United States onlyKids in Need of Defense (KIND) is a global leader in the protection of unaccompanied and separated children who are forcibly displaced from their countries of origin. Launched in 2008, KIND champions a world in which every child’s rights and well-being are protected throughout their journey to safety. Building on its extensive programming and successful model in the United States, KIND is expanding in the Americas and Europe to bring its experience to bear in working with unaccompanied and separated children. Our work focuses on addressing the legal and mental health needs of this population; building strong partnerships and engaging in training and capacity strengthening with governments, NGOs, and the private sector; and advocating for systemic and pragmatic reforms to advance the rights of unaccompanied and separated children.
Position Summary
KIND seeks a Senior Director, Development Operations and Strategy who can enhance the organization’s fundraising capabilities. The incumbent is responsible for ensuring that KIND brings strategy, rigor, and data analysis to processes and reporting in support of fundraising and stewardship. The incumbent is responsible for the management and oversight of the fundraising infrastructure and systems. The Senior Director will have experience in nonprofit development operations and strategy including knowledge of information technology and donor database work, gift acceptance and processing policies, fundraising reporting, prospect research and moves management, and donor relations strategies. Additionally, this individual must have the ability to provide training and create new systems, policies, and standards that will elevate work across the department, backed by excellent organizational skills, while being highly process driven and methodical.
The Senior Director, Development Operations and Strategy will exhibit strong strategic thinking abilities. Along with technical acumen, this position requires strong interpersonal, managerial skills, and the ability to be a team player. This position reports to the Chief Development Officer and will be a member of the Development Leadership team. They will supervise three staff: Salesforce Manager, Prospect Research and Portfolio Development Manager, and the Director of Philanthropy Communications. This a headquarters position based remotely from any location in the U.S.
Essential Functions
- Strategic Oversight and Team Management
- In partnership with the Chief Development Officer and other Development Department leaders, develops and operationalize strategies for sustainable revenue growth.
- In partnership with the Chief Development Officer, shape the strategic vision of the overall Development Department and build an infrastructure that supports the long-term goals of the department, including the design, implementation, and oversight of annual budgets, revenue projections, and multi-year initiatives, strategies, and action plans.
- Sets and leads the strategic direction of the Development Operations and Strategy team and oversee stewardship, fundraising reporting, database and gift management, prospect research, moves management, goal setting processes, and donor communications.
- Works across two distinct frontline fundraising teams (Individual Giving and Events, and Institutional Development) to understand the needs and requirements of each team and to work closely with them to determine how the operations and stewardship team can best support each division in achieving its fundraising goals.
- Analyzes both annual and major gift fundraising activity to make recommendations to inform and/or adapt strategies to increase ROI: build reports and dashboards that allow the Chief Development Officer and other frontline fundraising colleagues to strategically focus their efforts.
- Leverage data to optimize KIND’s donor communications, appeal strategies, and targeted philanthropic initiatives.
- With the Chief Development Officer, lead the collaborative development and execution of the semi-annual fundraising report for the Board, the Development team’s annual operating plan, and the Development Board Task force annual work plan.
- Oversee the Development department budget, vendor contracts, and midyear department reforecasting of revenue and expenses.
- Donor Relations
- Together with the Senior Director, Individual Giving and Events, the Director, Major Gifts, and the Director, Events develop a best-in-class donor stewardship strategy that elevates and maximizes KIND’s stewardship offerings, supporting the organization to retain and uplift current donors and grow the overall donor base.
- Collaborate with the Major Gifts team to ensure the overall transformative prospect pipeline is healthy, robust and continually refreshed with new prospects; monitor prospect movement through stages and intercede when prospects, financial reporting, pledge collection and/or donor stewardship processes become stale/stuck; work to keep Senior Director, Individual Giving and Events, Director, Major Gifts, and Philanthropy Officers focused on moving their prospects toward gift fulfillment.
- Work with the Communications, Development, and Programs departments to guide the development of compelling donor communications, including but not limited to cases for support, one-pagers, impact reports, donor reports, proposals, gift agreements, announcement/press releases, annual reports, newsletters, and other printed and electronic materials.
- Data and Analytics
- In partnership with the Salesforce Manager, oversee and manage Salesforce including ensuring data integrity and compliance, accurate gift accounting, biographical records, reporting, and reconciliation with Finance.
- Oversee the structure, maintenance, systems, policies, and processes of Salesforce usage and ensure processes are followed.
- Educate and empower the Development Team to use Salesforce to its full capacity.
- Provide frontline fundraisers, the senior leadership team, and the Board Development Task Force with data analytics and reports with actionable insights.
- Design and implement prospect management activities, assignments, policies, and processes to support the management of prospects through the development cycle.
- Other duties as assigned,
Qualifications and Requirements
- Undergraduate degree required.
- Must be fluent in English.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience in development operations functions (or advancement services) or in stewardship and donor relations for high performing fundraising teams; minimum of 7 years of experience with people management.
- Demonstrated success in managing the integrity of a donor database, Salesforce highly preferred.
- Motivational skills and the ability to lead while interacting effectively outside of the development team.
- Demonstrated creativity, organizational ability, and strong attention to detail.
- Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations and exercise good judgement based on information and analysis in a fast-paced, dynamic, deadline-driven environment in an organized and professional manner.
- Comfortable taking initiative, setting priorities, and handling multiple projects efficiently and effectively.
- Must be able to diagnose complex problems and identify solutions.
- Ability to exercise good judgement and demonstrate an understanding of ethics related to development activities, and ability to handle confidential and privileged information with discretion.
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suites (such as Teams, Excel, etc.)
- Ability to work collaboratively and multi-task in our KIND environment, managing numerous priorities and emerging opportunities.
- Excellent organizational skills with the ability to work on multiple projects in a deadline-oriented environment; ability to prioritize tasks and delegate as appropriate.
- Ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and communication styles.
- Commitment to prioritizing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as embracing transparency and authenticity in daily work life.
- Be disciplined and nimble to ensure delivery on our core mission of access to justice and protection of children’s wellbeing and rights.
- Ability to multitask and work with a sense of urgency in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.
- Committed to practicing and supporting wellbeing and a work-home life balance.
- Experience working and communicating in a remote environment.
KIND requires all staff be COVID vaccinated with the exception of those who have medical or religious beliefs exemptions.
Application Instructions
To be considered for this role, please submit an employment application at supportkind.org/join-the-team, along with your resume and cover letter. KIND has an organization-wide commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We strive to create a work environment where everyone has a sense of belonging. Individuals from historically underrepresented or underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply. Disclaimer: KIND is committed to an ethical recruitment and hiring process and maintains a firm “no fees” recruitment policy. We will never charge a fee or ask for money as part of the application process. KIND also conducts all interviews via telephone or video conference, and at no time will KIND engage in a text or mobile app-based application or interview process. For more information, please visit the following website: https://supportkind.org/join-the-team/kind-employment-practices/.
