The Senior Managing Director, Development & External Affairs (SMDDEA) is a senior leader on the Houston team and serves on the regional leadership team. In this role, you will inspire and motivate your team to tell the story of Teach For America in Houston thus leading them to build champions that support us financially and advocate for us in the community.
Specifically, you will lead the region’s fundraising campaign to raise over $7M each year from the greater Houston community. This campaign will allow us to continue to grow and strengthen the corps in Houston, engage and activate our alumni, and put Teach For America in the best position to meet our partners’ demand for our teachers and leaders across our community. You will also oversee our regional communications strategy. You will work closely with the Executive Director to develop a bold regional strategy that accelerates progress toward educational equity. You will lead and manage a team of 5 phenomenal, committed and fun development professionals to execute against this vision.
You will report to the Executive Director in Houston, Tiffany Cuellar Needham.
Set the region’s development plan; manage a sophisticated fundraising operation; and build, manage and coach a diverse team while serving as a core values leader across the region (45%)
- Operate as a cultural leader in Houston by creating a strong team culture rooted in our core values and reflective of our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusiveness
- As a member of the regional leadership team, help set the short- and long-term vision and direction of the region, including crafting our 2020 Plan
- Lead, manage, and coach a team of five to reach your funding goal of $7.2M in Fiscal Year 2019 and to build a network of external supporters who are inspired and activated by our mission and our impact
- Build a strong team and ensure all staff members are maximizing their individual strengths and assets within the context of the regional team and larger organization, with explicit professional development priorities
- Ensure our actions are in line with our strategic plan, striking a balance between ambition and feasibility; ensure that our development outcomes provide our staff, corps members and alumni with the resources needed and they are positioned to maximize their impact with students and families
- Develop compelling and effective pitches, proposals, fundraising campaigns and tactical plans to reach various donor segments
- Track and assess team-wide progress to goals and maintain strong operational systems for efficient and effective team execution that align to the experience to which we aspire for all of our constituents
- Be able to effectively and efficiently identify the root cause(s) of situations and recommend options or solutions, with implications for addressing them
Build Catalytic Relationships with External Key Stakeholders (40%)
- Manage a portfolio of donors to increase awareness and understanding of our mission and theory of change as well as solicit renewed and upgraded gifts from your portfolio across the fiscal year
- Work in partnership with members of the national development team to get advisory support and secure multi-year gifts
- Quickly build strong, dynamic partnerships with key stakeholders from our community including but not limited to: current and past regional board members, regional board development committee members, current and future funding partners, other Teach For America national and regional teams
- Work in partnership with all members of the regional board to secure fundraising dollars and build new donor relationships
- Work with board chairs to manage and cultivate board giving and support
- Craft the agenda, prepare all materials , and lead regional board development committee meetings to ensure active engagement by all members and that board development goals are met
Fulfill Critical Regional Team Responsibilities (15%)
- Carry out foundational activities that ensure everyone in our region is rooted in our organization’s foundations and our regional strategy, has the opportunity to give input on major decisions, grows as professionals, and strengthens our team culture by:
- Engaging in leadership team and regional team retreats and meetings;
- Preparing and leading check-ins with your manager around progress toward goals;
- Leveraging national resources (e.g. weekly newsletters, daily gift reports, etc.);
- Preparing for and engaging in our performance development program; and
- Upholding our data management, office operations, and fiscal responsibilities.
- Make a direct impact on the organizational mission of enlisting, developing and mobilizing leaders to strengthen the movement for educational equity by interviewing applicants to Teach For America; communicating regularly with incoming corps members; and assisting with member facing events, our alumni giving campaign, alumni survey, and other initiatives that impact our members and partners.
- Have five to seven years of work experience, at least three of which include managing teams
- Have experience leading million dollar fundraising campaigns (ideal, not required)
Work Demands:
- Be able to work weekends and evenings, as necessary
- Be able to travel up to 2 times per year for conferences and professional development
Skills:
- Experience using Salesforce (ideal but not required)
- Proficient in MS Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint (advanced proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint ideal)