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Development Director – Position Description

Heads Up, located in Washington, D.C., is recruiting a Development Director to start immediately.  This is an exceptional opportunity for a demonstrated leader and manager seeking to improve the lives of at-risk children and to promote service by overseeing and enhancing the fundraising efforts of a fast-paced, mission-driven organization.  As Heads Up enters it’s 13th year the Development Director will play an essential role in implementing our plans for our next stage of growth and development.

Background

Heads Up helps young people develop the skills, confidence, and relationships to succeed in school and to pursue lives that help further social change.  We accomplish this in two ways:

• We provide extra academic support, instruction, and mentoring to children in low-income communities.  Heads Up gives children extra time and individualized support by extending the days and calendars of traditional public schools with a well-rounded combination of academic and enrichment activities.  In focused small group settings, children in Heads Up become better readers and more engaged students with an expanded awareness of higher education.
• We provide service, learning, and employment opportunities for university students who serve as Heads Up tutors and mentors.  By combining intense, sustained service experiences with proper training and reflection, we foster a generation of leaders with a better understanding of high-poverty neighborhoods and a commitment to strengthening their communities.

Heads Up works with seven D.C. public schools. Heads Up serves approx 1,200 students during the course of our after-school tutoring, mentoring, and summer learning programs. Over 300 undergraduates participate as tutors, instructors, and mentors.  Heads Up has a full-time staff of 15 and a cash budget of $2.4 million.   Heads Up is one of the largest private, non-profit providers of after-school programs in DC Public Schools and the largest part-time AmeriCorps program in the city.

The development director will take a leadership role in helping us expand and diversify our funding to ensure we reach Heads Up’s strategic goals for the next several years.  The development director will be supported by a talented, diverse board of directors that includes former executive director and Heads Up founder Darin McKeever, Jack Davies, former head of AOL International, Carol Schneider, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Ken Slaughter, partner at Venable, LLP, David Sylvester, partner at Venture Philanthropy Partners, Fred Bollerer consultant with Real Change, LLC and other skilled professionals.  The development director will join a diverse staff of educators and other professionals dedicated to making Heads Up a national model and the leading provider of out-of-school programs and youth-related undergraduate service opportunities.

The Position and its Principal Responsibilities

Reporting to and working in close partnership with the executive director, the development director will be responsible for overseeing major aspects of the organization’s fundraising initiatives, and developing the team and systems needed to improve and at least double its revenue from individual major donors in the next three years.  Presently, approximately 51% of our cash revenue comes from government sources, 24% from individuals, 22% from foundations, and 3% from corporations and other private sources.  Heads Up also receives significant support from in-kind or 3rd party-sponsored sources, such as Federal Work-Study, the city’s summer meals programs, and DC Public Schools. 

The broad responsibilities for the development director include:

• Managing development activities to maximize Heads Up’s revenues and meet fundraising objectives;
• Develop detailed annual plans to ensure revenue growth in all streams, especially those with strategic significance;
• Direct and coordinate all private funder cultivation, solicitation, and reporting activities;
• Coordinate all government proposal-writing activity;
• Accurately forecast annual, quarterly, and monthly revenue; and
• Provide monthly assessments of development activities, noting areas of success, risk, and promise.

 

• Managing development staff and staff board development committee;
• Lead an ongoing effort to build an effective development team of staff, consultants, and volunteers (including board members and committees) to meet Heads Up’s annual revenue and other development-related goals;
• Hire, train and retain high quality development manager
• Staff Heads Up board of directors development committee;
• Work with development committee of the board to launch ‘presidents council’ of high net worth supporters to enhance relationships and ensure long term stability of the organization.  
  

 

• Establishing and managing effective programs to address the following strategic priority areas:
• Expanding the existing small base of major donors in the DC region into a broad base of high-net-worth supporters;
• Attracting national foundation support to enhance a strong base of local foundation champions;
• Developing corporate and other partnerships to defray cash expenses through in-kind contributions;
• Secure additional capacity-building support;
• Expand Heads Up’s list of small and mid size donors.

Desired Skills, Characteristics and Experience

We are looking for a highly intelligent, results-driven leader with demonstrated fundraising success, superior judgment and analytical skills, and an open and clear communication style.  The ideal development director will have at least five years of broad-based senior management and fundraising or sales experience.  Experience introducing and managing change and improvement in organizations of a similar scope and size will be a plus. Individuals with experience in a corporate environment in areas such as sales and marketing will also be considered when reviewing qualifications. 

As the person overseeing much of the day-to-day fundraising of a multi-faceted, growing, community-based organization, the development director should have:

• A record of accomplishment working in diverse, entrepreneurial, and intellectually charged work environments;
• Expertise in a wide range of development activities, including major donor solicitation, corporate and foundation grant-making, special events and proposal writing;
• Excellent leadership skills, which will be demonstrated at the managerial and board levels.
• Accomplished communications skills, particularly writing, in order to interact effectively at all levels, in and outside of the organization;
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically, tactically, and creatively; and
• Flexibility, a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude, and a sense of humor.

Compensation

Heads Up offers competitive salary and benefits, including health care coverage, a 401(k) savings plan, life insurance, and disability benefits. Salary will be commensurate with experience and qualifications, and competitive with senior development positions at other Washington-based, community-level nonprofit organizations of comparable size. 

Applying 

If you are interested in learning more about Heads Up, visit our website at www.headsup-dc.org. If you are interested in applying for this position, please send your resume and cover letter by email to rminter@headsup-dc.org. Heads Up is an equal opportunity employer.