Director of Development and Communications

Genesys Works is a nonprofit organization that opens doors to career pathways for low-income high school students through professional skills training, meaningful work experiences, and impactful relationships. Our program consists of eight weeks of technical and professional skills training, a year-long paid corporate internship, and extensive college and career coaching. 94% of program graduates go on to enroll in college after experiencing professional success while still in high school. Our goal is to move more students out of poverty and into professional careers, creating a more productive and diverse workforce in the process. Our business model offers a unique combination of earned income, providing 80% of our revenue, and contributed income of 20% solicited from individuals, foundations, and corporate sponsorships.

In our Chicago office, we are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced executive-level Development Leader to manage a Development and Communications (DevComm) team as we expand our fundraising operation and build a foundation for long-term success. This position reports to the Executive Director and is considered part of the senior leadership team.

This position is responsible for vision-setting, strategic planning and management of all major fundraising activities, including supporting the board of directors in conjunction with the Executive Director, institutional and individual cultivation, solicitation and stewardship, creative services, database management, and volunteer management, and communications and marketing. The successful candidate will expand and diversify Genesys Works Chicago donor base and pipeline and work closely with other team members to secure funding for new initiatives.

In addition to leading all philanthropic strategies, the Director of Development will have primary responsibility for designing and implementing the marketing and communications plan for Genesys Works Twin Cities to support resource allocation for large events, philanthropic initiatives, strategic corporate clients, and board development.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Vision-Setting and Strategic Planning
• Actively work with the Executive Director and stakeholders to design a comprehensive development strategic plan to include individual giving and corporate, foundation, government grants
• Successfully implement donor-centered fundraising strategies that ensure the Chicago site will surpass and maintain $1.3 million in annual contributed income as we seek to double in size in the next few years.
• Develop a donor-centered fundraising culture to retain and steward existing donors and cultivate new relationships with family/corporate foundations and corporate sponsors
• Raise the profile of the organization among foundations and policymakers
• Collaborate with Genesys Works National Development Team to coordinate local/national development efforts and ensure compliance with accurate forecasting
• Fundraising
• Actively cultivate, solicit, and steward foundation partners and prospective partners through management of prospect lists to identify, cultivate and solicit grants and sponsorships and develop individual-giving platforms
• Oversee prospect research, management of funding pipeline, and maintenance of grants calendar
• Build and maintain key influential relationships in the community that will lead to the development of new revenue and greater exposure for the organization
• In collaboration with the Development Manager and Development Associate, research and write grant proposals and fulfill reporting requirements
• Marketing & Communications (MarComm)
• In collaboration with the Marketing and Events Coordinator, set strategy and schedule for delivery of creative services to internal clients (Program, Recruitment, Workplace Success and DevComm) to advance key organizational priorities
• Work with Marketing and Events Specialist to develop, write and produce Annual Report, as well as solicitation and stewardship materials
• In concert with the Marketing Coordinator, develop a strategic communications plan to provide greater visibility in the community and improve stewardship of donors
• Assist with gathering of footage/images for development publications and videos
• Events and Corporate Sponsorship
• In collaboration with the Executive Director, and Director of Corporate Partnerships develop a strategic plan to harness and grow corporate sponsorships
• Serve as a liaison for corporate sponsors and third-party fundraisers
• Support the work of the Marketing coordinator in organizing and executing major events
• Grants, Gift Processing and Donor Acknowledgement
• Direct impactful and accurate gift processing and donor relations, ensuring timely gift acknowledgments
• Oversee monthly and annual reconciliation of development and accounting records
• Facilitate contributions from crowdfunding and employee-giving platforms
• Serve as a liaison to gift accounting and development staff at Genesys Works – National
• Work with development staff at Genesys Works – National to assess and evaluate existing gift accounting process and tools, improving overall efficiency and accuracy

Qualifications:

We seek an experienced senior-level development leader who believes deeply in our organization’s mission and the population we serve, thrives in the dynamic work environment of a young organization, has a well-developed fundraising philosophy, can provide strong leadership and support to our Development and Communications staff, is highly organized, and is excited by the challenge of setting the vision for and building an exemplary fundraising operation.

Qualified candidates must possess:

• Five years of professional experience in a nonprofit organization with demonstrated success as a development leader
• Ability to think strategically and build successful fundraising strategies for growth
• Ability to provide high-quality customer service to internal and external clients, including the board, institutional funders, corporate partners, and staff
• Ability to relate to and work with diverse populations
• Ability to produce results independently and as part of a team
• Adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact strategic and tactical fundraising initiatives
• A minimum of three years of experience with developing, and expanding major gift donor relationships
• A minimum of three years successfully managing and developing full-time staff
• Excellent writing and copyediting skills
• Comfort working with fundraising databases and Microsoft Office applications
• Strong organizational skills and a talent for creating efficiencies and refining processes
• Bachelor’s degree required
• Heart, humor, and a passion for our youth development mission

Successful candidates will possess deep and proven experience in two or more of the following areas:

• Grant writing and foundation relations
• Portfolio of key funder relationships in the Chicago market
• Corporate relations
• Event planning
• Marketing and communications
• Salesforce.com, Raiser’s Edge or a similar donor relationship management system

Physical Requirements:

• Including, but not limited to standing and sitting for long periods of time; speaking loudly and clearly; seeing and hearing things both near and far away; reaching; stooping; kneeling; and fine-finger and hand manipulation in the use of a computer, dry erase board, or projector. The employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as preparing and analyzing data and figures, transcribing, viewing a computer terminal, and extensive reading.