Teach For America seeks a Managing Director, Development Coach to ensure that regional development teams design and execute effective development plans and systems that build and support sustainable local movements. The Development Coach will work with a portfolio of regions within a Home Team (there are 53 regions split between 4 home teams across the organization, and each defines the portfolio of regions being supported) to help them develop strong fundraising strategies, assess progress to goal, manage donors and strategically seize opportunities to overcome their development challenges. This position is a unique opportunity for an individual with advanced strategic thinking skills, strong prioritization skills, and a heightened ability to influence others towards outcomes.
The Development Coach is a member of the Advancement Team, a team-of-teams that coordinates and delivers fundraising support to regions in a timely and impactful way. That support ranges from operational development systems, prospect management, and strategic planning, to case for support, board development, and donor relation strategy. We view coaching as the practice of continuously improving the performance and development of our regional fundraising staff’s effectiveness. A successful coach will build trust with their portfolio of regions, secure buy-in on improvement strategies, and coach our fundraisers to better versions of themselves. Coaches also serve as connectors to help elevate the development work done by other national and regional teams that could impact other regions or the enterprise as a whole. A successful coach creates the right conditions for learning and results to happen, ensuring that organizational processes and systems across the enterprise motivate regional teams toward long-term sustainability.
The Development Coach will report directly to the Senior Managing Director, Development Partner. The Development Coach will work closely with regional development staff members, including regional boards and leadership, as well as other development staff across Teach For America, and on the national development team. It is the Development Partner and Coach who are responsible for intensively coaching regional development teams so that we add and build capacity to increase their effectiveness. We also intensively advocate for and develop a national system that nurtures our regions to maximize the long-term potential of the organization.
Direct fundraising experience is a must, with a special emphasis on development operations. The ideal candidate would have a track record of creating systems and processes that achieve fundraising success. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
Regional Portfolio Management (80%)
- Advise a portfolio of regional development teams on advancement fundamentals, setting goals and plans that allow the region to maximize their sustainable revenue opportunities and establish effective development operations and systems
- Build strong relationships and credibility with regions to effectively influence them to deliver results
- Provide ongoing coaching and support for regional development staff
- Foster strong relationships between regional staff and their national partners that are aligned with Teach For America’s core values and maximize the collective effort
- Coach regional staff on the creation of cultivation and stewardship systems to gain loyalty from donors, board members, and community partners
- Ensure that regions have access to training, tools, best practices, and other resources they need to meet their development goals
Team Strategic Initiatives & Execution (20%)
- Be a contact and subject area expert as it relates to effective development operations and strategy for the Advancement Team; give direction and advice as it relates to effective professional development curriculum and learning experiences for development staff, facilitate learning experiences such as conferences or workshop sessions
- Analyze national trends in development progress and create recommendations for shifts in strategy or execution based on acute observations and data such that regional coaching interventions are solving entrenched short and long-term challenges
- Help drive team projects and initiatives on an ad-hoc basis; participate in team learning opportunities and experiences
The successful candidate will care about issues related to education inequality, social justice, and/or human rights. In addition:
- You are obsessed with good fundraising habits. You understand the importance of a strong development operation in the near-term and future. You are able to motivate, teach, and push regions towards building on their assets to raise the funds they need year over year. You understand the importance of relationships in development and have experience cultivating and stewarding donors to be strong champions.
- You understand and value sustainability. You understand the relationship between revenue and expenses. You can predict fundraising results and also understand what indicators contribute to long-term success in development. You can ask the right questions to help you assess and build strategies that produce results that are also in line with team capacity and capabilities.
- You are all about results. You understand and believe in the importance of setting goals and meeting them. You are motivated by goals and will take each of your regions’ successes personally. You are also good at motivating others to reach goals and to learn from missed goals.
- You can navigate being both an expert/advisor and partner/member of a team. You know how to balance leadership with being a part of a team. You have confidence based on your experience. You also know the importance of shared experience and accountability at the team level. You are able to quickly build credibility and trust with team leaders and team members in support roles.
- At least 3 years of leadership level fundraising/development experience required, with a strong preference for development operations experience
- At least 5 years of work experience; experience in project management as well as developing and executing strategic and operational plans preferred
- At least 1-2 years of management experience required
- Prior consulting experience preferred
- Former Teach For America corps members are highly encouraged to apply
Skills
- Exceptional strategic thinking skills and an ability to analyze and synthesize data from a range of sources
- Exceptional goal orientation with a proven track record of success and attention to detail
- Exceptional interpersonal skills with a strong ability to develop beneficial relationships and networks in order to achieve results
- Comfort and capability in managing up, across, and down to drive progress
- Exceptional ability to prioritize and balance short and long-term projects effectively
- Strong commitment to Teach For America’s mission and core values
- Superior leadership; initiates projects, is extremely solutions-oriented, and is resourceful in generating results with minimal direction
- Strong commitment to the success and empowerment of regional team leadership; excellent client-service orientation
- Strong ability to thrive in dynamic, ambiguous environments; enjoys being challenged and derives energy from problem solving
- Optimism and great sense of humor is a plus
Work Demands:
- Up to 50% travel pending cadence of the year and candidate location