Development Associate

Okoa Refuge Inc. is looking for a passionate lover of Jesus gifted in fundraising and relationship management to join our family. Are you passionate about ending human trafficking, the rescue and care of women, children and the disabled and sharing the Gospel?  We are a rapidly growing and expanding nonprofit serving East Africa with a highly talented US operations team.  Visit our website at Okoarefuge.org and see what we are all about!

About us:  Okoa Refuge exists to bring hope and healing in order to strengthen and transform. Looking for the right candidate who will passionately engage with who we are and become part of our family for the long term!

This position will be responsible for researching and identifying opportunities to grow Okoa by designing and implementing programs to reach churches, corporations, foundations and individual donors for fundraising. Responsible for achieving annual fundraising revenue targets. Leads the execution of stewardship activities and other strategies as needed to strengthen the donor experience. Reviews and disseminates donor acknowledgments, invitation packages, sponsorship deliverables, appeals for support, and other correspondence as directed. Runs regular reports, updates dashboards, prepares donor briefings, and prepares mailing lists as needed. 

Candidates should come with: 

A passion for Okoa Refuge’s mission and vision and a willingness to represent Jesus and Okoa well!

At least 3 - 6 years of successful, proven experience preferably in a nonprofit environment, development organization or relationship-based sales environment.  Experienced in identifying and managing multi-faceted donor relationships and partnerships including corporations, foundations, churches and/or individuals. Proven results in achieving large dollar fundraising or revenue targets. 

Experience should include:

• Excitement and willingness to learn and promote Okoa programs’ funding opportunities
• Demonstrated development or sales experience - lead the identification, cultivation and stewardship of corporate, individual, church and/or foundation fundraising relationships
• Identify and tailor fundraising strategies for unique donor segments (e.g., donors with employer match potential, HNWI donors)  
• Craft and analyze complex donor reports to help evaluate fundraising strategies and identify opportunities for improvement (prefer experience with Kindful or other fundraising/sales tracking tools)
• Experience with the creation of tailored marketing collateral for promoting Okoa to potential donors
• Knowledge of project management fundamentals for managing work and tracking and monitoring results
• Highly motivated and enjoys taking the initiative to seek out new funding leads; able to network effectively and steward small and large partnerships.  Must enjoy making the first-time contact and moving the potential donor through to a financial commitment and advocacy for Okoa Refuge
• Active in networking associations related to fundraising or sales
• Superb interpersonal, speaking and writing skills - thrives in new situations and relationships
• Ability to work across multiple projects while prioritizing competing tasks within deadlines
• Prefer experience with Google Office for email, document sharing and storage and management of projects
• Additional responsibilities may arise to help the department achieve annual revenue goals. 
• Works best on a fun team supporting each player and all working toward common goals
• Some college or a degree preferred

Frequent In-person meetings and occasional travel required.

At Okoa Refuge, we strive to create the best possible work environments to encourage teamwork, create exceptional customer /donor experiences, and deliver on Okoa’s strategies and plans to spread the gospel in East Africa.  Our Jacksonville US Operations team is a vital part of what we do.

Business Hours - Our normal hours of business operations are M-F 9-5.  We ask that our staff be available as needs arise during these hours. This means responding to emails, phone calls, and communications in a timely manner during work hours.

Remote Office - We love flexibility so we offer hybrid/remote working arrangements. Your home office should mirror a work office. We recommend you set aside space with limited distractions so our fellow team members and donors have our full attention. If you keep a young child at home during the work days, we ask that there be another adult in the home as primary caregiver. 

Team Work Space - We believe teams work best when collaboration happens!  We meet face to face in a dedicated Jacksonville, Florida office space twice weekly to get to know each other and share ideas. Great work happens in teams!