We are Hiring: Director of Fundraising, US

Posted 14 February 2024 in EMpower News, Careers   |   Share

About EMpower:

EMpower, a global philanthropic organisation, is dedicated to improving the lives and horizons of marginalised young people ages 10-24 in 15 emerging market countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Turkey. Through grants and other support (learning exchanges, technical assistance, thought partnering etc.), EMpower partners with 150+ local organisations working to strengthen education and livelihoods of young people, and to build their resilience, self-confidence, and well-being. EMpower has offices in Hong Kong, Delhi, Singapore, London, and New York, as well as programme staff in Ghana, Istanbul, Mexico, Argentina, and South Africa. EMpower is at an exciting time in our evolution and organizational strengthening. In the past few years, we have grown in staff size and global footprint, with a deliberate focus on fostering a workplace that ensures diverse perspectives, opportunities for contribution, and belonging.

Our Vision: We are building a world where all young people at the margins, especially girls, have the skills, opportunities, and power to live their full potential. 

Our Mission: We partner with local organisations in emerging market countries, and other change-makers, to enable marginalised young people to transform their lives and communities.

Our Values: 

• We experience and build a trusting connection with each other.
• Our commitment is sustained by our integrity.
• Together we drive flexible innovation.

Position Summary

This new role is the lead position in the USA within EMpower’s global Development function, overseeing all aspects of our fundraising that currently delivers over $3m per annum with ambitions to grow further. You will inherit a small but effective team and an income base spread across corporate donors (>$1m), institutional donors (c. $1m) and events and individual donors (C. $750k). We know this is scratching the surface of what’s possible in the USA. You will have the skills and experience to bring our fundraising to the next level through excellent stewardship and engagement of HNWI already close to EMpower, and through growing new streams of revenue across the full range of income opportunities.

Our fundraising proposition is proven and highly differentiated. We work with locally run, high potential NGOs across Latin America, Africa, and Asia focused on education, health, and livelihoods. We invest in these organisations for 10 years through a combination of cash grants and tailored capacity strengthening – managed through our Programme Team that includes specialists within the region. This long-term approach leads to dramatically improved outcomes whilst we can also demonstrate short term progress. Our fundraising, administration and management costs are covered by our Board of Directors, which means that every penny donated goes to where it is needed most – helping young people who are living at the margins. We have a range of fundraising products aimed at individual donors as well as opportunities for institutional donors focused on specific areas within our programmatic work.

The postholder will manage two existing posts in the region – a Development Manager focused on event and individual income and a Fundraising Assistant who assists on all aspects of our work, especially our programme of events. Globally there are ~11 in the Development Team, out of a total of ~40 EMpower staff overall. The Head of USA Fundraising will provide the necessary vision, leadership, and fundraising skills to enable the organisations to grow our USA income. You will have substantial fundraising and management experience, a talent for building relationships and a proven track record in securing funds – noting that your specialisation could come from any of major donors/gifts, statutory foundations, private trusts and corporates.

You will be a strategic leader within the global Development function, reporting directly to the VP of Global Development & Marketing based in the UK. You will drive the highest level of strategy discussions within the team, whilst still providing hands-on leadership to push forward existing and new business opportunities. You will form a key member of the fundraising senior management team to share collective responsibility to deliver the income to achieve the organisation’s strategy and vision – ensuring a future where young people living at the margins have the opportunities, skills, experience to transform their lives and communities.

Key Responsibilities

• Responsible for all income in the USA. In 2024 this exceeds £3m across events, individual, corporate and institutional fundraising. We have ambitions to grow this figure significantly over the next 3-5 years
• Own and oversee fundraising relationships with Board Directors, partners and stakeholders in the USA, working closely with the Global President & CEO as well as the VP of Global Development & Marketing.
• Working closely with the Regional Programme Directors as well as key staff in the Influence and Impact team, ensure an effective organisation-wide approach to achieving our organisational ambitions.

Fundraising:

• Lead the fundraising team to deliver annual targets and ensure an effective supporter experience to retain and grow relationships, including acting as the lead point of contact for highest value supporters
• Oversee and develop our institutional income, including corporate and private foundation donors – this includes both guiding staff and leading where appropriate
• Maintain and develop an effective programme of events within each region to help achieve our income goals, and lead on development of new income streams
• Take on a personal fundraising target, which could come from any or all our income streams: individual, corporate or foundation supporters

Strategy, Financial Planning and Budget Management:

• Lead the annual fundraising planning process to produce effective short-term and long-term strategies to grow income across the full range of revenue streams: individual donors; events; and institutional funding. This includes identifying new potential income streams and tactics to build our fundraising pipeline
• Support team to create an effective annual workplan to achieve our ambitions whilst ensuring an achievable and realistic workload for staff. This includes identifying interdependencies across the organisation, working closely with the Programme Team and our Impact and Influence Team
• Manage and monitor our USA income and expenditure on a regular basis to ensure clear information is reported across the organisation as well as demonstrating value for money for investment into fundraising

Leadership and Team Management

• Provide effective management and leadership within the USA fundraising team, creating a positive and supportive atmosphere where people want to come to work and do the very best!
• Direct line management and oversight of the USA team, trust building and team building; managing workplans; creating opportunities for professional development and coaching for the team to grow, learn and thrive. Working cross-functionally, take a proactive role in promoting productive collaboration, problem-solving, and role modelling EMpower values.

Representation:

• Compelling and persuasive with the ability to inspire audiences to donate
• Able to represent EMpower at the highest level of stakeholders and donors

Person Specification

• 10+ years work experience in nonprofit advancement and a track record of closing six-seven figure gifts.
• Successful and significant experience of growing income in a comparable organisation (whether corporate or non-profit)
• Proven track record of meeting challenging income targets
• Proven ability to build, manage and develop key stakeholder, client, and donor relationships
• Experience of developing and implementing strategic and business plans
• Demonstrable track record of Strategic Fundraising

Specific attributes needed are:

• Strong leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of the fundraising environment in the USA
• Exceptionally convincing and persuasive written and oral skills with the ability to present and convey complex ideas and issues clearly and coherently
• Ability to lead and manage team
• Ability to work with the highest level of stakeholders
• Highly self-motivated and able to work autonomously, take initiative, re-balance priorities, and make decisions.
• Must be legally authorized to work in the United States. This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.

Compensation and Benefits

EMpower offers competitive wages, benefits, and growth opportunities consistent with industry standards based on the country of hire. Flexible benefits packages include health insurance and pension plan with employer contribution/match; time off; and work/life benefits.

The salary range for this position is 100-125k USD.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement

EMpower is a public foundation that makes grants globally to benefit marginalised youth, including adolescent girls. We are committed to attracting, developing, motivating and retaining exceptional talent and to work environment that recognises contribution, fosters respect and teamwork, and facilitates strong performance. We encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds, recognising that diversity enriches all staff and our work globally. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or faith, or physical ability.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organisation, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. EMpower makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

• This role routinely uses standard office equipment (laptops, phones, etc.)
• This role routinely uses the English language to engage with internal and external stakeholders by phone, email, and in person. The employee is expected to be able to accurately exchange information with these stakeholders.
• Our office location is 125 Maiden Lane. We currently operate a hybrid policy with one day in the office in addition to any in-person external meetings or events which may take place on other days or in the evenings
• Our policy also supports hybrid working, including the ability to work from anywhere for 4 weeks per year

Apply here: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3829338086/?refId=UTddcpMk8R4tVY%2FGOv8g6g%3D%3D&trackingId=UTddcpMk8R4tVY%2FGOv8g6g%3D%3D

Deadline for applications: 3rd March, 2024