Senior Development Officer

JDC’s Global Resource Development department is driven by JDC’s historic mission, as we cultivate and grow relationships with philanthropists worldwide to secure resources for the leading global Jewish humanitarian organization. Our department comprises a highly motivated and dynamic team that is committed to excellence in all we do. Our team encourages creative thinking, leadership, and the exploration of new, effective, and collaborative ways for achieving top fundraising results. We invest in our team by equipping them with tools and coaching for success, and we thrive on learning and growing together.

We are now hiring for a Senior Development Officer (SDO) to serve as a front line fundraiser on behalf of JDC. The SDO is expected to actively engage in stewarding current JDC individual and foundation donors while also identifying, engaging and qualifying major prospects with the goal of supporting JDC’s fundraising strategy and long-term growth priorities. The SDO is responsible for soliciting these current donors and prospects at the $10,000 level and above.

Thinking about applying?

Frequently cited statistics show that historical biases in hiring lead to fewer applications from underrepresented groups due to a false perception that they must meet 100% of the qualifications. We encourage you to break that statistic and apply if you meet a majority of the requirements. We look forward to your application.

What will you do as a Senior Development Officer?

• Identify, research, cultivate, steward, and solicit individual, foundation, and corporate donors for new, renewed or increased five figure ($10k – $1M) priority and budget approved gifts, and other related projects
• Strengthen strategic funding relationships with key JDC stakeholders and major philanthropic partners, including select Jewish Federations. Cultivate relationships with lay leadership, Board members and trustees of Federations and other significant Jewish organizations
• Plan strategic donor engagement activities, including events, travel to the field, and speaker tours
• Coordinate special projects and donor cultivation assignments
• Present on JDC’s behalf to funders/prospects and other groups, in person and via other technologies
• Record all major contacts/activities with donors and prospects according to JDC procedures
• Track and monitor all major contacts/activities with donors and prospects according to JDC procedures
• Work closely with units across RD and the organization to ensure alignment at all levels, including identification of donors, outreach and solicitation, identifying funding needs, communication and messaging
• Activity and fundraising metrics to be developed with supervisor
• Such other duties as may be assigned from time to time

What qualifications are required to be our Senior Development Officer?

• 7+ years of professional fundraising experience (at least 5 years at the major gifts level)
• Prior experience successfully soliciting and closing $10K+ gifts (e.g. experience in positions such as Major Gifts Officer or Senior Development Officer looking for a lateral move, Development Director looking to grow in a larger global organization); experience raising at least $1,000,000 in total gifts over time
• Proven success in soliciting and closing major gifts, and in building and maintaining relationships with major individual donors, especially in the Jewish community
• Outstanding relationship building and people skills, including strong written and oral communication and the ability to read words and numbers
• Strong presentation skills, with the ability to inspire both in one-on-one conversations and larger committees and audiences
• Tech savvy, comfortable using donor management systems (e.g. Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce) and dedicated to maintaining effective data and utilizing available technologies
• Flexibility to work in an ever-changing work environment
• A self-starter with excellent networking capabilities who is able to work independently and efficiently
• Ability to travel domestically 4-5 times and overseas 1-2 times annually
• Dedication to and passion for the work of the JDC and global Jewish issues, and the ability to effectively translate that to prospects and donors

Additional Preferred Skills and Competencies:

• Experience in fundraising for overseas/global organizations.
• Experience working for a large (100+ employees) and/or complex international organization
• Experience raising funds for Jewish non-profits
• Experience with donors in the Jewish community
• Familiarity with Israel and global Jewish communities
• CFRE designation
• Ability to operate a computer keyboard and other office equipment
• Ability to communicate in person and over the telephone

Additional Details

• Employment Type: Full Time
• Hours: 35 hours/week, 8:45 AM – 4:45PM with a 1-hour lunch break, with flexibility to work with other time zones and on evenings or weekends for events as needed
• Location: Based remotely from the Southwest (KS, MI, TX, UT, AZ), Midwest (OH, MN), or MA. Must be located near a major airport.
• Reports to: Senior Development Manager
• Job Function/Department: Resource Development
• Other: Travel domestically 6-10 times and overseas 1-2 times annually required