Director of Development

Position Summary:

Worldwide Orphans is a 24-year-old, international organization that has program teams in Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Haiti, Vietnam and is (remotely) headquartered and legally registered in New York. Founded by a pediatrician, our roots are in serving vulnerable children, often orphans, who are at risk of not reaching their mental or physical milestones due to the ravages of poverty, malnutrition, abandonment, political unrest, and natural disasters. We focus on early childhood education, skills development for youth and parents, and camps for children with serious illnesses. Though we have assisted over 165,000 in our 24 years, and over 18,000 children and caregivers in 2020, our annual budget is under $2.0 mil. Our worldwide team includes nearly 50 employees, and our US team consists of three fulltime employees (FTE), one parttime employee and temporary consultants, hired as needed. The organization currently has a Board of Directors consisting of ten Directors. The Director of Development will be responsible for raising restricted as well as unrestricted funds that surpass the needs of the annual global budget, building a surplus of funds and working towards creating an endowment to support the programs.

The Director of Development is responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of achieving the vision, mission, and strategy for the development function and for the achievement of the Board’s annual development goals and objectives. This position reports to the Executive Director and serves as a member of the management team. The Director of Development is responsible for managing fundraising initiatives and grant development, coordinating annual and capital fundraising campaigns, event planning and revenue, and identifying potential sources of funds, including individuals, foundations, corporations, annual giving, and planned-giving. A successful candidate for the Director of Development position must be able to work effectively and in a collegial manner with team members in all five countries. His/her ability to work harmoniously with the small US team, and the Board of Directors, is critical. He/she is accountable for establishing and implementing strategies to achieve goals that are in keeping with fundraising best practices and ethical standards, policies, and guidelines. The Director of Development works closely with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and in concert with, the Chief Program Officer to ensure the accurate description of the programs and program’s goals, while he/she works towards achieving the development goals. The Director of Development will work towards increasing awareness of the organization among philanthropists and advocates a strong case for support. He/she will build and maintain an effective network across civic and community, corporate, foundation, business, and nonprofit organizations. As the organizations primary fundraiser, he/she will personally increase donor giving at all levels through solicitation, cultivation, and stewardship. She/he is charged with translating the vision and goals set by the Executive Director and the Board of Directors into effective operational plans with measurable short- and long-term benchmarks.

He/she works closely with the Operations Manager, Program Managers, Country Directors, Board of Directors, Consultants as well as other operational department Directors. The Director of Development establishes event revenue goals; reviews grant proposals; and ensures that the Development Plan is implemented according to the Strategic Plan. The Director will also work with the Committee Chairs to mobilize board and committee members in expanding support; provides reporting to Board on fund development progress and attainment of goals; establishes a presence in the community to increase the organization’s visibility with potential and current/past donors; develops policies and procedures for development, board giving, special events, database reporting,  donor relations, donor engagement, corporate giving and sponsorships, planned giving, bequests, major gifts and the eventual creation of an endowment; and assists the Board Nominating Committee in identifying qualified board candidates.

Major Accountabilities: 

1. Establishes a strategic development plan, goals, and budget for the organization.
2. Sets the direction and will take immediate action to actively seek new funding sources; develops and maintains relationships with current/past donors including individuals, corporations, foundations, and other organizations; Increases the organization’s fundraising capacity through a strengthened culture of philanthropy
3. Ensures legal compliance and use of best practices for gift administration and records management, resulting in excellent stewardship of donor and community giving with the utmost respect for the donor.
4. Identifies new potential sources of funding using the latest trends and strategies in philanthropy, including individuals, foundations, corporations, annual giving, capital campaigns, planned-giving, social media, and events.
5. Engages individuals in the community in the mission of the organization through active participation in networking opportunities and education.
6. Works in conjunction with program director, other directors or outside contractors in developing marketing materials to create a brand/look for events (i.e. posters, brochures, press releases, and all written materials) direct mail solicitation and other printed materials, partners with outside resources to ensure maximum awareness and participation in events to the appropriate market segment.
7. Coordinates with the Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Program Officer, and other department Directors/Manager to ensure grants are submitted that reflect accurate Program/Project and Budget information.
8. Works with the Chief Program Officer, and other department Directors/Managers to establish community, school, business, and corporate partnerships to utilize diverse resources to deliver volunteer opportunities.

Director’s Responsibilities:

• Strategic Planning for the Development Department
• Communicate effectively with internal and external audiences
• Budget Management for Development
• Addressing Complaints and resolving problems
• Assigning and directing work
• Interviewing and training employees
• Performance reviews

Board and ED Expectations:

• Adheres to all employee policies and procedures
• Acts as a role model within and outside the organization
• Performs duties as workload necessitates
• Behaves and communicates in a positive and respectful way with colleagues
• Communicates regularly with supervisor about development issues
• Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload
• Consistently reports to work on time prepared to perform duties of position
• Meets department and individual performance goals and standards

Position Qualifications:

• Donor database management experience and familiarity with various donor software
• Bachelor’s degree (master’s preferred) with a minimum of 10 years of high-level development management experience with demonstrated results.
• Preference to Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE)
• Record of successfully developing and/or managing volunteers
• Strong human relations skills such as leadership, networking, and relationship building
• Demonstrated ability to successfully handle conflict resolution at all levels with a variety of people, including external customers
• Ability to pay close attention to detail and maintain confidentiality
• Ability to communicate the written and spoken word with tact, diplomacy, and/or authority when necessary
• Well disciplined, able to meet deadlines, self-starter, team builder
• Able to work under pressure of many priorities and deadlines
• Ability to work well as a part of a small team
• Commitment to inclusiveness
• Ability to meet travel requirements, including occasional overnight and international travel

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to perform the following:

• Sit for long periods of time
• Operate office equipment to include but not limited to, computer keyboard, calculator, copier machine and other office equipment
• Talk or hear within normal range for telephone use.
• Conduct meetings through audio and video conferencing as well as in-person meetings
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
• Work occasionally in a high stress work environment
• Activities and events may occur both inside and outside requiring talking and walking

Work Environment:

Work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time.  Work may be carried out both inside and outside. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.  The employee will be work primarily with adults but very occasionally may be with children.

We are currently working remotely but may, at a future date, return to working in an office. The Director of Development must be ready and willing to meet with fully vaccinated people, in person.

Disclaimer:

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

The employee is expected to adhere to all organization’s policies and to act as a role model in adherence to these policies.