Director of Development and Communications

Job Description Job title: Director of Development and Communications Location/Facility: Main Office Position: Full-time Reports to: Executive Director FLSA classification: Exempt Supervises: Interns and volunteers, support staff, additional hires Salary: $76,000 - $85,000 per year to start, excellent benefits package PLEASE NOTE: This role REQUIRESa proven track record of fundraising as well as communications experience. The application also REQUIRES a COVER LETTER. Thank you for your careful consideration when applying! NorthStar Learning Centers is a multiservice organization seeking an energized, passionate, and entrepreneurial-minded Director of Development and Communications as a key member of our senior leadership team. NorthStar Learning Centers, Inc. (NorthStar) is a people-of-color-led nonprofit born out of the civil rights movement in New Bedford in 1974. As we have grown to meet the need, we have remained committed to providing culturally competent, research-informed services on a broader scale, uplifting communities of color, and fighting structural racism. We have a longstanding dedication to staff who look like our constituents. Today, NorthStar operates wraparound programs and services for New Bedford residents from birth to adulthood who are living in the most challenging circumstances. We provide early childhood education programs for children ages 0-5; specialized afterschool care and programming for elementary and middle school children; youth and family support programs; our HEAL Center, focused on young adults recovering from violence and trauma, and two large gun violence prevention/intervention programs; a mental health clinic; and collective impact initiatives expanding our reach beyond direct service. NorthStar has operated for 50 years, funded by fee-for-service government contracts, government program grants, and a very small amount of private grants and donations. Via our recent Reaching for the Stars Capital Campaign, which raised over $2.5M in private philanthropy, we became keenly aware of the potential for building a sustainable development effort on behalf of NorthStar. The ideal candidate will have a start-up growth mindset, be a highly communicative team player, possess strong leadership and organization skills and have both the hard skills and the nuance required to be successful in this role. This role requires mastering the details of all programs delivered by NorthStar, understanding the constituencies served and their needs and the ability to speak with humble authenticity and expertise. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Overview Working with NorthStar’s Executive Director and Senior Leadership Team, take the lead in planning, building, funding and executing a sustainable Development and Communication Department/team. Serve on NorthStar’s senior leadership team; participate in organization-wide strategic thinking, planning, and policy development to increase organizational visibility, capacity, and community support. Grow philanthropic and government support, and donor base annually, according to strategic priorities and specific metrics. Ability to work flexible hours, including occasional evenings and weekends. Assist with other duties as assigned by the Executive Director. Ultimately hire additional team members, based on progress toward development goals, including funding for new positions. Finally, create, with the input of the senior team, the messages and distribution channels to ensure a consistent and comprehensive understanding of the role of NorthStar in the community, the region and nationally. For the first 3-6 months, the new Director of Development and Communications will work closely with NorthStar’s Development Consultant and Senior Leadership Team to ● Understand NorthStar’s organization structure, programs, staffing, and priority fundraising needs and opportunities ● Learn and improve NorthStar’s donor database, ensuring that reports, acknowledgement letters and pledge processes are in order and operating according to best practices ● Develop and implement clear plans and processes for donor retention, donor upgrading, and new prospect management ● Learn and take charge of grant tracking - opportunities, due dates, report dates, repeat application dates; to oversee these tasks, and to set priorities ● Work closely with the Finance team to ensure that relevant information is accurately and efficiently shared between the Development office and the Finance office ● Work with the Campaign Consultant to ensure that all naming benefits for our new building are in place, a top priority ● Ensure that all donation transaction tools, platforms, processes and procedures are operational and optimal ● Learn and use the NorthStar website and Donor Database and related integration tools to optimize fundraising, and manage communication, events, solicitations, etc. ● Plan ribbon cutting party for new building; and other associated events ● Optimize fundraising and fundraising opportunities related to NorthStar’s 50th year (1974-2024) ● Develop relationships with key constituents ● Develop and use a dashboard report to track development and communications outputs and outcomes, updating this dashboard bi-weekly and sharing with Executive Director In addition, ongoing responsibilities and tasks will include: Leadership and Strategy ● Hold primary responsibility for overseeing NorthStar’s current and future grants (?and contracts), in collaboration with the NorthStar Leadership team ● Hold collaborative responsibility for raising $1M dollars in private philanthropy over the next year, increasing this amount annually by 25% annually for 3-5 years, raising this money via grants, private and corporate donations, online campaigns and events ● Develop strategies that continue to build the capacity of NorthStar’s Development and Communications Department ● Manage a team of development and communications staff as the Development and Communications team grows ● Develop strategies for donor cultivation across NorthStar programs and collaborate with program leads to develop marketing materials for fundraising efforts ● Ongoing Foundation and Donor research, leading to results Development and Communications Operations: ● Maintain the accuracy and integrity of the donor database (using Bloomerang donor management software). ● Prepare e-mail list segmentations. ● Process donations and prepare acknowledgment/thank-you letters and other correspondence. File donations/acknowledgment letters physically and digitally. ● Coordinate production and mailings of all appeals and related correspondence. ● Enter grant-related information into the database and the organization’s grant tracker in Google Sheets, including maintaining a grant schedule. Donor Relations - Individuals and Corporations ● Steward, retain and upgrade existing relationships with corporations, foundations, and individuals within the South Coast region and beyond ● Identify and cultivate new individual, corporate and foundation prospects; pursue support; maintain relationships Foundation Relations - Grants ● Research grants that elevate the organization’s capacity and service delivery. ● Lead grant proposal development, submission, and reporting. ● Lead the design and production of NorthStar’s Annual Report. Northstar’s new Early Education Academy and related Capital Campaign ● Maintain open lines of communication with the capital campaign team, which consists of consultants, project managers, architects, and the internal NorthStar leadership team. ● Develop progress reports for monthly board meetings. ● Maintain relationships with foundation, corporate, and individual donors. Communications and Community Relations ● Develop and execute marketing and communications strategies for the organization and departments ● Oversee and ensure the integrity and effectiveness of NorthStar’s website ● Produce and disseminate a monthly e-newsletter ● Represent NorthStar at speaking engagements and host special events to promote brand and engage support ● Ensure all organizational materials have consistent and positive messaging and branding ● Conduct quality control on all communications ● Develop relationships and work with media outlets and other communication outlets. QUALIFICATIONS: Education ● Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience ● Master’s degree preferred Licenses and certifications ● Current driver’s license, good driving record, and normal risk insurability ● Ability to pass criminal offender record information (CORI), Department of Children and Families (DCF), and fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks Experience ● Five years of non-profit development and communication experience, with a resume that demonstrates growth in the field of development ● Track record of raising 5 figure gifts; 6 figure gifts a bonus ● Experience with most of the following: grants, individual and corporate donors, events, public funding, and Capital Campaigns ● Maintains a growth mindset Skills ● Proven ability to track deadlines and coordinate content and information necessary to make reporting and submission deadlines for grants and contracts ● Use of Microsoft Office suite of products, including Word, Excel (including working with multiple worksheets, filtering data, and manipulating databases), PowerPoint, and Publisher ● Able to develop effective working relationships with children, families, staff, and other persons of diverse experiential, educational, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. ● Literacy in a second language (English/Spanish) is a plus ● Advanced ability to work on a variety of digital platforms and also create web and mobile content Shared values ● Dedication to the mission of NorthStar Learning Centers ● Understanding and valuation of the integral roles of people-of-color-led organizations in informing and organizing communities for collective action to obtain self-determination, wellness, justice and prosperity for all people ● Accord with NorthStar’s philosophy of inclusion and trauma-informed policies ● Respect and value diversity of opinion, experience, and background ● Maintain Professional and Ethical Standards ● Be honest, reliable, and dependable ● Respect and maintain the rights and privacy of all staff, parents, and children ● Work consistently to accomplish goals ● Disclose to the Executive Director any indictment or arrest for off-duty activity that would show up in a criminal records check. Other: Work both independently and within a team on special, nonrecurring, as well as ongoing projects. Serve as manager for special projects, including planning and coordinating multiple presentations, events and the dissemination of information. In conjunction with the Executive Director, respond to crises or challenging situations quickly and professionally Physical Demands/Working Conditions The following conditions 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 job functions. ● Environment: Work is performed primarily in a standard office environment; includes travel to different locations; the employee may be exposed to inclement weather conditions and may have some contact with chemical agents used in facility maintenance; work and/or walk on various types of surfaces, including uneven surfaces. ● Physical: Primary functions require sufficient physical ability and mobility to work in an office and human service facility setting; to stand or sit for prolonged periods of time; to occasionally stoop, bend, kneel, crouch, reach, and twist; to lift, carry, push, and/or pull light to moderate amounts of weight (75 pounds or less); to operate office equipment requiring repetitive hand movement and fine coordination, including use of a computer keyboard; to travel to other locations using various modes of private and commercial transportation; and to verbally communicate to exchange information. ● Time: Some evening and weekend work as required or needed. ● Vision: Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distant vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus with or without correction. ● Hearing: Hear in the normal audio range with or without correction. ● Work attendance: Be absent from work for illness no more often than the typical adult to provide continuity in business operations of a small organization. HOW TO APPLY: Please provide/upload a detailed cover letter highlighting your interest and your resume PLEASE NOTE: The position will remain open until August 9, 2024. Job Type: Full-time Pay: $76,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year Benefits: 401(k) Dental insurance Health insurance Paid time off Schedule: Monday to Friday Nights as needed Weekends as needed Education: Bachelor's (Required) Experience: Microsoft Office: 2 years (Required) Fundraising: 2 years (Required) Ability to Relocate: New Bedford, MA 02740: Relocate before starting work (Required) Work Location: In person