Strategic Partnerships Director

Job Description - Strategic Partnerships Director

Organization Overview

Californians for Justice is a statewide grassroots organization working for racial justice by building the power of youth, communities of color, immigrants, low-income families, and LGBQ and T/GNC communities. Led by students, we organize to advance educational justice and improve our social, economic, and political conditions.

CFJ is a unique and exciting organization. We are the only grassroots organization in California that organizes youth of color to have a voice in both local and statewide education policy. Our campaign systems change goals at the local and statewide levels include full and equitable funding for public education, relationship centered schools, and ending the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Our recent victories include winning almost $30 million to improve school climate and community engagement in California in 2018, a requirement for districts to include student input in school budgeting through our Student Voice Campaign in 2014, and the passage of the historic Local Control Funding Formula in 2013. CFJ currently has four regional offices in Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland and San Jose, 34 full-time equivalent staff and a budget of $3.5 million. CFJ is a great place to work. We value outcomes, process, and relationships, and actively work to make sure our staff have the skills and support to do their jobs well.

 Position Overview

The Strategic Partnerships Director is an exciting opportunity for a professional who has experience in philanthropy and/or fundraising, who may also be experienced and/or interested in education, grassroots organizing, and racial justice. The ideal candidate can combine high-level strategy with hands-on implementation and enjoys building relationships and networking. They will also thrive in a diverse workplace, and be energized to join a team with a proven commitment to youth leadership and racial and educational justice.

The Strategic Partnerships Director is responsible for all of CFJ's fundraising activities, including institutional giving (foundation, government, corporate), earned revenue, and individual donors. They play a key role in building relationships and representing CFJ externally with funders and nonprofit allies.

This position reports to the Executive Director and leads CFJ’s Development team, directly supervising the Development & Events Coordinator and our external Grant Writer. As CFJ  continues to grow, there will be key opportunities for this role to restructure and shape a Development team that also integrates communications. The position is full-time and exempt. In all duties and responsibilities, this position exercises discretion and independent judgment.

Essential Responsibilities

Development & External Partnerships (75% time)

• Coordinate and strengthen a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization: Coordinate development activities with other facets of the organization, particularly communications and finance. Engage, inspire, and support staff and board in their role in fund development.
• Build external relationships and represent the organization: Develop and maintain close working relationships with the philanthropic community and institutional donors. In addition, support organizational evaluation and learning efforts (in collaboration with the Executive Director).
• Set multi-prong fundraising strategies: Partner with the Executive Director and the Development team to create a multi-layered annual giving program that integrates institutional giving and individual giving; the program must roll up to fundraising work plan goals and organizational-wide fiscal year directives.
• Develop new, innovative strategies to advance CFJ’s financial sustainability, including supporting our newly developed earned revenue capacity building strategy.
• Grow institutional support: Lead and partner with the Executive Director in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of foundation, government, and corporate contributions. Be the primary relationship holder with select foundations and corporations. Actively manage relationships with all funders, including supervising prospecting, the final processing of grant requests, preparing staff for funder meetings, stewarding current relationships, and following best advancement practices.
• Grow CFJ’s individual giving program: Set strategy for and oversee individual giving, including online, direct mail, and annual events and, in collaboration with the Executive Director, major gifts.
• Materials and communications: Develop complex concept papers, grant proposals, and reports. Supervise all other grant writing and reporting to funders. Oversee design production and distribution of all development materials.
• Ensure effective data tracking and systems: Oversee the evaluation of systems to support development and inform data-driven planning. Ensure excellent donor and gift record-keeping, processing, and acknowledgement.
• Department and staff management: Manage the department, including hiring, supervising, coaching, and developing the staff. Also prepare work plans, budgets, and performance evaluations.
• Organizational leadership: Serve as a key member of the Leadership Team with shared responsibility for achieving the organization’s vision and goals.                                                           

Special Projects (25% time)

The Strategic Partnerships Director will own special projects and 1-2 area(s) of work that are directly or indirectly related to fundraising. These areas could include: communications, capacity building & earned revenue, program evaluation and learning. These areas will be determined based on the Director’s expertise, interests, and CFJ’s needs.

 Organizational Responsibilities

• Model leadership and participation in all grassroots fundraising campaigns.
• Participate in cross-department committees and teams and our Racial Justice Organization Culture work.
• Provide support and participation for organization-wide and some regional campaign events.

Essential Qualifications

Our ideal candidate for this senior position brings experience in three areas: fundraising, education justice, grassroots organizing and/or advocacy; CFJ is  flexible in how the candidate obtained these experiences. While you don’t have to have had a direct career path in nonprofit fundraising, this will be essential for this role. What CFJ values most is that the candidate is strongly aligned with CFJ’s mission and programming, and that the candidate is also a strong relationship builder: the Strategic Partnerships Director will need to be able to speak fluidly about CFJ’s work to key funders and critical, community-based partners. For example, maybe you are a policy director who occasionally helps write grant proposals and meet with funders. Maybe you are a program officer in a foundation’s education department who understands the education landscape and how foundations work. Maybe you are an experienced grassroots organizer who can apply your skills at cultivating relationships to fundraising. Or maybe you are a seasoned development manager or director who already has an understanding of the education or organizing fields.

Candidates should bring:

• 5 years of experience in the nonprofit sector overall.
• 2-3 years of fundraising experience. Ideally, you would have experience personally cultivating and soliciting foundations or corporations. (Bonus: Experience with other fund development activities like individual giving and special events.) However, if you haven't had direct fundraising experience, just share your applicable experience in your cover letter.
• Experience with and knowledge of the education, grassroots organizing, and/or policy fields.
• Demonstrated experience building external relationships, representing an organization publicly, and serving as a visible spokesperson.
• Demonstrated experience setting strategy, managing goals, and developing and implementing plans for a team or department.
• Experience successfully managing people. Ability to work well with diverse individuals and support their growth and development.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills (Bonus: proven experience in crafting proposals and donor or funder correspondence).
• Strong writing skills, with the ability to clearly articulate CFJ’s core values, organizational strategies, and programmatic details and align these with a foundation’s priorities and goals.
• Good judgment and decision-making, particularly in your interactions with foundations
• Interpersonal skills to develop relationships with staff to foster collaboration and mutual accountability.
• Proficiency in Word, Excel, and ability to effectively use data management systems.
• Strong commitment to social justice, racial justice, and youth empowerment.
• Ability to travel once to twice a month statewide or occasionally nationally.

Work Environment

The position can be located in any of CFJ’s four regional offices in Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland, or San Jose.

Physical Demands

• Able to work on a computer, including sitting at a desk, for extended periods of time. Able to read a computer screen. Manual dexterity to operate a keyboard.
• Able to speak clearly in English on the phone and in person and be understood by others.
• Able to occasionally lift objects weighing up to 10 pounds.

Compensation:

$75,000-$90,000, depending on experience and qualifications, as determined by CFJ’s salary scale. CFJ provides a generous benefits package, including fully paid health insurance (medical, dental, and vision) for employees and their dependents. We also offer substantial vacation days and time off.

How to Apply:

Send your resume, a cover letter demonstrating your interest and qualifications, two writing samples (preferably grant proposals), and at least three references to ckybconsultant@gmail.com and jobs@caljustice.org with the subject line “Strategic Partnerships Director – Your Name.”

CFJ is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. People of color, women, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/gender nonconforming, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.