Director of Development
Overview
The Seattle Jewish Community School (SJCS) is an independent, inclusive Jewish day school that educates students from kindergarten through 5th grade. Located in Seattle, Washington’s Green Lake neighborhood, SJCS integrates academics, Jewish values and traditions, social-emotional learning, and specialty subjects. The school supports and nurtures each child’s intellectual, creative, social-emotional, and spiritual growth. It celebrates the joys of learning and community while preparing students to influence their world for the good.
SJCS seeks a Director of Development to join the school’s leadership team. Reporting to the Head of School, the Director of Development will lead all major gift, annual fund and event strategies. The successful candidate will be an experienced fundraiser who is highly organized, is able to manage multiple priorities effectively, and understands fundraising tactics to engage and raise funds from multiple constituency groups. While intended as a full-time position, the school will also consider a part-time alternative to meet the needs of a strong candidate. The SJCS professional environment is highly collaborative and seeks a team member who enjoys partnering internally with colleagues, faculty and administrators, as well as externally with lay leaders, donors, parents, grandparents, and alumni to support SJCS’s growth.
Key Responsibilities:
Major Gifts Solicitation and Management: The DoD will lead all major gift and supplemental campaign initiatives. The DoD is responsible for all major gift strategies and solicitations in conjunction with Head of School and Board members.
Annual Campaign Solicitation and Management: The DoD will manage all school- and community-wide fundraising campaigns such as pledge drives/appeals, events, student-led peer-to-peer campaigns and targeted constituent-based fundraising efforts. The DoD works with other team members on event planning and logistics, event marketing and promotion, day-of coordination for all events related to fundraising activities.
Board of Trustees Liaison: The DoD will report to the Head of School and will partner and collaborate with the Board to meet annual development goals. The DoD will educate the Board about fundraising strategies, manage solicitation assignments to achieve the school’s development goals, staff the board’s development committee, and report on KPIs to track progress and achievement.
Stewardship Program Coordination: The DoD will execute donor stewardship programs and coordinate donor appreciation activities including personal touch points such as thank you calls and gift deliveries. The DOD will create opportunities for donor stewardship meetings executed by the DOD together with the Head of School, Board Chair, Development Committee Chair and/or other Board members.
Development Communications: The DoD will coordinate with the SJCS administrative leadership team and Marketing and Communications Coordinator to create a synergized development communications calendar and produce development materials including appeal and event messaging, annual impact report, donor newsletters, and stewardship collateral.
Strategic Planning: The DoD will work with the Head of School to forecast growth via a major gifts pipeline and create development plans and strategies to increase revenue generation.
Qualifications:
● A Bachelor’s or post-Bachelor’s degree
● 5+ years of experience in fundraising or a related field
● Proven capacity to cultivate and solicit donors at all levels and to forge ongoing relationships with prospective and existing donors
● Experience and comfort working with high-level donors and philanthropists
● Skill in developing relationships with lay leadership; works collaboratively to motivate volunteers to meet goals
● Comprehensive understanding of annual giving, capital fundraising, and the relationship between the two
● Strong oral, written, and non-verbal communication skills, nurtured by curiosity and conviction
● Excellent organizational skills; comfort managing multiple projects and meeting deadlines
● Proactive and self-driven work style
● Goal-oriented and data-driven with clear follow-through
● Strong independent decision-making skills
● Proficiency with Microsoft and Google Suite and nonprofit CRMs
● Understanding of Jewish values, with a passion for SJCS’s mission
● Sustained commitment to the practices of self-reflection, collegiality, and professionalism
● An explorer’s mentality with appreciation for the values and practices of flexibility, experimentation, reconsideration, and good humor
● Readiness to make mistakes and learn from them along with others who do the same
Salary Range: Full-time Salary range between $90,000 - $120,000 based on experience.
Interested, qualified candidates should send a cover letter and resume to jobs@sjcs.net and write Director of Development in the Subject Line.
SJCS is committed to an inclusive, welcoming community, where all are treated with respect. SJCS provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws relating to equal employment and non-discrimination. SJCS does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, age, disability, or sexual orientation. In the event that an otherwise qualified employee has a physical or mental hardship covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act and needs an accommodation to overcome that hardship, SJCS will make any reasonable accommodation that will not cause an undue hardship for the school.