The Director of Development & Communications is responsible for developing and effectively stewarding a diverse and sustainable local investor base of approximately $3 Million annually in the Oklahoma City (OKC) area, while also managing our strategic communications efforts. You will design and execute fundraising and stewardship campaigns and, in partnership with the Regional Communications Managing Director and our consulting firm, regional communications plan to promote our regional priorities. To be successful, you must be a critical thinker who is able to develop strategies and an operating plan to achieve regional priorities, exercise sound judgment, build strong relationships, and communicate compellingly – in person, in writing, and via other means, such as social media and digital communications - about our mission. You must be comfortable in an entrepreneurial environment and possess an exceptionally high level of personal responsibility for achieving ambitious results. Your success in the role will require deep collaboration with our People, Culture, and Strategy team led by our Chief of Staff, and our Program Continuum leadership team. Similarly, you will help coordinate efforts with our Associate, Development and Communications Operations. You will report directly to the Executive Director.
- Grants Management & Compliance (20%) – develop and manage systems that ensure we are meeting our regional grant management responsibilities in collaboration with our national team, to include:
- Providing greater direction to Finance on which OKC expenses restricted grant budget proposals should capture
- Tagging OKC expenses to grants and checking tagged expenses to ensure compliance
- Keeping tabs on how much of the grant has been drawn-down
- Identifying draw-down risks (i.e., situations where there’s a risk the region will not be able to draw down the full grant) and taking corrective action immediately to remedy any issues
- Planning & Execution (40%) - Work closely with the ED and Regional Advisory Board to create the long-range regional development and communications vision and annual strategic and operating plans. Own the translation of the vision for development and communications into actionable set of strategies, tactics, and milestones that you, the team, board, and partners execute with high proficiency. Because of your thoughtful planning and disciplined execution, we are hitting our cash-in benchmarks consistently across all funding streams and meeting our communications deliverables by stewarding our diverse constituencies with masterful storytelling of our mission.
- Data Quality & Tracking (15%) – developing and maintaining clear and comprehensive systems across all development and communications channels that comply with TFA policies and expectations. This includes but is not limited to donor tracking systems, data management in TFACT, communications systems like Pardot, and meeting prep and download systems to ensure quality assurance to message and brand.
- Regional Advisory Board Support (10%) – serve as a liaison to the board Development Committee Chair and members to ensure appropriate data, resources, and supports are in place so that the committee meets its fiscal year goals.
- Constituent Engagement & Mobilization (10%) – recruit, invest, prepare, and coordinate staff, board, corps members, and alumni to engage as active champions of our development and communications objectives to increase our reach, network, and impact.
- Regional Responsibilities (5%) – support selection and matriculation efforts, along with other cross-functional duties and initiatives that accelerate our collective progress towards our regional plan and direction.
- 3 – 5 years of experience in development or communications-related role preferred
- Uncommon level of personal responsibility with exceptional goal orientation and a proven track record of success
- Keen understanding of the beliefs, contexts, and motivations of others
- Strong written communicator: can craft compelling communications about our organization, mission, and goals
- Effective verbal communication highly preferred; must possess a mature and professional presence
- Teach For America corps member and/or staff member experience preferred
- Knowledge of the philanthropic community in Oklahoma and their motivations a strong plus
Work Demands
- Ability to travel to in-person meetings in various U.S. cities [3-5 times/year]
- Ability to travel independently, by car, to multiple locations for work each day that may be significant distances from one another
- Occasional weekend or evening work is required
- Ability to navigate facilities that may or may not be ADA-compliant
- Ability to lift and transport up to 30 pounds for work purposes
Skills
- Organizing, Planning, and Executing - with evidence of demonstrated results
- Creating accountability systems for execution, tracking, data analysis, and collaboration/knowledge sharing
- Expert level written communication and multi-media skills
- Preferred proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, Salesforce, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, video editing, and production tools, and social media platforms
- Ability to analyze and use large amounts of data to inform and adjust strategy; uses sound judgment to prioritize actions
- Strength in developing strong relationships with staff, corps members, alumni, board members, external partners, and donors that drive results and contribute to a thriving culture
- You must be passionate about issues related to educational equity and access and can articulate the unique role philanthropy and communications play in driving systemic change forward.
- You are naturally empathetic and can quickly understand people’s needs and aspirations.
- You leverage deep connections to people and the delicate stewardship of those relationships to keep diverse constituencies and coalitions united towards shared action.
- You are a masterful analyst that makes data-driven decisions and can synthesize the most meaningful trends and concepts upwards and laterally to invest others in a direction.
- You believe content reigns in today’s highly connected world and you understand the nuance of powerful storytelling to drive Teach For America’s brand, priorities, and mission forward