Harlem Lacrosse, Senior Director of Development

ORGANIZATION

Harlem Lacrosse is on a mission to empower the children who are most at risk for academic decline and dropout to rise above their challenges and reach their full potential. By providing opportunities, relationships, and experiences that activate the skills and traits to put youth on a path to success, Harlem Lacrosse inspires children to dream about tomorrow while working hard on the field and in the classroom today.

Founded in 2011 in New York, Harlem Lacrosse has grown to five cities, 17 schools, 33 programs, and more than 1,200 participants. In addition to developing crucial athletic and social-emotional skills, our students consistently outperform their peers academically, passing their classes, graduating high school, and enrolling and persisting in college at a higher rate than other students in their schools. HL teams have won city-wide championships in each of the last three years, and many alumni go on to play lacrosse in college. 

To learn more about Harlem Lacrosse, please visit https://www.harlemlacrosse.org/. 

OPPORTUNITY

Harlem Lacrosse seeks a Senior Director of Development to increase the organization’s overall fundraising capacity and to lead the fundraising and marketing functions for the organization at the national level. This position is an ideal opportunity for an experienced professional with demonstrated expertise in fundraising, building a comprehensive development strategy, marketing and communications for a direct-service organization, and working with a talented team to set and reach shared goals.

The ideal candidate will be an action-oriented, nonprofit executive who thrives in a hands-on work environment. They will be a manager and leader, who is comfortable rolling up their sleeves to get the job done, regardless of the task; who leverages the skills and experience of the entire team and actively participates in delivering necessary outcomes; a national leader who can bring a local perspective, as required by the work, while never losing sight of broader organizational goals. They will have a racial equity lens, and can bring an understanding of how to promote racial equity in fundraising. They will have exceptional people skills, are a collaborative team leader, and are energized by the role of development and marketing in enabling life-changing experiences for youth.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Responsibilities of the Senior Director of Development include:

• Development Team Management and Administration: As a Development Leader for Harlem Lacrosse and a member of the Leadership Team, this role will provide management and oversight to the staff of the Development team. Provide regular feedback, professional development and coaching to help each staff member excel, while also being accountable for all administrative aspects of the Development function, which includes strategy and oversight of donor data, gift recognition, and reporting for both internal and external audiences.
• Direct Fundraising and Strategy: Set the vision for fundraising, and collaborate with the CEO, Regional/Executive Directors, and Development team leaders to refine and implement a strategic fundraising plan that leverages a CRM to optimize and integrate fundraising efforts at both the local and national levels. Build relationships for Harlem Lacrosse across all of its Boards, while leveraging and balancing the time of the CEO, Board, and other senior leaders in national and local fundraising efforts.
• Marketing and Communications: Provide direction and strategy to manage and evolve Harlem Lacrosse’s marketing and communications approach. Collaborate with internal staff and external vendors to ensure consistent messaging and to build and manage all of the marketing assets that can be leveraged to share compelling stories of Harlem Lacrosse’s success. This includes: print, video, digital, and social media.

QUALIFICATIONS

In order to fulfill these responsibilities, the ideal Senior Director of Development candidate will be:

• A veteran fundraiser with demonstrated success raising money and building comprehensive development strategy in a fast-paced, direct-service, nonprofit organization;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to target a message to a variety of diverse stakeholders;
• Track record in successfully and positively identifying, engaging, and sustaining relationships that lead to substantial engagement from donors;
• Passion for supporting underserved youth and youth programming, preferably in the field of mentoring, education, and/or sports-based youth development;
• Commitment to racial equity and excitement about demonstrating that commitment in the execution of this position;
• Experience working with a multi-site/multi-state organization is a plus.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

This position offers a competitive salary range of $115,000-130,000. Harlem Lacrosse offers a comprehensive benefits package including health insurance, HSA and FSA, 401(k) with employer match, continuous professional development, and more. Additional details available upon request.

The location of this job is flexible and will require some travel (approximately 6-10 trips per year across Harlem Lacrosse’s five cities, once travel is deemed safe). Regardless of location, the ability to successfully work with other employees in different geographies is essential. Experience working in remote employee situations is preferred.

TO APPLY

Please submit a resume online at https://bit.ly/3qHyU2q. For additional questions about this position or to speak with someone about your interest, please contact Kevin Bryant at kbryant@edgilityconsulting.com or at 510.575.9635.

Harlem Lacrosse is an equal opportunity employer and an organization that values diversity. Recruiting staff to create an inclusive organization is a priority, and we encourage applicants from all backgrounds. Candidates are evaluated solely on their qualifications to perform the work required.