Director of Development

NCJW/Essex Director of Development

About NCJW/Essex:

We are the National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section (NCJW/Essex), a grassroots organization of volunteers and advocates who turn progressive ideals into action. Inspired by Jewish values, we strive for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families and by safeguarding individual rights and freedoms. We are an engaged and passionate group open to all.

Founded in 1912, NCJW/Essex has a proud history, an active present and an exciting future. Members are at the core of NCJW/Essex, and we are proud to have hundreds of actively engaged, passionate, and committed volunteers who advocate and give their time, talents and treasure to create a world that demands and supports social and economic justice for all. We thrive on the input, ideas, and dedication of our members, who are supported by 10 professional staff persons working from our Roseland, NJ office. As we like to say, our volunteer-led, staff-driven partnership is what makes the organization thrive and have an impact on the community!

Several signature programs serve as pillars for our organization: the Back 2 School Store which empowers thousands of Essex County children to achieve their academic potential by providing them with clothing, school supplies, personal care items and more; the Linda and Rudy Slucker NCJW/Essex Center for Women which provides career counseling and other support for women entering or re-entering the workforce; and our advocacy programs that focus on significant issues critical to the health and safety of women, children and families, including reproductive rights, menstrual equity, antisemitism and anti-hate, and gun violence prevention.

Open Position:

We’re seeking our next Director of Development!

Our ideal Director of Development will take to heart that fundraising is always about relationships and will recruit, maintain and cultivate donors using compelling stories and impactful data. This position is responsible for sustaining and growing the organization’s financial resources, deepening donor engagement and retention, utilizing and improving data collection, and executing new development efforts to fulfill our mission. The Director of Development will work closely with the Executive Director to create and enact a strategic fundraising plan and will leverage and engage volunteers to support fundraising activities, expand our network and diversify revenue. This position will also work closely with the NCJW/Essex Vice President of Fund Development, the Director of Communications and Office Manager.

Are You Ideal for this Position?

You are a prime fit for this role at NCJW/Essex if:

• You value relationships and are energized and comfortable engaging with a wide range of people with diverse ideas and opinions.
• You are passionate about the NCJW/Essex mission and empowered to ask others for gifts to deliver it.
• You are a strong writer and enjoy applying for grants to deliver vital services to women, children and families.
• You enjoy collecting and assessing data, as well as applying what it has to teach to upscale fundraising efforts.
• You are comfortable with technology, especially Salesforce or other CRM’s, Excel and other data management software.
• You are an excellent communicator, are highly organized and have outstanding problem-solving skills.
• You thrive in a team environment and enjoy collaborating closely with others.
• You know when to take a leadership role in a project, versus when to provide the necessary support and follow-through while others are in charge; and are comfortable with each approach.
• You seek out new opportunities and promote the ideas of others.
• You are efficient, positive, patient and love data and details!

Your areas of knowledge and expertise will include:

• Seven years successful development, fundraising, and grant-writing experience in a non-profit setting; experience in a Jewish philanthropy environment a plus.
• Tangible experience of having expanded and cultivated existing donor relationships.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, and the ability to articulate the importance of the organization’s work to prospective and current funders.
• Strong computer, technology and database management skills.
• Three years experience with Salesforce or similar donor management system.
• Experience working with volunteers and supporting them to meet targeted deadlines.
• Outstanding interpersonal skills and the ability to work in a team environment.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, including flexibility to handle multiple concurrent projects.
• Strong problem-solving skills and analytical ability.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Energetic, creative, and self-motivated.
• Four-year degree and writing samples required, CFRE preferred.
• Strong commitment to and passion for the mission of NCJW/Essex.

If this sounds like you, we strongly encourage you to apply!

Your Contributions to NCJW/Essex’s Success will include:

• Designing and implementing a comprehensive development plan to meet or exceed goals, in partnership with the Executive Director and Development Committee.
• Supporting the Executive Director in cultivating existing major donors and the recruitment of new major donors.
• Drafting new and renewal grant/foundation proposals and reports; providing assistance and direction to volunteer grant writers, and maintaining the grants/foundation database and calendar.
• Identifying and recruiting new mid and entry level donors, including individuals, foundations, corporate sponsors, estate gifts and more.
• Upgrading existing donors through deepening donor engagement, increased donor segmentation and stewardship, and re-engaging lapsed donors.
• Coordinating with the Director of Communications on fundraising communications and gift acknowledgments.
• Overseeing electronic record-keeping of all gifts, grants and pledges with the Office Manager and coordinating timely acknowledgements for all gifts received.
• Creating monthly reports on fundraising goals, accomplishments, areas for improvement and data collection/analysis.
• Assisting with annual budget preparations.
• Providing staff support for NCJW/Essex members and events as appropriate.
• Professionally represent NCJW/Essex in the community.
• Following all NCJW/Essex policies and procedures.
• Other duties as assigned.

Salary and Benefits:

This position is full-time at 35 hours/week, with a salary ranging from $81,263 to $84,921. NCJW/Essex offers vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, a flexible spending account, and 403B retirement plan to eligible employees.

To Apply:

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter and resume via Idealist. Electronic submissions only, and please, no phone calls.

NCJW/Essex is an equal opportunity employer and we recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate, and administer all personnel actions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, culture, age, creed, disability, ancestry, medical condition, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship status, or any other protected status.

For more information on NCJW/Essex, please visit https://ncjwessex.org/.

NCJW/Essex offers vacation, sick leave, paid holidays, health insurance, a flexible spending account, and 403B retirement plan to eligible employees.