Remote Senior Specialist, Major Gifts

Summary

Join a powerful global peace movement that believes in the power of bringing diverse people together to find solutions, as a Senior Specialist, Major Gifts (West Coast) at Search for Common Ground. The role involves identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gifts from individual donors, family foundations, and other prospective high-net-worth supporters aligned with the organization's mission and values.

Requirements

• Proven track record closing major gifts of five, six, and seven-figures
• Experience working as part of a growing new program, with knowledge on building programs
• Familiar with Jewish culture and Jewish philanthropy, with an interest in conflict resolution, and Israel/Palestine
• Works collaboratively with senior managers and colleagues sharing senior expertise; builds teams for successful implementation of projects and programs
• Effectively influences vendors, organizations, professional associations, partners, funders, and Search's network of experts critical to the area of purview
• Makes decisions on existing information when it may not be complete
• Adapts to the personal style and preferences of colleagues to assess their needs and preferences; tolerates ambiguity
• Articulates Search/function program/project goals and objectives within and external to Search; develops program objectives, indicators, and results; and participates in strategy development for the team
• Creates standards across functions globally within Shared Services teams with the ability to create a best fit that considers international norms and compliance while supporting an organizational culture for work
• Overcomes obstacles, including personal biases, by following Search's ethics code in complex situations; displayed in activities as ethical principles and values that guide professional interactions
• Assesses risks and opportunities in a complex environment and convenes discussions to lead to a favorable outcome
• Establishes tools to monitor quality of work and verification of information
• Has knowledge of project management tools including technology as resources and applies delegation skills to support the development of others, as well as the building of efficiency and reduction of stress
• Remain alert and responsive to any safeguarding risks, acquire relevant knowledge and skills which will enable you to promote strong safeguarding practices, understand the safeguarding policy and procedures, and conduct yourself in a manner consistent with the Safeguarding Policy

Responsibilities

• Identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts from individual donors, family foundations, and other prospective high-net-worth supporters aligned with the organization's mission and values
• Develop and execute personalized cultivation strategies, including donor meetings, events, and communication plans, to foster long-term relationships and maximize donor engagement
• Manage a portfolio of 150+ prospects, maintaining regular communication and engagement with each donor to deepen their involvement and support for the organization's initiatives
• Create individual goals for each prospect in the portfolio based on the donor’s history of giving and the organization’s knowledge of the prospect’s capacity
• Work closely with our CEO and Director of Development to strategically prioritize and make gift requests ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, tailoring proposals and solicitation materials to align with individual donors' interests and philanthropic goals
• Collaborate with the CEO and fundraising team to create compelling fundraising materials, proposals, and impact reports tailored to the interests and priorities of major donors
• Establish a robust donor stewardship program to ensure continuous donor engagement, recognition, and appreciation through correspondence, professional proposals, mailings and acknowledgements
• Conduct in-depth prospect research to identify new major gift opportunities and expand the organization's network of potential philanthropic supporters
• Coordinate closely with program staff to stay updated on the organization's initiatives, impact, and success stories, effectively communicating the organization's programmatic achievements to donors
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor records, donor correspondence, and gift documentation in compliance with organizational policies and procedures
• Act as an ambassador for Search for Common Ground, representing the organization at events, conferences, and networking opportunities to promote its mission and philanthropic initiatives

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven track record of successful portfolio management, campaign experience and closing major gifts
• Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to articulate complex issues in a clear and compelling manner and excellent attention to detail
• High degree of integrity, initiative, resourcefulness, and decision-making skills
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced environment, meet concurrent deadlines, organize time and priorities, and to do so in collaboration with diverse stakeholders
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build rapport with donors, board members, program staff, and other diverse stakeholders
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications especially Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint, and experience managing donor databases and utilizing fundraising software for donor relationship management
• Demonstrated understanding of philanthropic trends and best practices in major gift fundraising and donor stewardship, especially related to Jewish philanthropy
• An advanced degree or certification in fundraising is a plus