Purpose

The Common Hope Director of Development will be a key organizational leader during a time of change and growth. Common Hope is living its articulated values of empathy, hope, teamwork, curiosity, proactivity, and responsibility as it executes on a new strategic plan focused on meeting the changing needs of Common Hope students and their families in Guatemala, driving impact, and strengthening relationships within Common Hope’s community of stakeholders and investors. As Guatemala evolves, so must the development strategies of the organization, and the Director of Development will implement sustainable change that supports this advancement.

This position will oversee a team of about 10 staff charged with continuing to grow contributed annual revenue in line with the organization’s strategic plan. Common Hope is looking for a visionary, strategic Director of Development to lead its passionate team and evolve fundraising strategies to be more community-centric, generating funding to support and achieve organizational goals.

Job Responsibilities/Key Accountabilities

Leadership

• Lead Common Hope staff and volunteers to create a single team with a unified culture for Guatemala– and US-based staff grounded in their shared values.
• As a member of the executive management team, guide the implementation of Common Hope’s strategic plan and theory of change.
• Support an effective board development committee that engages other board members in fundraising.
• Foster a cohesive team of talented, collaborative fundraisers by hiring talent and coaching and developing team members.
• Create an environment that encourages innovation, evaluation and learning, continuing to transform the work to drive forward the next generation of ideas.
• Fuel an environment where the team is stronger and more effective together, listening to and respecting the voices of families we serve.

Mission-Driven Fundraising Strategy

• Create a vision and integrated strategy for Common Hope’s fundraising that is grounded in Common Hope’s values toward dignified, community-centric fundraising principles to generate growth in contributed revenue.
• Oversee the evolution and development of relational and sustainable individual and institutional fundraising programs.
• Ensure strong execution of fundraising strategies:
• Donor acquisition and engagement programs, including volunteer groups traveling to Guatemala
• Annual and recurring giving, including student sponsorships
• Major giving and planned giving
• Foundation and corporate grants and partnerships
• Outreach to faith-based groups and schools
• Capital campaign management
• Donor and prospect research
• Manage specific donor portfolios and grant submissions, as required.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Marketing and Events to develop and execute fundraising events.

Fundraising Operations

• Oversee development of systems and workflows that make information readily accessible to those who need it and create ease for tracking and reporting.
• Provide fundraising reports, projections, and analysis for the executive management team, board, development committee, and other staff.
• Ensure fundraising staff have access to technology and tools necessary to fulfill their responsibilities, know how to use it, and have support to do so.
• Effectively develop and manage annual work plans, goals and resources including developing and managing the department budget, holding development staff accountable in delivering on their plans.

Donor Communications

• Work closely with staff throughout Common Hope to craft a compelling case for support that lifts students’ and families’ voices.
• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Marketing and Events to develop and execute donor communications strategies.
• Tells Common Hope’s story through inclusive and impact-driven messaging.

Preferred experience and qualifications

Below are our preferred experiences and qualifications for the Director of Development. We recognize people build skills in a variety of ways and combinations and believe that many skills are transferrable to a variety of contexts. If your background does not precisely match these experiences and qualifications, but you have a passion for our work, we would love to hear from you.

• Shares Common Hopes values
• High level strategic thinker and influencer
• Experience learning and leading community-centric fundraising, recognizing that changes in strategy and practice will come with time and intention
• Proven experience working cross-functionally in a collaborative, multi-cultural team environment

 Demonstrated success:

• Developing and supervising a high-performing team including purposeful inclusion and workplace belonging
• Closing individual and institutional gifts of more than $50,000
• Developing fundraising strategy that includes long-term planning with programs rooted in a theory of change
• Managing individual and institutional giving programs
• Managing organizational change
• Using data, evaluation and learning to inform decisions
• Conversational Spanish
• Clear communicator with strong speaking, writing, and listening skills
• Innovative and willing to try new things, to sometimes succeed and sometimes fail but always to learn
• Experience using systems to capture donor data and use it to make decisions

Compensation

The targeted salary range for this role is $100,000 – $115,000 annually, dependent on qualifications. In addition, Common Hope offers a benefits package that includes health insurance, paid time off, and a retirement plan.

Common Hope has retained Orion Search Group to help with its search for its next Development Director. Please contact Joel Bergstrom at (952) 345-1006 or joelb@orionsearchgroup.com for more information or to become a candidate.