Senior Advancement Director

OVERVIEW

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International focused on providing affordable housing solutions in Thurston and Lewis counties. We believe that every person, no matter who they are, deserves a decent place to live. Our work includes building new, energy-efficient homes, preparing households for homeownership, facilitating affordable mortgages for homebuyers, performing critical housing repairs, and running two successful resale stores. It is an exciting time at South Puget Sound Habitat as our immediate goals for the future include three new developments and hundreds of repair projects, drastically outpacing our past production—and we are working to scale our operations to meet these goals.

POSITION SUMMARY

The senior advancement director is responsible for creating and overseeing the direction, leadership, and management of fundraising, marketing/communications, and advocacy efforts to ensure South Puget Sound Habitat has the resources to carry out its strategic plan priorities and achieve long-term sustainability. The director heads a team of four to five, reports to the CEO, and is a member of the leadership team responsible for creating the organization’s culture and overall strategy.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

You are an experienced fundraising leader and want to put your know-how to work in service to an organization building affordable homeownership solutions for our South Sound neighbors. You excel at relationship building and effective communications of all types—and know how to encourage the same in the people around you. You’d list organization and strategy development amongst your top skills, but you can also wear, or learn, the many hats required of a senior director. Finally, you thrive on actively directing and motivating your team’s efforts and you hold yourself and your team accountable to high standards and continuous improvement.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibility: Strategy, Planning, and Budgeting (10%)

The director is responsible for setting, driving, and evaluating the short- to long-term direction of current and emerging fundraising and communication efforts. Responsibilities generally include:

• Develop and execute annual and multi-year fundraising and communication plans aligned with organizational objectives, identifying and developing new opportunities to support growth.
• Collect and analyze fundraising and communication data and trends to inform strategy adjustments and maximize revenue generation.
• Direct the preparation of all annual budgets under advancement functions and monitor monthly to ensure revenue and expenditures are within budget scope.

Key Responsibility: Fundraising Management (60%)

The director is responsible for achieving annual fundraising goals and maturing and advancing a comprehensive advancement program that earns broad community favor. Responsibilities generally include:

• Maintain ultimate responsibility for year-over-year increases in all contributed revenue-generating activities, including gifts through individual solicitation, foundation and corporate relations, and annual fund tactics.
• Actively manage a portfolio of 20-40 major gift prospects and donors, ensuring personalized engagement and effective solicitation approaches with each.
• Work with the board of directors to maximize their giving and fundraising potential; lead and nurture relevant committees.
• Support the CEO in fundraising activities, including identifying and managing strategies and tactics for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts.
• Ensure the absolute integrity and timeliness of gift processing, data management, and stewardship activities.
• Positively engage with other Habitat organizations as fundraising strategies mature across the U.S. network.

Key Responsibility: Marketing/Communications and Advocacy Management (15%)

The director is responsible for driving best-in-class communications that help align resources with organizational needs. Responsibilities generally include:

• Maintain ultimate responsibility for consistent, clear, engaging, and well-crafted communications across all platforms.
• Provide thought leadership on messaging priorities and tactics that drive engagement and advocacy.
• Oversee and champion brand, voice, and messaging standards; ensure all staff, board, and recurring volunteers are trained to be effective representatives.
• Work with the CEO to develop and implement advocacy plans for building relationships with elected officials, advancing the organization’s policy goals, and securing funding from government sources.

Key Responsibility: Team Development and Communication (15%)

The director is responsible for building and nurturing a successful team as well as actively contributing to a healthy organization overall. Responsibilities generally include:

• Hire, manage and mentor staff, prioritizing work and offering direction and support that ensures both effective results and engaged employees.
• Foster a donor-centric, collaborative, and high-performance culture within the advancement team; promote relationship-based donor and volunteer engagement, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Work collaboratively with the leadership team to advance affiliate culture and staff competency; represent the advancement team perspective for organization-wide decisions.
• Engage in routine planning and communications across teams to ensure cross-team dependencies are proactively accounted for and managed.

Key Responsibility: Leadership, Teamwork, and Inclusivity

All team members are responsible for contributing to overall organizational health through positive collaboration, leadership, personal integrity, and a commitment to equity and inclusion. Responsibilities generally include:

• Maintain a “team first” outlook, supporting the success of the team and the mission in attitude, ideas, and actions; lead by example and with active, creative input for growing and improving the organization.
• Meet and endorse organization standards for record keeping and information sharing.
• Contribute to organization events, helping as necessary with set up/take down, management, networking, various tasks, etc.
• Participate in intentional learning efforts, including events relating to understanding institutional racism and building cultural competency.

REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business administration, communications, or related field; master’s degree preferred
• A minimum of eight years of work experience in nonprofit management, development, alumni relations, marketing, public relations, or similar work required; at least four years in a leadership position with people management responsibilities

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• A goal-oriented personality who is resilient and creative when faced with shifting challenges and opportunities
• Exceptional work ethic and track record of personal initiative and achievement
• Strong understanding of fundraising best practices, including donor stewardship, moves management, and prospect research, with demonstrated commitment to raising funds through relationship-based approaches
• Demonstrated success in developing and executing individual, corporate, foundation and annual fund tactics; knowledge and confidence to implement new or develop existing strategies for growth
• Strategic thinker with the ability to perform basic math, analyze data, identify opportunities, and develop actionable plans to achieve goals
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inspire donors, volunteers, staff, and stakeholders; strong editing and audience-specific tailoring abilities
• Strong leadership qualities, including the ability to prioritize, delegate, and lead by example
• Excellent organizational skills with a history of planning and delivering simultaneous initiatives
• Tech-savvy generally; high-level competency with Microsoft Office/365 and CRM platforms
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion
• Ability to pass a background and reference check
• Commitment to the South Puget Sound Habitat mission and core values

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Personal local network
• Understanding and abilities in public advocacy
• Understanding and abilities in marketing/communication tactics and best practices
• Understanding and abilities in budget development/management, including competency with Excel

CORE VALUES

Successful team members share the following core values:

• Diversity, equity, and inclusion: We value diversity and aim to make our workplace and services accessible and welcoming to all, especially those who are most often marginalized and misunderstood.
• People First: We consider the human impact of our decisions and prioritize well-being as well as closing equity gaps.
• Community: We understand that we are connected to one another and that we must root our efforts in trust and collective achievement.
• Future Generations: We strive for lasting change. Our plans, our designs, our decisions don’t just impact the here and now; they are opportunities to serve future generations as well.
• Integrity: We do what we say we will do, and we do it honestly, ethically, and equitably. We hold ourselves accountable for our actions.

DETAILS

Reports to: Chief Executive Officer.

Supervises: 3 direct FTE (marketing, individual giving, corporate/organization), 1 indirect FTE (coordinator), 0-1 consultants.

Hours: 40 hours per week. Typical business hours with some flexibility for preferred schedules.

Compensation: Salaried: Position range: $80,000-$125,000; expected hire range: $95,000-$108,000.

FLSA Status: This position is exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); it does not earn overtime for additional time worked over 40 hours per week.

Benefits: 26 vacation/sick/personal days initially, increasing over time; 13 holidays; 85% employer-paid health, 50% employer-paid dental, 100% employer-paid vision; Simple IRA with 3% match.

Environment: This position will be based in our office located at 910 5th Ave SE in Olympia. It can be reached by car or public transit. The building is accessible. This position will have a desk, computer, and phone line in a designated workspace. Off-site, local travel is required. Limited regular remote work is acceptable.

Conditions: This position will be regularly required to use a computer keyboard and screen, communicate with others, reach with arms and hands to file and use a phone, and sit for extended periods.

Training: This successful candidate will be onboarded and initially trained through a combination of in-person, online, and written trainings; they are expected to take the initiative to review materials as needed and seek understanding of new developments in order to perform their responsibilities.

Disclaimer: This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive list of duties nor required skills. Employees may occasionally perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities to meet the needs of the organization.

APPLY

Submit your cover letter and resume through the portal found at: spshabitat.org/learn-more/careers by October 19, 2025. We will contact successful applicants for interviews.

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity values a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourages applications form individuals of all backgrounds, including those historically underrepresented.

South Puget Sound Habitat for Humanity is an equal opportunity employer. This organization does not discriminate in employment and personnel practices on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability status, religion, national origin or any other basis prohibited by applicable law.

Updated: September 2025

26 vacation/sick/personal days initially, increasing over time; 13 holidays; 85% employer-paid health, 50% employer-paid dental, 100% employer-paid vision; Simple IRA with 3% match.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• A goal-oriented personality who is resilient and creative when faced with shifting challenges and opportunities
• Exceptional work ethic and track record of personal initiative and achievement
• Strong understanding of fundraising best practices, including donor stewardship, moves management, and prospect research, with demonstrated commitment to raising funds through relationship-based approaches
• Demonstrated success in developing and executing individual, corporate, foundation and annual fund tactics; knowledge and confidence to implement new or develop existing strategies for growth
• Strategic thinker with the ability to perform basic math, analyze data, identify opportunities, and develop actionable plans to achieve goals
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage and inspire donors, volunteers, staff, and stakeholders; strong editing and audience-specific tailoring abilities
• Strong leadership qualities, including the ability to prioritize, delegate, and lead by example
• Excellent organizational skills with a history of planning and delivering simultaneous initiatives
• Tech-savvy generally; high-level competency with Microsoft Office/365 and CRM platforms
• Proven ability to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion
• Ability to pass a background and reference check
• Commitment to the South Puget Sound Habitat mission and core values

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Personal local network
• Understanding and abilities in public advocacy
• Understanding and abilities in marketing/communication tactics and best practices
• Understanding and abilities in budget development/management, including competency with Excel