Partnership Engagement Director

Department

Advancement

Reports to

Senior Vice President of Partnership Engagement

Location

Fully Remote

FLSA Status

Exempt

Benefits and Compensation

Schott Foundation offers a competitive benefits package that includes medical and dental coverage, FSA/HRA benefits, vacation and paid holidays, retirement plan with employer contributions after 18-months employment, and other benefits. The starting salary is expected to be $108,000-$115,000 annually depending on experience.

Position Overview

The Partnership Engagement Director will support the implementation of a comprehensive development strategy with a focus on building a pipeline of individual donors and foundations. The Director is responsible for cultivating major gifts of $10,000 plus, grants of $25,000 or more and coordinating campaigns of $100,000 or more. The Director will coordinate efforts to cultivate, solicit, and steward both individual donors and foundation funders and network regularly with prospective and current donors and funders. The Director will track information about individual donors, institutional funders, and prospects in the organization’s database. The Director will take primary lead on the development of grant proposals and related grant reports as well as providing support to other team members responsible for fundraising activity. The Director will also supervise the Senior Development Associate, a role responsible for development research and coordination, meetings and events, and development-related data and knowledge management.

The Director will have knowledge of fundraising best practices, experience working with a variety of individual and foundation donors, and a passion for social justice and public education.  S/he/they will support the fundraising efforts to grow Schott and shift resources to the education justice movement. The Director will report to the Senior Vice President of Partnership Engagement, supervise the Senior Development Associate and work closely with the communications, Programs, Operations and Finance teams.

Responsibilities

Donor Cultivation and Development Support (60%)

• Working with the SVP of Partnership Engagement to shape strategies for engaging and cultivating new and existing major donors and funders
• Identify and meet with prospects and active donors to cultivate, support and close gifts
• Support fundraising and development support and skill building for other team members with fundraising responsibilities
• Ensure timely follow up with prospective and current donors by providing information, opportunities to engage, and gift acknowledgements
• Coordinate prospect research system
• Oversee the management of donor and prospect information in CRM

Proposal and Report Writing (25%)

• Lead the development of proposals and donor reports and ensure timely submission
• Work with the Programs team to gather information for donor reports and proposals
• Write donor correspondence
• Develop presentations and materials for prospects and donors

Meetings and Events (10%)

• Attend meetings and events to network with major donors and funders
• Prepare briefing materials in advance of donor meetings and events
• Support event planning and logistics
• Work with the Leadership and Development teams to manage event invitations and registration lists
• Secure event sponsorships
• Identify opportunities for Schott participation in conference sessions and support session proposal process

Other duties as assigned (5%)

• Other duties as assigned by the SVP of Partnership Engagement

Qualifications

• A minimum of 5 years of fundraising experience
• Demonstrated knowledge related to major gifts fundraising
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience in using a donor/prospect management system
• Experience in planning and/or supporting fundraising events
• Experience as a supervisor
• Creativity, flexibility, sound judgment, and ability to take initiative and work independently as well as a part of a team and ability to respond adeptly to rapidly changing priorities and to work well under pressure
• Effective interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to interact professionally with diverse constituents, including board members, philanthropists, foundation staff, donors and partners across varied geographies. A team player who can add value to the Schott team beyond his/her/their area of expertise
• Outstanding organizational skills, including managing own work, and the ability to move work from concept to implementation and completion
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word) and experience working with CRMs
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience required

Travel

The Schott Team currently operates virtually with staff located throughout the United States. This position requires some travel by plane or train (depending on where the Manager is based) to coordinate or participate in meetings and job-related events up to four times a year. The employee is also expected to travel to staff retreats and board meetings up to six times a year.

Physical Demands and Work Environment Factors

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 will sit for long periods of time and may use repetitive wrist and hand motions involved in typing and computer work as well as in sorting and handling documents. The employee is regularly required to reach, with hands and arms, and engage in light work that includes moving objects up to 20 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and color vision as the employee will have close visual contact with a computer monitor daily.

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at the Schott Foundation for Public Education, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/preference, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

How to apply: Please email your resume and a substantive cover letter to jobs@schottfoundation.org. Be sure to include “Partnership Engagement Director” in the subject line.  

The recruitment is open until filled. The priority deadline for applications is August 2, 2024.