Chief Development Officer

The Opportunity:

Habitat for Humanity of Chester County (HFHCC) is seeking a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead its Development and Marketing team. The incoming CDO will partner with and work closely with the CEO and the Board. This is an exceptional leadership role for an experienced senior-level professional to join a successful team that is poised for growth. The new CDO will bring capital campaign and major gifts experience, a proven track record inspiring a team of professional fundraisers, and a deep understanding of the Chester County Philanthropic landscape.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Development Officer leads and manages all fundraising efforts of the organization to support and create public awareness of HFHCC’s home building, and Critical Home Repair programs.

The Chief Development Officer fosters a culture of philanthropy and volunteerism and provides visionary leadership while ensuring the execution of highly robust and efficient systems and procedures that support fund development. Additionally, this role leads the philanthropic process, ensuring that agency-wide philanthropy and fund development are carried out in accordance with the organization’s values, mission, vision, and strategic plans.

This position is an integral member of the executive leadership team, executing fundraising and managing a highly collegial, collaborative, mission-driven environment guided by intelligent development planning, metrics, and direction. As the major revenue driver for the organization, the Chief Development Officer will maintain close connections with internal financial leaders and Board Committees.

Key Responsibilities:

Fundraising

• Serve as the lead strategist, designing and implementing organization-wide development activities that advance the mission of Habitat for Humanity of Chester County.
• Increase funding for HFHCC programs by developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating long-range strategic marketing plans and development programs to generate funds for the budget and any capital campaign.
• Serve as lead fundraiser for all leadership and major gifts and partner closely with the CEO and Board to implement annual fund and multi-year fundraising strategies.
• Create and implement state-of-the-art strategies to be executed by the Development team for cultivation and stewardship of donors, annual fundraising events and appeals, annual giving and mid-level gifts, and foundation and corporate partnerships.
• Create funding pathways to support the continued growth of HFHCC’s programs.
• Collaborate with the Director of Development and Marketing to improve HFHCC’s external communications technologies, including digital marketing, online community building, and deep analytics capabilities.
• Develop and approve annual fundraising projections based on historical performance, current capabilities, and future economic trends.
• Oversee the development of written plans, goals, and strategies for achieving projected annual operating funds. Provide monthly analysis of progress toward annual fundraising goals.
• Oversee development strategy efforts in online fundraising, crowdsourcing, donor stewardship, gift entry and acknowledgement, database management, and donor research.
• Create, cultivate, and maintain select leadership and major donor relationships with high target donors, including identification, strategy development, cultivation, solicitation, data tracking, and stewardship.
• Continually research and bring forward strategies to diversify funding.
• Collaborate with Board members, Board committees, and staff on locating and cultivating funding opportunities.
• Verify compliance with all relevant regulations and laws, maintain accountability standards to donors, and ensure compliance with the code of ethical principles and standards of professional conduct for fundraising executives.
• Prioritize program and organizational funding needs by working closely with the CEO and management team.
• Manage and cultivate existing relationships to expand programmatic opportunities and revenue streams.
• Approve the annual budget for the Development department and the activities departments.
• Collaborate with marketing and PR departments to ensure that fundraising and promotional strategies are consistent with HFHCC’s organizational branding, values, and communication objectives.
• Publicly represent Habitat for Humanity of Chester County at meetings, conferences, and with external constituency groups, including community, government, and private organizations, building excitement for its funding/mission expansion.
• Participate and attend community, statewide, and national events to establish strategic relationships for potential funding.

Staff Development and Leadership

• Lead teams with operational efficiency and effectiveness, as demonstrated by quantitative metrics and accountability.
• Direct organizational efforts to develop effective and best-in-class giving programs, including sponsorship, direct marketing, planned giving, major gifts, donor acquisition, foundations, corporations, special events, donor recognition, and acknowledgement.
• Provide leadership and vision for the Development department by setting goals and objectives that are challenging and consistent with organizational targets.
• Utilize deep development experience, strategy, and team-oriented management to harness and benefit from the unique skills each team member brings to Habitat for Humanity of Chester County’s mission.
• Exemplify leadership within the organization by contributing professional expertise as an active member of the management team.
• Mentor, coach, and develop staff using a positive, supportive, and collaborative approach: assign accountabilities; set objectives; establish priorities; and monitor and evaluate performance and development results.
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement that values learning and a commitment to quality.
• Foster interdepartmental collaboration, share knowledge, communicate transparently, and be accountable and committed to the highest ethical standards.
• Ensure staff members receive training and development in a timely and appropriate manner; assess and review department staff, and make recommendations for changes as needed.

Qualifications & Experience:

• A true passion for Habitat for Humanity of Chester County’s mission, and strategic capacity to grow funding pathways and drive awareness for Habitat Homeownership, Critical Home Repair, and innovative collaborations.
• A proven track record of successes leading strategic program/business growth through the creation and implementation of technology-driven and engaging marketing and development programs.
• 10+ years of experience in fundraising in a leadership capacity.
• A Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, philanthropy, or a related field. CFRE is preferred.
• Experience leading successful, comprehensive, and strategic fundraising or related programs.
• The ability to lead strategic advancement programs, such as donor acquisition, sponsorship, planned giving, major gifts, direct mail, and grant writing.
• Experience in leading or overseeing a major capital campaign throughout all phases to completion.
• Experience working with foundation and corporate partners, including identifying prospects, cultivating and stewarding relationships, and overseeing the strategic development of proposals.
• Prior experience effectively managing, mentoring, and motivating teams across a variety of development, creative, marketing, and operations functions.
• Strong financial management and budgeting skills.
• Comfort with interacting and engaging a diverse set of stakeholders with respect and sensitivity, including senior executives, staff, volunteers, all types of donors, and vendors.
• The ability to build strong relationships, both internally and externally.