Senior Director of Development

Job Responsibilities

The Senior Director of Development has the following responsibilities:

• Strategic Leadership
  • Develop, lead, and evaluate JUFJ’s fundraising goals and strategies, in consultation with the Executive Director. Develop data-informed budgets and strategies for the short term that build towards long-term growth from local, national, secular and Jewish foundations, major and grassroots donors, planned giving, and fundraising events
  • Partner with the Executive Director and Board on major fundraising initiatives
  • Develop, evaluate, and refine systems to implement JUFJ’s fundraising strategies and ensure coordination and donor stewardship across the organization
  • Benchmark and learn from peer institutions to ensure JUFJ is on track and employing best practices
  • Contribute to the organization's strategic direction and institutional decisions
  • Provide strategic insight and support to the fundraising efforts of the Collaborative for Jewish Organizing
• Fundraising:
  • Lead the organization’s institutional giving strategy: work with the Grant Manager to identify prospective funders, develop tailored pitches, draft and refine proposal narratives, and ensure timely submission and reporting for all grants
  • Build and maintain a personal portfolio of key funders
  • Oversee JUFJ’s individual donor strategy, including grassroots fundraising and JUFJ’s annual fundraising event, the Heschel Vision Awards, and directing the work of the Major Gifts Officer
  • Represent the organization externally, including the ability to tell compelling stories about mission and impact
  • Support the Executive Director and Major Gifts Officer in high-level donor engagement and solicitation
• Team Supervision and Management
  • Lead the Development team’s collaboration and alignment, while creating clarity about individual team member’s roles and responsibilities.
  • Supervise and support team members, including providing coaching, mentorship, and accountability
  • Work collaboratively with staff and key volunteer leaders to implement Development activities, including project managing cross-departmental projects such as the Heschel Vision Awards, Peer to Peer fundraising campaigns, etc.
  • Ensure that staff have clear and achievable objectives, as well as the resources and organizational support needed to carry out responsibilities and effectively manage relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Partnership
  • Set the direction and strategy for donor communications and then collaborate with development, communications, and data staff to implement direct mail and online fundraising activities
  • Support interdepartmental collaboration across the organization, fostering an ethos of strategic coordination and transparency
  • Establish supportive and collaborative working relationships with external partners to enable joint fundraising efforts that can significantly increase funding for and build the strength of movements and organizations working for a better world.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience

We’re looking for candidates with significant team management and a minimum 7–10 years of progressive fundraising experience, with a track record of raising real and sustained money for an organization from both individual and institutional supporters and with particular strengths in the following areas:

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to incorporate consideration of context impact, resources, and larger institutional goals during development campaign planning and implementation.
• Communication Skills: Persuasive, professional writing and editing and strong verbal communication. The ability to synthesize information and speak compellingly with different audiences, including highly engaged social movement leaders, Jewish communal donors, and mainstream liberal supporters.
• Team Oriented: You enjoy working with people and leading a team to achieve its goals by working to make people feel heard and empowered. You view your own work as supporting the whole, and integral to the team’s effectiveness. You build understanding around the processes you manage, and the team trusts that these processes maximize the work. Candidates should have a sense of humor, low ego, and a genuine commitment to working in a collaborative team setting.
• Management Experience: A minimum of 2 years of management experience, with a preference for experience managing development staff. Experience using Management Center tools and managing a unionized staff preferred but not required.
• Leadership Skills: A demonstrated ability to connect with, motivate, and mobilize other people, from staff up and down the org chart to volunteer leaders and community partners.
• Collaboration Skills: Track record of developing and maintaining trusting relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, an ability to meet people where they are, find common ground, and advance shared work.
• Project Management: Ability to manage multiple projects, consult with various stakeholders, anticipate obstacles, run a tight ship, coordinate staff and internal resources, and keep a cool head while doing it.
• Data Management: Experience working with staff in data management and report creation.
• Eagerness to Learn: Inclination to keep learning, asking questions, and working to understand the strategies within the broader fundraising world.
• Belief in the Mission: Actively demonstrate a commitment to integrity, credibility, and dedication to the mission of Jews United for Justice.

This is a full-time, hybrid position based out of JUFJ’s Washington, DC or Baltimore, MD office. JUFJ staff currently work in the office 2 days/week and work remotely 3 days/week. In-person meetings may be required throughout the week. Travel between JUFJ offices in DC and Baltimore and participation at evening or weekend meetings or events are periodically required - often once or twice a month.

• While performing the duties of this position, the employee will be regularly required to:
  • Look at and work off of a computer screen for extended periods;
  • Talk, hear, and exchange information over video conference, telephone, and in person.
• Minimal travel required locally for organizational events or to attend/participate in development team retreats and the annual fundraising event.

JUFJ offers a competitive benefits package covering 100% of employee medical & dental insurance premiums, 25% of premiums for employee dependents, 3% employer retirement contributions, short-term disability income protection insurance, generous paid time off, including 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, and a 3 month sabbatical every 7 years on staff.