, meets its goals and significantly grows funding while building long-term sustainability
• Analyzing historical and market data to set ambitious, yet feasible, revenue, donor quantity and retention goals for the next three years and interim benchmarks
• Regularly assessing progress to goals and adjusting course as necessary
• Developing and executing pitches and strategies to reach goals for different segments
• Managing a development team of one or more full-time development staff members to progress toward goals and develop them as professionals. Specifically ensuring team members:
  • Strategically build and manage donor portfolios, by designing and implementing donor engagement plan
  • Conduct excellent donor interactions and communications (i.e., events, operations, tracking systems and donor communications required to support the region's fundraising efforts are tightly executed and highly effective)
• Cultivating, soliciting and stewarding a portfolio of donors through external meetings, events and correspondence
• Supporting the Executive Director in regional advisory board management by developing the regional board, preparing for board meetings and corresponding with board members
• Ensuring that the events, operations, tracking systems and donor communications required to support the region's fundraising efforts are tightly executed and highly effective

Strategy and Execution:

• Leading focused growth in individual giving and corporate giving, with a particular emphasis on the Sponsor A Teacher Campaign and major gifts ($100,000+ multi-year gifts.)
• Creating and executing a foundational stewardship plan
• Serving on the Dallas regional leadership team to set direction and tone for the organization's presence in our geographic region
• Launching multiple annual events, which will eventually raise a pre-set goal or more from the corporate sector and individual giving sectors, by developing strategies to secure high-level dinner honorees and chairs and ensuring all operations are executed effectively
• Collaborating with the region's district strategy team to secure local public funding
• Collaborating with the region's district strategy team, leadership in the region and national leadership to secure state funding
• Managing the region's relationship with public funding agencies and ensuring compliance with these agencies' requirements

• Bachelors degree required
• 4-7 years experience preferred
• Strong relationship builder and keen understanding of what motivates others
• Ability to build strong relationships with various types of people and to motivate superiors, peer and direct reports to meet ambitious goals
• Strong, strategic thinker and exceptional goal orientation
• Excellent detail orientation and organization skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills: can speak compellingly about the organization, its mission and its goals and has a mature presence
• Comfortable and excited about managing in an entrepreneurial setting: ability to manage people and the back-office to ensure an efficient operation
• Ability to operate with purpose, urgency and accuracy in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment
• High level of personal responsibility and drive towards exceedingly ambitious goals
• Knowledge of Raisers Edge, Excel, and PowerPoint preferred, but not required

Salary for this position is competitive and depends on prior experience. In addition, a comprehensive benefits package is included.