Senior Director of Development

Position: Senior Director of Development 

Department: Strategic Advancement 

Reports to: Chief Advancement Officer

Location: New York City, Hybrid In-Person 

• Hybrid In-Person: This role will primarily work from home but candidates for this position must be available for regularly scheduled and ad hoc meetings that require a physical presence with NYC-based OppNet stakeholders regularly.

Status: Full-Time Exempt 

Start Date: ASAP

The Job

The Senior Director of Development (SDD) will be a key partner to the Chief Advancement Officer, a leader on the Strategic Advancement team, and a member of the organization’s Senior Management Team. The SDD will provide strategic leadership in service of OppNet’s organizational health and ambitious future, driving our $10.3M revenue plan in FY22. The SDD will oversee a 6-person development team, including 3 direct reports-- an Associate Director of Development, a Leadership Giving Officer, a (Senior) Director of Events and Special Projects--to build OppNet’s pipeline of engaged donors, communicate compelling cases for support, and implement relationship-building and fundraising strategies that will support our annual and long-range revenue goals and are aligned to our vision, values, programming, and impact goals and supported by program data, budgets, and landscape analysis.

This job requires strong interest in revenue planning and generation, creative thinking, savvy relationship development skills, and the ability to design and lead effective systems and projects to goal across members of the Strategic Advancement team, senior leadership, the program teams, finance, as well as the key external stakeholders, including the Board and Associate Board of Directors.

The Organization

Since 2003, The Opportunity Network (OppNet) has ignited the drive, curiosity, and agency of historically and systematically underrepresented students on their paths to and through college and into thriving careers, powered by our commitment to access and community. This year, OppNet will reach more than 10,000 students of color across the nation to support them in achieving their college and career goals.

• OppNet’s founding Fellows program works with 1,000+ students over the course of six years, from 11^th grade through to college graduation, to provide college guidance, five summers of paid internships, career exposure and skills-training, and support in growing personal and professional networks.  OppNet’s Career Fluency® Partnerships Program works with 35+ schools and youth-serving nonprofits across 20+ cities to build their capacity to amplify college and career outcomes for their own students. Through Opportunity Ignited we provide advisory services to corporations seeking to embed values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their businesses. UninterruptedED, launched in 2020, is OppNet’s free, open-access learning portal for students and educators offering flexible courses spanning our proprietary Career Fluency^® curriculum. 

All of the work OppNet leads is in service of realizing our vision of a nation connected through vibrant communities and networks actively in pursuit of social justice and educational equity – a nation where all young people can freely create their own path to enduring success that honors their passions, ambitions, and full identities. 

Our Core Values

• Galvanize Community While Celebrating The Individual
  • We recognize the critical importance of creating spaces throughout our work where all feel that they belong and the fullness of their identity is affirmed. In doing so, we can build a culture of community united by inclusion in service of the personal and professional growth of all.
  Maximize The Power of Storytelling
  • We work with the understanding that storytelling can amplify student and community voices to break through echo chambers and shift field discourse towards real change – informing, inspiring, and moving people to actively create a more equitable world.
  Center Social and Racial Equity Relentlessly
  • We commit to designing all pedagogical practices, engagement activities, and programming in line with our vision for realizing social and racial equity in this nation, recognizing our country’s long history of structural oppression at the intersection of race and class across primary, secondary, and higher education and the professional sector – while also challenging both our role and the nonprofit ecosystem’s in perpetuating it.
  Activate Solutions Through Assets, Not Deficits
  • We guide our work with a commitment to bolstering the strengths, talents, ambitions, and already existing assets of students, partners, and communities – over and above-perceived needs – to generate solutions that drive their individual and unique visions of success forward.
  Pursue Impact that Lasts
  • We approach all our work alongside students and communities with the fundamental goal of building success that sustains, understanding the organizational imperative we have to innovate, iterate and collaborate with all stakeholders – from donors to families to college admissions counselors – to do so.

The Person

The ideal candidate will personally connect to the important work we do and value diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) across the organization. The candidate will demonstrate DE&I values by actively participating in all organizational-wide learning sessions and self-reflection as well as working with others to enact changes that contribute to meeting the organization’s DE&I goals. The candidate should possess outstanding professionalism and discretion, organization and attention to detail, energy and initiative, the ability to prioritize and complete a variety of tasks on time, and a willingness to work on a wide range of assignments.

Responsibilities

The SDD will be dedicated to deepening and expanding our philanthropic relationships with donors and partners in service of revenue generation, primarily through leadership and individual giving, corporate membership and sponsorship, and event-based fundraising. In addition, the SDD will oversee the team’s development and management of the systems and processes that will support high quality fundraising events, volunteer management, special campaigns, appeals, prospect research, donor communications and stewardship, as well as the back-end data analysis and operational excellence required for the team’s success. 

• Team Management: Lead team with strong cohesion, communication, and systems toward success in individual job functions and team success and revenue performance, coaching for professional growth and development and engendering trust. Boards and Leadership: Work closely with the CEO and CAO to engage the Board in critical network activation and fundraising; oversee the team’s management of the Associate Board, gala committee, and other leadership bodies in service of revenue and engagement goals.  Annual Gala: Oversee a cross-functional team to: 1) produce a high-quality and compelling experience that centers vibrant student content and achieves key donor engagement and stewardship goals and 2) raise OppNet’s annual gala goal ($2.825MM in FY22) by building and steering all fundraising processes across the Board, Associate Board of Directors, gala committee, Strategic Advancement team, and CEO.  Individual Giving: Oversee the team responsible for growing and enhancing all facets of our emerging leadership and individual giving program, including donors and prospects assigned to staff portfolios, mid-level donors, and annual giving.  Volunteer Engagement: Oversee the collaboration of the Strategic Advancement team and Program teams to design and drive a dynamic calendar of volunteer engagements responsive to OppNet’s goals for student impact as well as opportunities to maximize cultivation and stewardship objectives across individual, corporate, and foundation prospects, donors and sponsors, and members of OppNet’s Corporate Membership program.  Operational Excellence: Oversee the Strategic Advancement team’s systems, processes, data analysis, budgets, and reporting to maximize the full team’s time and impact, with steady evaluation and use of data analytics to drive decision-making and provide accurate and timely pipeline and revenue reports and forecasts. 

Beyond the responsibilities outlined above, it is expected that the Senior Director of Development meaningfully participate in OppNet’s DE&I working groups and other projects to help advance OppNet’s organization-wide commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and that she develops her own role- and person-specific intentions as they relate to OppNet’s DE&I commitment. 

Qualifications

• Strong passion for and commitment to the mission, vision and values of The Opportunity Network 15 years of significant experience and dedicated success in fundraising for a nonprofit; demonstrated track record of success raising money from individuals, corporations, and through events   Strategic mindset, with the ability to build teams and systems that will support OppNet’s growth and operations for today and in years ahead  Process orientation with an eye toward building robust systems and processes that can lead various stakeholders and team members through complex and multi-faceted projects   Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to communicate a compelling message to various stakeholders, including individuals, foundations, corporations, Boards, volunteers, staff, students, alumni, members of OppNet’s community  Sharp attention to detail, sound judgment, and discretion with confidential information Strong understanding of the nonprofit and philanthropic landscape, as well as an interest in advancing the field of philanthropy to be more equitable, centering the communities that we serve instead of the systems and practices that continue to reinforce the very inequities we aim to solve  Commitment to leading a team toward ambitious goals while centering a commitment to OppNet’s values in service of our staff, capacity, bandwidth, and wellness

Requirements to Work for OppNet

• OppNet requires that all employees are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including new hires, unless an exemption has been approved.  Hybrid In-Person: Candidates for this position must be available for regularly scheduled and ad hoc meetings that require a physical presence with NYC-based OppNet stakeholders regularly.

Salary and Benefits

The starting salary for this role is market competitive and is commensurate with skills and experience.

OppNet also offers a competitive benefits package, including:

• Medical (health, dental, and vision): OppNet typically pays more than 70% for total premium costs, including dependents  HRA Flexible Spending Account (for Medical, Dependent Care and Transit/Parking) Family Leave (100% for twelve weeks of family leave)  Life Insurance (100% of the insurance premium) and Retirement (full-time employees are eligible to participate in our 403 (b) retirement benefit program)  Time Away from Work 

■  Full-time employees are eligible for 58 fully paid non-working days (22%) 

■ PTO: Full-time employees earn 20 PTO days per year 

■ Wellness: Full-time employees earn up to 12 wellness (sick time) days per year 

■ Birthday: Staff members can take one paid personal day during the month of their birthday (which is not deducted from employee’s PTO balance) 

■ OppNet Extended Holidays (13 total days) 

• Winter Recess: December 20-31, 2021  Extended Memorial Day Weekend: May 27-30, 2022  Extended July 4th Weekend: July 1-4, 2022 

■ All Federal Holidays (12 total days)

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume and cover letter, outlining how your credentials relate specifically to the responsibilities and qualifications listed above, salary requirements and earliest available start date. 

The Opportunity Network is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an open and diverse workplace. People of color, people with differing abilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.