Director of Development

Background

International House (I-House) is an interdisciplinary residency program in New York City for graduate students and young professionals from around the world. Founded in 1924, I-House was built on the simple yet radical notion that living in a diverse community instills a lifelong dedication to cross-cultural understanding. Through an intentional admissions process, and both informal and targeted programming aimed at building core competencies in social and cultural intelligence, I-House is leading the way in creating a more secure, peaceful, and collaborative coexistence across the globe.

Position Overview

I-House seeks an energetic, collaborative, and resourceful people-person to join a growing team of development professionals as the Director of Development. Reporting to the VP of Development, Alumni Relations, and Communications, the individual in this role will be responsible for raising support from alumni, friends, and trustees, and creating and working a portfolio of prospects and donors. The Director will participate as a lead member of the development department, working to establish and exemplify best practices for the team.

I-House is celebrating its centennial year in 2024-2025 and will be planning for a comprehensive capital campaign to mark the milestone and position the organization for success in the next century. This position will help establish the vision and goals for the campaign as well as giving opportunities, naming opportunities, and campaign collateral materials.

The Director of Development will have the opportunity to help grow the team, and to create initiatives to enhance I-House’s fundraising and alumni relations activities. The successful candidate will also support collaborative efforts to plan, design, build, and continuously improve I-House’s advancement operations.

 As a member of our team, the Director will be intellectually curious; have excellent communication skills; think proactively and take initiative; have a can-do, customer-service oriented attitude; and embody I-House’s core values of respect, empathy, and moral courage.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising

• Build and manage a portfolio of approximately 125 alumni prospects and develop and execute individual strategies to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors
• Perform direct solicitations independently, or in tandem with I-House leadership and volunteers, to drive significant philanthropy
• Work closely with the VP and other I-House leadership to prepare, plan, and launch a comprehensive capital campaign, including but not limited to feasibility, infrastructure development, case for support, goal setting, volunteer identification and recruitment, prospect prioritization, and internal and external communications
• Collaborate with VP and other team members to help build list of giving and naming opportunities, and develop gift pyramid for campaign
• Create, implement, and lead consistent direct mail and email solicitation program for alumni audience based on industry best practices; work with team members to execute strategies to elevate, maximize and drive increased philanthropy to I-House
• Devise annual giving strategies focused on I-House’s priority areas of unrestricted support, financial aid, programs, and capital projects
• Partner with Director of Prospect Research to compile and analyze metrics to establish baselines and track department’s progress toward fundraising goals as well as goals for prospect and donor engagement; meet individual activity, revenue, and reporting goals
• Guide I-House’s efforts to promote inclusive and impact-focused fundraising
• Help educate current residents about the importance of philanthropy, and involve them in stewarding donors and in giving to I-House through engaging programming

Alumni Relations

• Collaborate and coordinate with VP and Director of Alumni Relations to develop and oversee a comprehensive and strategic plan to increase outreach to and engagement with I-House alumni in key geographic regions
• Oversee the planning and successful execution of various alumni focused events at I-House and/or hosted by trustees or alumni volunteers, with a focus on alumni in New York as well as the World Council of Alumni Partner with team members to produce top-quality and effective communications for alumni audience through the website, social media, e-newsletters, and direct alumni engagement materials
• Collaborate with Director of Alumni Relations to utilize archives and current residents’ experiences to cultivate alumni in preparation for the centennial and a campaign Assess and leverage existing alumni relationships to build a well-defined community of alums in support of future generations

Team Leadership

• Provide recommendations and consultation to set department policies and procedures, build team, and foster a collegial, cooperative, and transparent workplace Manage and/or mentor key individuals to further institutional goals and build skillsets
• Support VP in overseeing day-to-day logistics of department, interacting closely with team members, finding solutions to challenges as they arise, including filtering key information to share with VP and other I-House leadership
• Keep VP and applicable team members informed on prospect/donor issues and opportunities, update database on a regular basis with current information and actions
• Perform other duties as assigned by the VP of Development, Alumni Relations, and Communications

Qualifications and Experience

• A Bachelor’s degree is required. Advanced degree is desirable, but not required
• At least 8 years of solid professional nonprofit fundraising experience, preferably within an academic organization with alumni
• Demonstrated record of successful face-to-face solicitations, including the design and execution of prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies across the annual, major, and planned giving spectrum
• Proven ability to solicit and close five and six-figure gifts
• Experience planning cultivation and stewardship events, launching a campaign, and building a major gift pipeline
• Excellent project management skills and follow-through, with the ability to prioritize among a variety of tasks to meet deadlines, and delegate appropriately
• Strong writing and editing skills with an emphasis on solicitation letters and emails, alumni engagement materials, proposals, and cases for support
• Technologically savvy with strong command of donor databases such as Raiser’s Edge, e-tools, and Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint Proven ability to apply good judgment and responsible decision-making, work with a high degree of professionalism, ethical sensitivity, confidentiality, and discretion
• Familiarity with the philanthropic community in New York City and Tristate area. Specific familiarity with international fundraising is a plus.
• Goal-oriented and creative with the ability to thrive in a face-paced environment
• Commitment to the mission and values of I-House is critical, as is the ability to interact and engage effectively with people from a wide variety of backgrounds
• Willingness to travel domestically and internationally
• Ability to work occasional weekend and evening hours