Strategy Director, Fundraising

Summary

Join Blue State's Strategy Team and help progressive causes achieve lasting change. As a Strategy Director, you will develop strategies for supporter engagement, drive results, and adapt to learnings. You will generate audience insights, develop programs, set KPIs, inform testing plans, and provide data and tech consulting. You'll work with a multi-disciplinary team and mentor colleagues. Blue State offers a purpose-driven environment, partnering with leading causes and brands. The role requires strong analytical skills, leadership abilities, and a passion for creating positive change.

Requirements

• Have at least 8+ years of relevant experience in a relevant role, with a proven track record of driving income through digital campaigns and channels
• Be a thinker and a doer; this role asks you to both provide oversight and be willing to roll up your sleeves and dig into the work
• Not be a lone wolf. Genuinely enjoy bringing others along in the process of the work. The words “that’s not my job” aren’t part of your vocabulary–particularly when it’s clear that those around you may be still learning and in need of support
• Have command of a room and superb presentation skills. Have the ability to build trust and confidence in early interactions, and understand the art of how to sell great ideas and great work
• Be resilient and able to adapt to new situations, solve problems on the fly, and communicate with those around you. Teamwork and scrappiness required, with an agile approach to projects which may change course regularly based on results and the external environment requiring a pivot
• Be a people leader, experienced and dedicated to growing and mentoring teams, while being open to feedback and what you can learn from others
• Have a shared passion and curiosity for making change. This includes comfort with ambiguity, a restlessness that resists the status quo, and a commitment to quality that ensures we’re always making progress
• Be steeped in the art of empathy, practice mutual respect, and will act as a role model at Blue State. A commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is vital
• Experience of direct response fundraising performance and/or e-commerce experience working to drive digital results is essential. You will be expected to articulate email, social media, paid media, content strategy, and UX recommendations and best practices, as well as have an understanding of how propositions and creative lives on a range of integrated channels, supporting online and offline performance

Responsibilities

• Surface the audience insights and business intelligence that drive breakthrough campaigns and experiences; ensuring creative execution maps back to the strategy & recommending pivots and enhancements as needed
• Establish strategic direction for campaigns, organizations, branding projects, or products by defining objectives, audiences, budgets and KPIs
• Translate research and performance data findings into actionable tools and formats like audience and budget prioritizations, user journeys, and strategic plans
• Lead client and internal brainstorms, planning meetings and presentations, and program development workshops
• Use frameworks like SWOTs, gap analyses, positioning matrix, cost/benefit analysis, audience persona mapping, landscape research, creative briefs, strategy maps, theories of change, cases for support, etc. to guide our strategies, clients and teams, creating clear and compelling end-to-end deliverables
• Grow and manage client portfolios through regular account planning activities, and create client roadmaps over months and years where appropriate
• Craft and pitch new business as well as represent Blue State via event participation and other thought leadership
• Strengthen and evolve our fundraising and mobilization capabilities
• Mentor and upskill team members

Preferred Qualifications

Primary research (interviews, surveys, focus groups, creative testing) as well as secondary (desk research, landscape and trend analysis, using audience intelligence tools, social listening) skills desirable

Benefits

• Unlimited time-off (inclusive of sick, personal, and vacation days)
• $1,000 annually in professional development funds
• Competitive health, dental, and vision insurance
• Inclusive family planning coverage, including fertility, surrogacy, and adoption benefits
• Flexible and health savings accounts
• 401K & employer match
• Generous paid holiday schedule
• 12-week fully-paid parental leave for all parents-to-be
• Short-term and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Remote work flexibility