Vice President of Development & External Relations

JOB TITLE:  Vice President of Development and External Relations

REPORTS TO: President and CEO

DIVISION: Administration

EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Full-time 

FLSA STATUS: Exempt 

SOC CODE: 11-2030 

La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc., based in Newark, is New Jersey’s largest Latinx led community development corporation celebrating 50 years of mission driven and visionary service. Formed in 1972 as a community-based, grassroots organization committed to empowering the Latinx community, the organization was named in honor of Puerto Rican nationalist, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, who advocated the twin virtues of self-sufficiency and empowerment. Today, La Casa has expanded its commitment to the empowerment of Black and Brown communities in Newark and throughout Essex County.

La Casa de Don Pedro provides comprehensive and integrated services in the following areas: early childhood development, youth educational, cultural, and recreational programs, youth and family counseling, HIV/AIDS prevention and services, workforce development, affordable housing development and counseling, community engagement and development, lead remediation and abatement, and home energy conservation assistance. Learn more at http://www.lacasanwk.org/.

POSITION SUMMARY: 

La Casa de Don Pedro seeks a charismatic, strategic, and entrepreneurial Vice President of Development and External Relations, with a demonstrated record of building a development program.  The Vice President will serve as the lead strategist and will also serve as a frontline fundraiser with an emphasis on individual giving. They must be an exceptional revenue generator, capable of strategically expanding a nascent development program. The Vice President will serve as an integral member of La Casa’s Executive Leadership Team. In this capacity, they will work with the Executive Leadership Team to help steer the future direction of La Casa. The Vice President will lead all aspects of fundraising including strategy development, corporations, foundations, individuals (including major donors), event fundraising, government contracts, and communications.

La Casa de Don Pedro, Inc. has a robust budget of $23 million. The primary goal for this leader will be to build sources of private fundraising from $1.5 million (today) to $3 million over the next 3 years. To that end, we will significantly expand the fundraising and communications team. The Vice President will supervise a Director of Communications; Director of Government Grants & Contracts; a Director of Development; and a Board Liaison/Executive Assistant. The Vice President will serve as the development liaison to our Board of Directors (Board) and will steward and support the Board’s engagement in fundraising. They will work with the President & CEO to institute a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization.  The Vice President brings an ability to build trust and collaboration internally and externally.

The Vice President will share a deep commitment to La Casa’s mission to foster self-sufficiency, empowerment, and neighborhood revitalization, and our deep-rooted history of shared experienced with our community. They must show an ability to partner effectively across the organization and serve as a thought partner to the President & CEO.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES:   

Responsibilities and duties will include:

Fundraising Strategy

• Develops and leads La Casa’s fundraising strategy, with an emphasis on long-term growth from private donors.
• Serves as the organization’s lead fundraiser by securing gifts and grants from diverse sources including individual donors, corporations, foundations, and government programs to meet or exceed specific financial targets.
• Works to meet or exceed fundraising targets set with the Executive Leadership Team. Collaborates with team to establish fundraising targets.
• Implements a moves management model to ensure the proper stewardship of prospects and past donors.
• Establishes a system for the ongoing qualification of donor prospects across sectors - corporations, foundations, and individuals; ensures that a steady pipeline of donors is consistently being cultivated.
• Aligns funding needs with potential sources of funding.
• Ensures CEO is prepared for donor meetings with history and strategy recommendations.
• Demonstrates a sophisticated use of technology to support implementation of fundraising strategy.
• Demonstrates entrepreneurial ability to implement and grow new strategies, e.g., leveraging social media.
• Ensures the development of key fundraising messages.
• Establishes operating systems for the department. Establishes the development infrastructure needed to run an effective and efficient program.

Board

• Partners with the President & CEO, and the Resource Development Committee to implement a culture of philanthropy among the board.
• Works with the President & CEO to recruit and onboard new Board members. Recruitment of new board members will emphasize a commitment and capability of Board candidates to fundraise.
• Works towards 100% board giving/fundraising. Support board members to leverage their personal and professional networks.
• Provides the tools needed by the board to support their fundraising work.
• Serves as the staff liaison for the Resource Development Committee. Work with the Development Committee includes soliciting feedback and engagement on fundraising strategy, and providing information, and reports to the Committee.

Individuals

• Develops strategy to launch an individual giving program.
• Develops and implements individual giving tactics that will significantly expand the base of individual donors. This could include peer-to-peer fundraising, email campaigns, social media fundraising, direct mail, and cultivation events/activities. This is a primary goal for La Casa, with the understanding that it may take a few years to achieve significant giving.
• Implements a major gifts program.
• Qualify and steward current and recurring donors.
• Serve as staff lead in cultivating and stewarding individual donor relationships.
• Recommends the CEO’s engagement for specific donor prospects for cultivation purpose. Provides a call list for the CEO.

Corporate & Foundation Relations

• Maintains a consistent external presence at external events and meetings as a vehicle for continued relationship development.
• Serves as primary external ambassador for corporations and foundations.
• Provides guidance on the strategy for corporations and foundations.
• With the Director of Development, stewards funding relationships.
• Ensures that relevant La Casa program leaders are engaged in funding relationships.
• Oversight over the final submission of all corporate and foundation grant proposals.
• Ensures timely submission and reporting.

Government Funding/Contracts

• Develops a method for assessing the qualification of any existing or potential government funding/contract. This qualification would ensure that the contract sufficiently covers the real costs of the program (both programmatic and administrative.)
• Assesses recommendations made by the Director of Government Grants & Contracts on which grants to pursue or renew. Make a final recommendation to the CEO and Executive Leadership team.
• Provides oversight of the execution of all government contracts. This includes the departments careful review of contracts, with sign off as needed by members of the Executive Leadership team.

Leadership and Staff

• Builds trust and collaborates with staff at all levels to foster a culture of philanthropy.
• Attracts, recruits, and retains top talent.
• Supervises and coaches development staff.
• Establishes targets and metrics for the department, and by staff.
• Ensures that a professional development plan is in place for team members.

Community Relations

• Serves as a key spokesperson and advocate for La Casa’s mission and programs in the community.
• Represents La Casa to community partners, organizations, chambers, government officials, and other prominent community leaders.
• Works to cultivate volunteer opportunities for corporate and community donors.

Events                                                      

• Shifts focus of events to cultivation events/activities.
• Evaluates performance of current fundraising events, including a cost benefit analysis. Propose new fundraising event strategy that would focus on leveraging existing event(s) to higher levels of financial performance.
• Ensures the event execution embody La Casa’s mission and values.
• Provides oversight and support to the development team to ensure that events are well executed.

Communications

• Supports the President and CEO in external communication/brand positioning strategies; engages and supports the Marketing Committee of the Board of Trustees in executing those strategies.
• Provides strategic senior level oversight of Communications function. (Strategy development and tactical level work will be led and implemented by the Director of Communications.)
• Ensures that the Director of Communications has the resources needed to be effective in their role. This includes contracting with vendors or consultants that may support the broader communications function.
• Ensure that Communications function provides appropriate level of support to programs and administration – empowering the work of these various departments, without controlling the work.

QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS 

• Must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated by first day of work.
• 10 years of leadership experience in developing and implementing a multi-faceted fundraising program at a large community-based organization or social service agency.
• Ability to shift and build a culture of philanthropy.
• Experience in significantly expanding an individual giving program, employing the use of various strategies.
• Experience in working with Board, demonstrating an ability to effectively engage Board members in fundraising.
• Knowledge and understanding of Newark/New York Metro Area philanthropic landscape.
• Established relationships with major corporate and foundation donors.
• Exceptional relationship builder, who possesses a proven track record for building new relationships and deepening existing relationships.
• Ability to develop and lead a team.

DESIRED SKILLS

• Demonstrated ability as strategist and thought leader.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Ability to foster and build relationships.
• Demonstrates a high degree of integrity, maturity, and thoughtfulness.

HOURS AND COMPENSATION 

• Salary is $105,000-$125,000, depending on experience. This is a full-time, exempt position. Health insurance, vision, dental, life insurance 401K after the first year of employment with a 2% employee match, access to a car and some weekend and evening availability are required.
• La Casa de Don Pedro is currently operating in person with flexibility of one to two days a week working remotely. Travel to and from La Casa de Don Pedro’s community centers throughout Newark will be required.

HOW TO APPLY

• Send a thoughtful cover letter and writing sample to info@lacasanwk.org with the subject: Vice President of Development and External Relations
• Only candidates considered for an interview will be contacted.

La Casa de Don Pedro is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, status as a parent, national origin, age, disability (physical or mental), family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, non-merit-based factors, or any other characteristic protected by law.