Director of Development

Organization

Founded in 2001, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA) serves more than 70 charter public schools and 44,000 students. It has an extensive history of supporting and advocating for public charter schools across the state and is currently in a period of exciting organizational growth. Massachusetts public charter schools are widely recognized as one of the highest performing charter sectors in the country. The mission of MCPSA is to create and protect the conditions that will enable the public charter sector to thrive, contributing toward the common goal of all children having equitable access to high-quality schools. 

Position

Reporting to the Chief of Communications and Development and working closely with the Executive Director, the Director of Development (DOD) will lead MCPSA’s effort to achieve its annual fundraising goals, using a data-driven strategy to drive and deliver on revenue needs, with a focus on developing a program to identify and steward relationships to produce meaningful and measurable results. The ideal candidate is a seasoned fundraising professional with demonstrated experience in annual giving, major gifts, foundation giving, grant research and writing, planned giving, and event-related fundraising.

Responsibilities:

• Lead MCPSA’s fundraising operation, including driving the development of a multi-year giving strategy and accompanying annual fundraising goals. 
• Formulate successful fundraising strategies that increase funding from current and past donors and generate new relationships with institutional and individual funders, including initiating and cultivating relationships with prospects with the potential to make large gifts. 
• Write all of MCPSA’s letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and grant reports, and tightly manage a fundraising calendar to ensure that proposals, renewals, and reports are submitted on time. 
• Research and identify funding opportunities, both regionally and nationally, that align with MCPSA’s mission, and research funder priorities and align our proposals to those priorities.
• Conduct research through iWave and/or other platforms to identify potential funders, and build out an individual giving program.
• In partnership with the Executive Director, develop 1:1 relationships with current and prospective donors, and connect directly with prospective funders on a regular basis.
• Create a planned communication structure, including regular donor communications, briefing materials for donor meetings, funder presentations, and other materials, as requested. 
• Create and strengthen processes and systems for gift processing, donor prospecting, cultivation, and acknowledgment. Develop and manage systems for donors and prospects in Salsa Engage/CRM and/or other systems, ensuring that all touchpoints and projections are tracked with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy.
• In partnership with the Executive Director and other MCPSA staff, develop and execute various fundraising events throughout the year.
• Support and assist the Chief of Communications and Development in other activities of the Communications department as needed. 

Qualifications:

• Strong commitment to MCPSA’s mission and values.
• A minimum of 7+ years of fundraising experience and a proven portfolio of successful fundraising (working with organizational budgets >$3M).
• Proven track record of managing and growing a donor portfolio and evidence of experience with large donor development, particularly from high net worth individuals and/or major foundations.
• Experience with high-level stakeholder interactions and communications, and comfort with leading the development of potential funder relationships, and collaborating with the Executive Director to finalize commitments.
• Local knowledge of and experience with Massachusetts’ philanthropic community strongly preferred.
• Strong grant writing and reporting experience (preferably in the education sector). 
• Experience with planning and executing high-level fundraising events.
• Experience with Salsa or other CRM systems preferred.
• Experience with iWave or other donor prospecting systems preferred.
• Experience with political giving program development a plus.
• Results and process oriented, able to manage multiple donor relationships, events and campaign timelines, and meet deadlines.
• Exceptional written, verbal, relationship-building, and interpersonal skills.
• Professional attitude and adherence to confidentiality requirements.
• Exceptional time management skills and a proven track record of successfully working in a virtual environment with limited direct supervision.
• Bachelor’s Degree required, advanced degree appreciated. 

Hours and Location:

This full time position is available immediately. MCPSA is a virtual organization with team members working remotely throughout the state. Some in-state travel is required.

Compensation:  

MCPSA offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including base salary, bonus, health, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement contributions, and paid time off.

To Apply: 

Please submit a resume and cover letter to jobs@masscharterschools.org. Review of applications will begin upon receipt and continue until the position is filled.

Notice of non-discrimination:

The Massachusetts Charter Public School Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks to hire staff who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.  MCPSA does not discriminate on the basis of an individual's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics.