Director of Campaign & Strategic Initiatives

Careers At Sidwell Friends School

Welcome to the Human Resources Department at Sidwell Friends School. Sidwell Friends prides itself in offering a high quality educational experience to those who will lead the next generation. To that end, we are seeking qualified individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities to enhance the student experience at Sidwell Friends. We encourage you to review the job postings below and to contact us for additional information.

Director of Campaign & Strategic Initiatives

The Director of Campaign and Strategic Initiatives will report to the Senior Director of Individual Giving and provide leadership and volunteer management for the capital campaign and Advancement strategic intitiatives. The Director will advise, problem-solve, and serve as a partner to develop strategies to meet organizational and campaign goals. The role will have both internal- and external-facing responsibilities utilizing project management to support planning, programming, volunteers, and fundraising.

The position will work closely with the Assistant Head of School for Advancement, Advancement leadership, members of the Advancement Team, and volunteer committees.

Campaign Responsibilities:

• Partner with Advancement leadership to prioritize and manage all activities of the campaign.
• Track and report on the campaign progress including the timeline, benchmarks, gift tables, and other measurement tools. Routinely prepare and provide campaign statistical updates and analysis.
• Lead the campaign volunteer committee serving as their primary liaison. Plan and manage all committee meetings, train and prepare volunteers for engagement and solicitation activity, follow up on key strategies, and provide general support. Lead with proactive engagement.
• Serve as a key staff member of the campaign volunteer committee to provide input on campaign best practices. Support subcommittees by constituent type or interest area (parents, reunion, etc)
• Maintain and manage all campaign volunteer committee materials including training guides, solicitation briefings, and supportive campaign collateral. Prepare customized campaign materials.
• Assist with the identification of prospective campaign volunteers, initiate recruitment, provide onboarding, and lead strategic next steps.
• Lead prospect identification discussions with internal and external stakeholders. Coordinate with Advancement Services to ensure all notes are recorded in Raiser’s Edge/ NXT in a timely fashion.
• Prioritize donors, conduct research, and draft communications, proposals, donor profiles and briefing memos for prospective campaign donors.
• Partner with Advancement colleagues on the volunteer use of GiveCampus and ensure all volunteer-led activity is accurately recorded in Raiser’s Edge/NXT.
• Organize and manage campaign cultivation events, solicitation and stewardship strategies, and celebratory opportunities in collaboration with Individual Giving and Engagement teams.
• Contribute toward the writing of stewardship reports or other publications as needed.
• Lead the planning of the campaign finale and full committee stewardship activity.
• Manage and update the campaign budget as needed.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Prepare deliverables, including drafting letters, meeting minutes, correspondence, emails, internal marketing materials, and other tasks that facilitate Advancement leadership’s ability to effectively lead the campaign fundraising for Sidwell Friends School.
• Coordinate and communicate with Advancement staff and other departments, and take steps to ensure maximum efficiency, harmony, and good workflow.
• Project management of the comprehensive capital campaign including volunteer engagement. Utilize a calendar-based approach to ensure deadlines are met, key benchmarks are achieved, and input and review by the Assistant Head of School is incorporated.
• Staff appropriate internal meetings and facilitate cross-team coordination of projects and assignments.
• Provide management when needed for on and off-site meetings, in coordination with Advancement staff and Senior Directors.
• Prioritize conflicting needs; handle matters expeditiously, and proactively, and follow through on projects to successful completion maintaining sensitivity to deadlines.
• As requested, participate in internal and external communications on behalf of the Individual Giving Team. Drafting and overseeing external communications as necessary.
• Provide project planning and management for departmental projects and initiatives as requested and/or needed.
• Provide ad-hoc analysis and decision support when necessary and/or requested.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

The Director of Campaign and Strategic Initiatives will have a bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) and at least 6-8 years of experience in organizational administration with at least two years of experience in a similar position. The ideal candidate will have the acumen and finesse to handle complex situations and multiple responsibilities simultaneously managing long-term projects with the urgency of immediate priorities. He/She must also have the demonstrated ability to handle highly confidential information and act as a liaison between Advancement and other internal and external constituencies. He/she must possess exceptional judgment and communication skills and must exhibit the skills to collaborate with and achieve actionable results through others; the ability to build strong and sustainable relationships; and the capability to interact within all levels of the School community.

Additional requirements for the position are:

• Experience with and understanding of capital campaigns
• Knowledge of financial management, statistical analysis, and strategic planning
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a good sense of humor
• Charismatic and pursuasive public speaking skills
• Willingness to travel as necessary
• Strong interest in the mission and fundraising success of Sidwell Friends School
• Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Excellent time management skills and ability to meet deadlines
• Great communication skills, both written and verbal
• Ability to exercise discretion and independent judgment
• Ability to work effectively and tactfully with the public
• Excellent oral and written communication skills