Chief Development Officer

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Chief Development Officer

Location:  Remote but proximity to New York City is required

Employment Type: Full-time

Closing Date: January 15, 2023

Organizational Overview:

Project Kesher (PK) is the leading network of Jewish women in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and for women from those countries who have immigrated to Israel.  PK invests in women, leadership programming and initiatives to build Jewish life, advocate for gender equality and organize grassroots resources to improve the quality of life for women and girls.  With the escalation of the war in Ukraine, PK has diversified our attention to also address humanitarian needs, funding evacuations, the purchase of generators and food, and items required by women and girls including menstrual products.  PK’s general operating budget is normally approximately $1.5 million.  In 2022, our emergency response budget was an additional $1 million.  PK has 3 full and one part-time staff members in the US and works closely with the leadership teams in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Israel.  

Position Summary:

The successful candidate must have an authentic passion for the missions and vision of PK, broader Jewish life and the advancement of women; proven success in donor engagement and strategy; and experience developing and maintaining meaningful working relationships with board members, partners, and colleagues.  The Chief Development Officer (CDO) must be extremely personable and skilled at communicating the vision and unique opportunity to stakeholders.  

The CDO’s scope will include designing, implementing and evaluating all fundraising strategies relating to major donors, foundations, and individuals, including annual  and planned giving. The CDO will create and execute a development plan that details how PK will identify funding sources and cultivate supporters. The CDO will partner with the CEO to attract excellent volunteers to contribute their talents and meet needs identified by program leadership. 

Essential Responsibilities 

General Development Strategy and Implementation 

  • In partnership with the CEO,  staff, and Board, establish and execute a bold multi-faceted fundraising strategy inclusive of campaign gifts, foundation fundraising, individual giving, grants, planned giving, digital fundraising, and event support. 

  • Foster a culture of philanthropy and ensure that development strategy is executed in keeping with the PK’s values, vision, and mission.

  • Manage a personal portfolio of prospective major individual and foundation donors; steward existing donor relationships and deepen those alliances through regular, relevant communications and stewardship. 

  • Identify major gift prospects and turn them into leadership donors. 

  • In partnership with the CEO and the Director of Grants and Operations, oversee the development of proposals for compelling funding opportunities and coordinate the development and tracking of proposal budgets and all report writing. 

  • Serve as a passionate, articulate ambassador on behalf of PK’s mission externally and internally. 

  • Foster multi-year gifts and endowments.

  • Engage leaders and potential partners to expand and enhance our reach in the

  community with innovative development and corporate partnership arrangements. 

Management/Administration/Reporting 

  • Lead a development team of two professionals, cultivating and supporting a culture of collaboration, professional growth, and clarity. 

  • Develop clear expectations (processes, systems, metrics, and performance measures) to guide development goals and efforts. 

  • Create funding benchmarks, evaluate progress, and report on activities. 

  • Manage and strengthen development processes and systems, including recordkeeping, gift acknowledgments, gift status reports, renewals, mailings and calendar. 

  • Prepare development reports including plans, accomplishments and challenges to present at board meetings. 

Board/Volunteer/Staff

  • Support the CEO, Board, and staff in their development efforts, building and strengthening donor and prospect relationships and soliciting gifts. 

  • Staff the development committee and work with the CEO to support PK’s Board; participate in identifying and recruiting new prospective board members, including creating a pipeline of new prospective lay leaders and committee members. 

  • Engage the PK Team in developing effective messages for new and broader donor audiences. 

  • Collaborate with the Manager of Development and Communications to generate all development-related marketing materials and communications. 

  • Work together with CEO and international Executive Directors to identify specific projects that would garner attention and/or strategic partnerships that would amplify PK’s impact.

Other

  • Identify and address development issues that affect PK’s well-being and efficacy.

  • Maintain accountability and ensure compliance with all regulations and laws. 

  • Keep abreast of developments in philanthropy and development. 

Qualifications 

  • 7+ years of fundraising experience 

  • Proven track record of success, innovation, and progressive accomplishments in fundraising with experience in all or most areas, with a focus on stewardship of major donors. 

  • Ability to conceptualize and describe funding needs, verbally and in writing, in a way that is compelling to prospects, donors, board members, and other stakeholders, and builds in the attributes of our new branding messaging. 

  • Background and experience in Jewish communal life preferred. 

  • Previous experience leading teams successfully, with the proven ability to motivate, influence, and hold teams accountable to high standards and goals, as well as to develop themselves as professionals in the field. 

  • Significant experience with board development and board member retention. 

  • Able to organize, prioritize and execute responsibilities intuitively in the face of concurrent and essential projects and tasks.

  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Dropbox, WordPress, Google Apps, and database management software, preferably Salesforce. 

Competencies 

  • Ambassadorial talent to fuel passion and understanding for the need to support PK’s mission. 

  • Excellent people skills. Warm, honest, and kind in dealing with others. Ability to interact and engage comfortably with a wide variety of PK’s constituents.

  • A passionate and optimistic individual who inspires team members to find opportunities to make improvements and to strive for excellence in execution of their plans. 

  • A motivational communicator, both written and verbal, who is effective in 1-on-1 and group settings. 

  • Strong management, budgeting, and reporting experience.

  • Creative, strategic, and analytic thinking skills. 

  • Strong interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills, with an emphasis on the ability to shape communications creatively to persuade and influence others around ideas, decisions, and financial support; understand the need for a high level of discretion.

  • Collaborative, team-driven nature with the ability to partner internally with cross-functional teams and externally with PK’s partners and affiliates. 

Compensation: The salary range for this role is $110-125K.

To apply, please send a cover letter including salary requirements and resume to Projectkesher@projectkesher.org.  Please write Chief Development Officer in the subject line.