Senior Development Officer
Job Description: Senior Development Officer
THE OPPORTUNITY
Women’s Legal Education & Action Fund (LEAF) is seeking an experienced Senior Development Officer (SDO) to lead and grow our ambitious fund development program. Our aim is to continue to diversify sources of private philanthropy (Foundations, Corporations, High Net-Worth Individuals, and Labour Unions) while deepening our market share of Online and Planned Gift donors).
Our ideal candidate will lead the implementation of a new strategic roadmap for fund development, demonstrate strong leadership, and manage a diverse portfolio of prospects and donors. The SDO will be integral to partnering with LEAF’s Executive Director & General Counsel and the Board of Directors to re-envision and re-inspire the Board’s Fund Development Committee. Ultimately, we seek to significantly grow current revenues while also expanding the size and expertise of our Fund Development team, providing career development opportunities linked to the successful achievement of our goals.
WHO WE ARE LEAF is a national non-profit organization which uses litigation, law reform, and public education to advance the substantive equality of women, girls, trans, and non-binary people in Canada. Our national office is based in Toronto, and we have volunteer branches in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Quebec, and Halifax. We intervene in legal cases throughout Canada to advance gender equality in Canada – helping to prevent violence, eliminate discrimination in the workplace, provide better maternity benefits, ensure a right to pay equity, and allow access to reproductive freedoms. We push for progressive law reform on issues central to gender equality, including sexual violence, online hate, technology-facilitated gender-based violence, and basic income. We use education to amplify our legal victories, and improve people’s understanding of their rights. For more information, visit www.leaf.ca.
WHO YOU ARE
You are an experienced fundraiser with a passion for gender equality. You bring a spirit of activism to your fundraising and are familiar with intersectional feminist work. You are comfortable leveraging your skills of analysis, collaboration, and communication to achieve measurable goals. You are also a strategic and results-driven fundraiser who is passionate about philanthropy and building trusting relationships with donors, colleagues, and volunteers.
You bring a high level of expertise in envisaging and negotiating Major Gift donations, with a demonstrable record of success in identifying, cultivating, asking, and stewarding major donors. You are enthusiastic and self-motivated, committed, as well as proactive and focused. You have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and are excited to work with our team to advance gender equality in Canada, while also growing your fundraising expertise and elevating your role within LEAF as the Development team grows.
KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES
● Raise Major Gifts in support of LEAF’s mission to advance substantive equality for all women, girls, trans, and non-binary people
● Lead and manage an ambitious, productive fund development program that achieves the goals established at the start of each fiscal year
● Expand the profile of LEAF among its donors, prospects, and other key stakeholders to meet the organization’s current and future financial needs
Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Senior Development Officer is accountable for the following key responsibilities:
1. Donor and Prospects Management (35%):
● Work collaboratively with LEAF’s senior leadership and Board of Directors to successfully engage, advance, and retain donor relationships (individuals, corporations, labor unions, and grant-making foundations, as well as annual donors and planned gift donors)
● Ensure that proposals are written and donors are encouraged to give more generously, while also recording fundraising activities in our CRM system (DonorPerfect)
● Grow the Major Gifts pipeline, ensuring that all donors are appropriately stewarded, recognized, involved, and retained in philanthropic support
2. Fundraising Development (30%):
● Work collaboratively to develop and implement essential Major Gift systems and processes including a moves management practice, prospect pipeline rating system within DonorPerfect, key performance indicators, and measurement tools
● Engage in Business Development in new markets through online/digital marketing donations, and develop and build LEAF’s Legacy Giving potential
● Lead sponsorship and donor engagement initiatives associated with LEAF’s annual Equality Day event
3. Collaborative Leadership (20%):
● Collaborate with LEAF’s Communications and Advocacy Manager to effectively develop messaging to increase fundraising and attract new donors
● Re-inspire the engagement of LEAF’s Board Fund Development Committee to advance LEAF’s fundraising objectives
● In consultation with LEAF’s senior leadership, lead the Major Gifts strategy and develop an environment that builds cohesiveness, collaboration, operational effectiveness and efficiency, and upholds fundraising standards
● Implement best practices to enhance fundraising performance including managing goals and plans, process improvement, progress tracking, and performance metrics
● Oversee Donor Relations portfolios, ensuring appropriate stewardship, recognition, and involvement of all donors across the giving spectrum
● Supervise and mentor the Fundraising Coordinator to successfully support fund development efforts
4. Planning (15%):
● Develop and implement operational plans for increasing LEAF’s philanthropic revenue including fundraising budgets, forecasting, variances, and performance metrics
● Collaborate with the Executive Director & General Counsel and Director of Operations to evaluate performance and achievement of strategic objectives and metrics
● Monitor and report on fundraising activities and financial performance to the Executive Director & General Counsel, Director of Operations, and Board of Directors
● Oversee the financial operation, budget performance, and financial assets and resources for fundraising
● Prepare written materials including tailored proposals, correspondence, impact reports, and customized stewardship reports
● Ensure best practices are established and maintained in call reporting, record updating, and data entry of moves management with donors/prospects
5. Other tasks as assigned by LEAF’s senior leadership
EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
Required Criteria
● Minimum five (5) years of direct fundraising experience in securing major gifts from high net-worth individuals, corporations, foundations, planned givers and/or labour unions
● Proven experience in cultivating major gifts as well as meeting ambitious organizational fundraising goals, and knowledge of the philanthropic landscape in Canada
● Demonstrated understanding of strategic planning to meet revenue targets
● Demonstrated ability to build relationships with both internal and external key stakeholders
● Demonstrated experience of engaging and leveraging a Board of Directors to achieve fundraising targets
● Demonstrated commitment to principles of intersectional feminism, equity, diversity, and inclusion
● Sound knowledge of fundraising principles and practices related to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), and Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) gift acceptance and Donor Bill of Rights guidelines
● Experience with developing and adhering to a budget and business plan
● Effective demonstration of ability to write proposals and report on impact of donors’ giving
● Strong administrative and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate vision and strategy into tactics and actions ● Demonstrated ability to prioritize competing demands and meet deadlines ● Demonstrated ability to work independently and participate collaboratively in a team environment
● Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills
● Experience working with CRMs, preferably DonorPerfect ● Undergraduate degree or equivalent in a related field or equivalent work experience
Advantageous Criteria
● More than five (5) years of campaign and major gift fundraising, and one (1) or more year(s) of management experience
● Legacy Giving knowledge and experience
● French language competency
Particular Working Conditions
● This is a hybrid position that requires at least two days a week of work from LEAF’s office location in downtown Toronto
● The position involves occasional evening and weekend commitments
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
This is a full-time, permanent position. The hiring salary range for this position is $90,000 to $110,000, commensurate with experience. Additional benefits include three weeks’ vacation to start and enrolment in LEAF’s comprehensive benefits plan, which includes health and dental benefits.
HOW TO APPLY
LEAF encourages applications from candidates who reflect the diversity of our communities. We strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, and racialized people, as well as from newcomers, gender-diverse people, and members of other equity-deserving groups. If you are comfortable, please indicate in your cover letter if you identify as a member of an equity-deserving group.
LEAF welcomes and encourages applications from people living with disabilities for all available positions. Where possible, accommodations will be made available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
For more information about this opportunity, please book a brief meeting with Olumide Akerewusi via Calendly: https://calendly.com/agentmide/leaf-senior-development-officer-discussion
To apply, please submit a Cover Letter and Resume to hiringcommittee@leaf.ca as a single PDF attachment. In the subject line of your email application, reference “LEAF Senior Development Officer”. Please address your application to the Hiring Committee. In your cover letter, please ensure that you explain why you would like to work at LEAF, and why you are qualified for the position as tied to the responsibilities, qualifications, and experience listed above.
HIRING TIMELINE
Applications will be accepted until 11:59PM EST on November 26, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Interviews will take place virtually. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.