Director of Advancement, ScholarLeaders - Global Theological Education

The ScholarLeaders mission is “to encourage and enable Christian theological leaders from the Majority World for the Global Church.” SL’s team of 10 works across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. We provide scholarships and other support to Majority World Christians who earn PhDs in theology and return to their home countries to serve. We counsel Majority World seminaries to plan for wise stewardship of their resources long-term. And we collaborate with Christian Majority World leaders to address pressing issues in their contexts, such as relationships between Christianity and Islam and care for women in theological leadership.

The Director of Advancement will oversee fundraising for ScholarLeaders (SL) alongside SL’s President. The Director of Advancement will engage donors with SL’s mission so that donors will be inspired to give to SL and thereby bless the Global Church. This person will listen well to SL’s donor community and build connections between donors’ interests and SL’s ministry. They will demonstrate SL’s impact for the Global Church in ways that encourage, challenge, and move donors. This person will report to and work closely with the President. They will also collaborate with the rest of the SL team.

Like most other SL staff, who are located around the world, the Director of Advancement will work remotely. 

Responsibilities

• Develop an advancement plan that strategically incorporates activities such as an annual giving campaign, foundation grants, church events and other donor events of various sizes, one-on-one meetings, mailings, and other activities
• Execute this plan alongside the President and other members of the SL team
• Research to identify donor prospects, including individuals, foundations, and churches, constantly refreshing a list of ~150-200 prospects
• Network to and build relationships with these prospects
• Oversee relationships with existing donors alongside the President and other staff
• Ensure that deadlines and other donor requirements are met
• Track and produce grant applications, reports, proposals, and other foundation materials, collaborating with program staff for content creation
• Listen well to donors to learn about their interests, concerns, and insights; communicate those to SL’s team
• Refine (and then maintain) SL’s donor management system alongside administrative staff
• Develop SL’s social media and website to engage the donor community

Required Qualifications

• Passion for the Global Church and SL’s mission that will inspire donors to give to SL
• Minimum three years of successful fundraising experience with knowledge of fundraising principles and practices
• Ability to listen well, to be attentive to donors’ and prospects’ interests
• Excellent communication skills
• Enthusiasm for working with the public
• Proficiency in donor management software
• Ability to work some weekends or evenings and to travel for donor meetings and events
• Rigorous attention to detail
• Ability to handle confidential information
• Ability to plan ahead and meet deadlines
• Ability to collaborate with a diverse team
• Self-motivation and ability to take initiative to anticipate or overcome challenges
• Agreement with SL’s statement of faith

Contact Information

To apply, please email info@scholarleaders.org with a resume and cover letter that outline your qualifications by May 31, 2022. Requests for references, interviews, and writing samples may follow.