Director of Strategic Advancement
Seattle, WA / Bellingham, WA / Olympia, WA
USPGMS/ US Ministries – US Marketing and Communications /
Regular, Full-time /
Hybrid
ORGANIZATION SUMMARY:
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that is fighting for change that lasts, right here in the U.S. and across the globe. We bring sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. The organization is approximately 75 years old and has worked in over 100 countries around the world since its founding.
In the United States, we come alongside local churches, community organizations and hundreds of individual volunteers to support newly arriving refugee and other immigrant families. Today, we are proud to partner with over 6,000 local churches, and 95,000 volunteers globally to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable.
POSITION SUMMARY:
Are you a person of compassion? An advocate for justice? Someone who stands up for the rights of the vulnerable and speaks out for the marginalized, the exploited and the forgotten? Do you believe in our calling as Christians to welcome the least of these and love our neighbor?
If you answered ‘yes’, to any of the above, World Relief, and millions of people around the world need you.
The Director of Strategic Advancement is responsible for the planning and execution of the fundraising plan that builds strong relationships with individuals, foundations, churches and other community stakeholders in order to secure investment of resources for long-term impact. This involves leading a passionate and strongly skilled team. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in diverse fundraising strategies, a collaborative leadership approach, and a results orientation. World Relief Western WA is a Christian non-profit organization that provides support to refugees, asylees, and other immigrants in Western WA. We envision every refugee and immigrant welcomed by community, rooted in community, and empowered for community.
Compensation: $90,000-$100,000 per year
Role & Responsibilities
- Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- Develop and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies aligned with organizational goals and financial needs.
- Establish measurable objectives to track progress and evaluate the success of fundraising initiatives.
- Work very closely with the Executive Director to develop annual and multi-year fundraising strategies. Donor Relations:
- Cultivate and steward relationships with individual donors, churches, businesses, corporate partners, and foundations.
- Implement effective donor engagement and recognition programs.
- Create customized solicitation strategies matching the objectives of the organization and interests of the donor or prospect. Grant Writing and Management Oversight:
- Provide oversight for the research, identification, and pursuit of grant opportunities to enhance funding diversification.
- Ensure a high success rate in securing grants through compelling proposals and effective grant management.
- Major Gifts and Campaigns:
- Manage an active portfolio of 50-75 donors and prospects with the capacity of making gifts of $10K or above
- Lead major gifts efforts, building relationships with high-level donors.
- Oversee and execute successful fundraising campaigns, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities.
- Manage and drive annual campaigns to engage a broad base of supporters.
- Event Planning and Management Oversight:
- Supervise the organization and execution of fundraising events, overseeing the tracking of event metrics and evaluating their impact.
- Develop and implement innovative strategies to enhance event success and foster increased donor engagement.
- Budget Oversight:
- Work collaboratively with the finance team to develop and manage the development budget.
- Ensure efficient allocation of resources to meet fundraising goals.
- Team Leadership:
- Build and lead a high-performing development team, overseeing all aspects of team management, including hiring, onboarding, setting SMART goals and conducting regular performance assessments.
- Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities to team members, fostering a collaborative and innovative fundraising culture.
- Work closely with the advisory council to align fundraising efforts with the organization's strategic vision. Metrics and Reporting:
- Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the success of development initiatives.
- Provide regular reports to the executive team and board on fundraising progress.
- Prepare and present comprehensive annual reports, impact reports, and donor proposals to showcase achievements and demonstrate the impact of fundraising efforts.
- Metrics:
- Total Fundraising Revenue
- Donor Retention Rate
- Major Gifts Secured
- Grant Success Rate
- New Donor Acquisition
- Event ROI and Participation Rates
- Budget Adherence
- Cost-to-Raise-A-Dollar (CRD)
- Online Fundraising Conversion Rates
- Team Productivity and Performance
Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills; ability to communicate concepts simply, clearly, and effectively, both in writing and conversation; superior attention to detail.
- Strong leadership skills, with a collaborative spirit, experience leading cross-functional teams and strong management skills.
- Effective strategic and implementation skills; ability to grasp the opportunities and challenges of the organization and the role.
- Experience using databases (Raisers Edge and Microsoft Dynamics) effectively to self-manage and a high comfort level understanding how data supports reaching goals and is an effective tool for performance evaluations.
- Cross-cultural experience strongly preferred
- Fluency in a second language preferred
- Candidates from refugee, asylee, or other immigrant backgrounds are encouraged to apply Work Experience:
- Bachelor's degree in a related field; Master's degree preferred.
- Seasoned fundraising professional (5-7 years) with demonstrated success; experience with individuals, foundations, and corporations; track record of soliciting and closing five-figure and six-figure gifts.
- Experience in moves management, qualifying donors and maintaining a strong portfolio.
- Demonstrated experience overseeing complex or multiple projects through to success, including meeting financial goals while working with a diverse team of staff and advisory council
- Proven track record of soliciting and closing gifts, managing successful campaigns, and securing sponsorships & grants is required.
- Strong leadership and team management skills.
- Experience in event planning
- Excellent communication and relationship-building abilities.
Requirements
- Mature and personal Christian faith
- Committed to the mission, vision, and values of World Relief
- Desire to serve and empower the Church to impact vulnerable communities
- Able to affirm and/or acknowledge World Reliefs Core Beliefs, Statement of Faith, Christian Identity and National Evangelicals For the Health of The Nation document
- At least 5 years of progressive management experience (including people management), preferably in a non-profit organization.
- Familiarity with the non-profit or social purpose sector; experience working with donors and foundations a plus.
- Solid experience with Microsoft programs including Excel; ability and eagerness to learn additional computer applications
- Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of related experience 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 required to have ordinary ambulatory skills sufficient to visit other locations
- The ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and manipulate (lift, carry, move) light to medium weights of 10-15 pounds.
- Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard, operate equipment and read application information.
- The employee frequently is required to sit, reach with hands and arms, talk and hear.
- WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Hybrid work environment.
- Great lengths of time working on computer, reading from computer screen, entering information, standing at copier or fax machine, and some time on the phone or in skype meetings may be required. Year-end archiving activities involve repeated lifting and bending.
- Physical, emotional and intellectual demands
- Equipment used: Employee computer (desktop or laptop), printer, and copier.
- Up to 25% domestic travel only required
- All of the above duties and responsibilities are essential job functions subject to reasonable accommodation.
World Relief offers a competitive benefits package (25 hours + per week):
- Medical, Dental, Vision
- Offer 16 company Paid Holidays + 4 additional Personal days per year!
- Paid Sick and Vacation Time
- Paid Parental Leave (12 weeks for qualified employees)
- FSAs: Medical & Dependent Care, & Commuter Funding
- Supplemental Life Insurance (employee, spouse, and children)
- Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity, and Accident insurance policies
- Legal Shield Insurance
World Relief pays 100% for eligible employees:
- Group Term Life (employee, spouse, and children)
- Long Term & Short-term Disability
- Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
- Long Distance Travel Insurance
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
World Relief - Retirement:
- 401K & Roth
- WR matches up to 4%, then an additional quarter percent up to 10%
- Eligibility: Full Time (40 hours per week) is eligible after 3 months of employment. Part time is eligible after 1000 hours in a year.
World Relief Discounts (Immediately Eligible):
- Verizon
- Pet Insurance through Nationwide
- Home and Auto insurance through Liberty Mutual
- Working Advantage Discount Program
- Active & Fit Gym Membership
World Relief is honored to be recognized with the Silver-level Cigna Healthy Workforce Designation for exceeding the core components of our well-being program including leadership and culture, program foundations and execution, and whole person health.
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 required to have ordinary ambulatory skills sufficient to visit other locations
· The ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and manipulate (lift, carry, move) light to medium weights of 10-15 pounds.
· Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm, hand and finger dexterity, including ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard, operate equipment and read application information.
· The employee frequently is required to sit, reach with hands and arms, talk and hear.
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
· General office setting. World Relief also offers hybrid and remote schedules for limited positions.
· Great lengths of time working on computer, reading from computer screen, entering information, standing at copier or fax machine, and some time on the phone or in virtual meetings may be required.
· Year-end archiving activities involve repeated lifting and bending.
· Physical, emotional and intellectual demands
· Equipment used: Employee computer (desktop or laptop), printer, and copier.
· All of the above duties and responsibilities are essential job functions subject to reasonable accommodation. All job requirements listed indicate the minimum level of knowledge, skills and/or ability deemed necessary to perform the job proficiently. This job description is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements. Individuals may be required to perform any other job-related instructions as requested by their supervisor, subject to reasonable accommodation. This position description is not all-inclusive and is always under review.
We are proud to be an EEO/AA employer M/F/D/V.
For World Relief staff, strong commitment to the mission, vision, and values of World Relief is essential, and Christian faith is a prerequisite for employment, based upon United States federal guidelines provided in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Legal Background in the United States
World Relief is both an equal opportunity employer and a faith-based religious organization. World Relief strictly prohibits and does not tolerate unlawful discrimination against employees on the basis of person’s race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law, which does not conflict with the protections afforded World Relief as a faith-based employer.
In addition, physical or mental limitations will not be a factor in the application of World Relief's employment policies or employee practices, except for those situations in which occupational requirement make consideration of such factors necessary.
Pursuant to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 702 (42 U.S.C. 2000e 1(a) World Relief has the right to, and does, hire only candidates who agree with World Relief’s Statement of Faith.
