Development Director

Development Director

Semilla Nueva is hiring a Development Director to grow our organizational budget, fueling our efforts to scale in Guatemala, El Salvador, and East Africa.

Summary of the Organization

Semilla Nueva has a team of 58 employees with a budget of $5.4M in 2024 and a target budget of $6.4M in 2025. The organization is based in Guatemala, with a US legal presence, activities in Honduras and El Salvador, and support from some of the world’s most prestigious donors, including USAID, Cartier Philanthropy, and the Mulago Foundation. Semilla Nueva develops high-yielding, climate-resilient maize seeds that have been conventionally bred (non-GMO) to have higher levels of the most important missing nutrients: zinc, iron, and quality protein. Our approach to the large-scale adoption of these seeds relies on three strategies:

• Breeding commercially competitive biofortified seeds, which can double farmer incomes and prevent climate change related crop losses for farmers;
• Piloting subsidies to seed companies to ensure the lowest income farmers can purchase and grow our new, higher-yielding, climate-resilient, biofortified seeds.
• Working with governments to institutionalize these subsidies.

In 2024, we will reach over 33,000 farmers and their families and feed over a million people. Our seed is being used by the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador, with testing in process for an expansion to East Africa and a goal to reach 3 million farmers, feeding 100 million people in the next ten years.

Summary of the Position

Semilla Nueva is hiring a Development Director to become a part of a dynamic organization seeking to improve the national nutrition of Guatemala and beyond. The Development Director will spearhead efforts to grow revenue and expand the organization’s donor base. This role is pivotal in managing and cultivating major donor relationships, overseeing foundation relationships and grant proposals, and driving the strategic direction of the development department. This role will take advantage of Semilla Nueva’s success, growth, and powerful impact data to expand our relationship with multilateral and bilateral donors as well as the impact-focused foundations that have been our principal donors to date.

The Development Director will report to and collaborate closely with the Chief Strategy and Impact Officer and manage one to two coordinator positions. The position will require occasional trips to Guatemala, but we are open to candidates to lead our development efforts internationally.

We are looking for a passionate, creative, and outgoing individual with a strong mind for problem-solving, systems, and collaboration both within Semilla Nueva and with partners. We are also looking for a strong writer and communicator with successful experience in the world of multilateral and bilateral funding. The ideal candidate is a natural leader, with an intuition for driving actions forward. This person is creative and curious; they are a high-performer who delivers and supports the team to follow through with all detailed actions. Finally, this person can build and maintain fundraising systems for success, with an eye for relationships and strong communication.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership and Management:

• Lead and manage the Development Team, including the Grants and Project Coordinator.
• Set clear goals, provide guidance, and ensure team members are equipped to meet their objectives.
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture within the team.
• Revenue Growth and Strategy:
• Develop and implement comprehensive strategies to increase revenue from major donors, foundations, and other sources.
• Design and execute innovative fundraising campaigns and initiatives to drive financial support.
• Monitor and regularly report on progress towards fundraising goals
• Ensure alignment between fundraising strategies and organizational branding/communications efforts.

Major Donor Relationships:

• Cultivate and maintain relationships with current major donors.
• Develop and manage a personal portfolio of major donors and prospects, including tailored strategies to engage and solicit new and existing donors.
• Create and manage donor portfolios for the CEO and the Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, ensuring effective engagement and stewardship.
• Support the Board of Directors for grassroots and individual fundraising.

Foundation and Grant Management:

• Oversee relationships with current foundation partners, ensuring ongoing engagement and satisfaction.
• Lead efforts in identifying and prospecting new foundation opportunities.
• Supervise the preparation and submission of grant proposals, ensuring accuracy, alignment with funder priorities, and compliance with deadlines.
• Oversee reporting to foundations and other grant-making organizations, ensuring timely and thorough updates.

Reporting and Analysis:

• Track and analyze fundraising performance metrics, providing regular reports to the Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, CEO and senior leadership.
• Adjust strategies based on data insights and emerging trends in philanthropy.

Qualifications

Required:

• Minimum 7-10 years of successful fundraising experience, especially with impact-oriented family foundations and/or multilateral or bilateral donors.
• Experience creating, maintaining and growing budget revenue for international nonprofits
• Strong communication skills with the ability to analyze data and summarize for a variety of donor audiences
• Exceptional writing ability; creative approach to donor messaging
• Ability to create systems and track action items that lead to successful fundraising outcomes
• Demonstrates successful prospecting for new major donors and new foundation/institutional donors
• People and resources management: ability to coordinate, manage, and prioritize workload to meet objectives and timelines
• Strong networking and inter-organizational collaboration skills
• Fully fluent English

Desired:

• College degree in nutrition, global health, international development, or related field
• Work experience in an NGO, bi/multilateral or other development agency
• Fluent/Advanced Spanish preferred
• Experience working in/in-service of low-income countries

Expectations

• Ability to work independently, proactively, and prioritize/coordinate a variety of activities
• Ability to represent organizational values and develop strategy in a senior leadership role
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural team
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, constantly evolving work environment

Salary range: $100-120,000/year depending on experience

Before applying, please review our website: www.semillanueva.org, including blogs and annual reports.

To apply please send your cover letter and CV to trabajo@semillanueva.org. Please note “Development Director” and your last name in the subject line of your email.

Semilla Nueva is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. We foster a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, out of home care, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience.