Position Title: Development Communications Manager
Supervisor: Communications Director
Salary: $55,509-$66,240
Department: Executive
FLSA Status: Exempt, salaried
Classification: Regular, Full-time with benefits
Location: Portland, Oregon
Position Summary:
The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is seeking a development communications manager who will manage annual giving and donor stewardship efforts. This position leads efforts to increase annual giving from individuals, corporations, and membership to broaden NICWA’s base of support. Donor relations at NICWA encompass the development and implementation of stewardship strategies beyond solicitation. In partnership with the communications director, this position will develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated donor relations program. Working as part of a team with the executive director, communications director, development manager, communications specialist, and development project coordinator, this position ensures all aspects of NICWA’s fundraising efforts are collaborative and cohesive. This is a hybrid position that will work remotely on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and will report to NICWA’s office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Portland, Oregon.
Primary Responsibilities:
- In partnership with the communications director, develops and implements a comprehensive and integrated donor relations program fostering a culture of appreciation, recognition, and ongoing engagement of NICWA’s various constituents to strengthen relationships
- Improves stewardship of our corporate program officer constituents and increases outbound communications specifically for this segment
- In partnership with communications director, leads new constituent segments through a strategic external constituent engagement campaign, including direct email, email newsletters, online town halls, and purchased media
- Leads efforts to increase annual giving from individuals and corporate giving from individuals through workplace giving programs and corporate match opportunities (as well as corporate gifts and sponsorships) while broadening NICWA’s base of support and strengthening the major gift ($1,000 and above) and planned giving pipeline
Essential Functions:
- In partnership with the communications director, implements and evaluates a comprehensive, multi-year plan to increase annual giving and strengthen donor engagement, enhancing the individual donor experience
- Develops and coordinates annual fundraising strategies including, but not limited to, print and email appeals, personal solicitation, phone calls, meetings, events, website pages and plug-ins, digital and social media giving campaigns, and crowdfunding initiatives
- Develops an annual budget to achieve organizational revenue goals and ensures sound management of the fund center budget and resources, including implementation of development activities in accordance with organizational goals and objectives, funder requirements, financial issues, and interagency planning and relationships
- In partnership with the board of directors fundraising committee chair and executive director, plans for and supports board member giving and engagement in fundraising activities to equip the board to reach their annual collective fundraising goal
- Manages and updates various giving and donor education platforms (e.g., Candid, Charity Navigator, BBB Giving Wise Alliance, Benevity, etc.)
- Coordinates donor engagement and stewardship for individuals and groups
- Develops stewardship programs for key constituencies?(e.g., individual and corporate donors, tribal leaders, corporate program officers, and affinity groups such as lawyers and state social service workers)
- Records all interactions and post-meeting reports promptly in database and communicate all aspects of meeting, from set-up to follow-up, to other team members as needed
- Creates and oversees donor recognition systems and acknowledgement strategies, working to maximize efficiency of Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge with the development project coordinator
- In partnership with the NICWA program department, plans, implements, and monitors member acquisition and retention communications and activities
- Supports development department corporate grants initiative by contributing to identification, qualification, and subsequent materials production and submission
- Spearheads sweepstakes and door prize procurement and implementation for NICWA’s annual conference
- In partnership with communications director and executive director, plans and supports other conference fundraising activities, including banquet dinner paddle raise
- Coordinates all non-conference related fundraising events
- Develops and maintains a thorough working knowledge of NICWA’s vision, mission, and programs to effectively articulate the organization’s priorities and fundraising objectives to donors
- Ensures that awareness of NICWA’s mission and goals are raised in all development efforts, using a consistent national image, branding, and key messages within all communications
- Plans and manages work in alignment with annual development department implementation plan
- Stays current with fundraising trends including, but not limited to, data management, software, research methodologies, and stewardship best practices
Additional Responsibilities:
- Performs other duties and assignments as directed
- Participates in NICWA activities and teams as required
Supervision:
- This position works under the direct supervision of the communications director
- This position has no supervisory responsibilities
Core Competencies:
- Models ethics, integrity, and accountability
- Exercises sound judgement
- Adheres to accuracy and quality standards
- Contributes to NICWA’s learning community
- Manages workload effectively
- Manages adversity
- Develops strategic perspectives
- Displays professional effectiveness
- Promotes NICWA’s mission, vision, philosophy, and goals
- Builds organizational knowledge
- Maintains constituent focus and builds constituent knowledge
- Champions change
- Builds relationships
- Communicates effectively and powerfully
- Fosters collaboration and teamwork
- Inspires and motivates others to high performance
- Abides by NICWA policies and procedures
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in communications, nonprofit management, public administration, marketing, public relations, business, or related field is required
- Three to five years of relevant work experience in fundraising or the equivalent is highly preferred
- Annual fund, prospect research, solicitation of gifts, donor stewardship, communications, and event experience preferred
- Knowledge of Native culture and social service systems with demonstrated working experience with tribal organizations, tribal service systems, and tribal government structures is preferred
- Proven ability to close gifts of $1,000 or more; must demonstrate comfort in making in-person funding requests/asks
- Knowledge of a donor database system; Raiser’s Edge NXT is preferred
- Knowledge of an email marketing system
- Ability to organize workload and prioritize projects for position, team, and organization
- Ability to build relationships with diverse groups; ability to understanding donor intent in giving and honoring those intentions
- Demonstrated knowledge, experience, and ability to actively cooperate in a team environment, both in leadership and peer relations, and motivate others to do the same
- Excellent interpersonal, communication (including listening, writing, speaking), customer service, and time management skills are essential
- Proficiency with operating a variety of office equipment and computer hardware/software applications, specifically Microsoft Office products, is required
- Possesses strong proofreading and grammatical skills with attention to detail.
- Ability to analyze and problem solve
Travel Requirements:
Local travel is infrequently required. Overnight travel outside of the area is infrequently required.
Physical Demands:
Frequently involves sedentary work: exerting up to 30 pounds of force and a negligible amount of force to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects, including the human body.
Physical Requirements:
Constantly requires the ability to receive detailed information through oral communications, and to make fine discrimination in sound. Constantly requires repetitive movement of the wrists, hands and/or fingers. Often requires walking or moving about to accomplish tasks. Often requires standing and sitting for sustained periods of time. Occasionally requires ascending or descending stairs or ramps using legs, feet, arms, and hands. Occasionally requires stooping, which entails the use of the lower extremities and back muscles. Infrequently requires crouching.
Typical Working Environmental Conditions:
The worker is frequently subject to inside environmental conditions which provide protection from weather conditions, but not necessarily from temperature changes, and is occasionally subject to outside environmental conditions.
Disclaimer:
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as exhaustive; duties, responsibilities and activities may change with or without notice.
NICWA is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, disability, veteran, or any protected status.
To Apply:
Complete application materials include: a cover letter, resume, and NICWA’s employment application (which can be found at https://www.nicwa.org/employment/). Please submit completed application materials to Operations Director Lindsay Early at lindsay@nicwa.org by October 5, 2023, to be considered in first round of interviews.
Position will remain open until filled.
Paper application materials may be mailed to:
NICWA Human Resources Department, 5100 S Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97239