Senior Director of Development

OVERVIEW

The Senior Director of Development provides strategic and organizational leadership for Mercy Street’s fundraising efforts and is responsible for building and executing a comprehensive development strategy that provides the resources necessary to advance Mercy Street’s mission and growth.

The Senior Director leads the entire Development Department, establishes fundraising strategy and accountability, develops staff, partners closely with the President & CEO, and ensures that major gifts, foundations, annual giving, events, donor stewardship, development operations, and other revenue strategies function as one coordinated fundraising effort.

• 7–10+ years of progressive nonprofit fundraising experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading a multi-channel development program.
• Experience supervising and developing fundraising professionals.
• Demonstrated success with significant fundraising goals and major donor relationships.
• Strong understanding of major gifts, foundations, annual giving, stewardship, development operations, and fundraising metrics.
• Ability to lead strong professionals without micromanaging them.
• Strong strategic, relational, communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to work effectively with senior executives and board members.
• Alignment with Mercy Street’s Christian mission and values.

The Senior Director of Development is first and foremost considered to be a Minister of the Gospel. This position furthers Mercy Street’s religious mission by:

• Following Jesus Christ and setting an example for others through their lifestyle.
• Exhibiting a passion for sharing the Gospel with others.
• Being willing and able to explain the message of the Gospel to kids and families of Mercy Street.
• Being willing and able to counsel, shepherd, and disciple kids and families of Mercy Street in a manner consistent with the Bible.
• Being willing and able to explain Mercy Street’s beliefs and Statement of Faith in person or over the phone to kids and families of Mercy Street.
• Being ready, willing, and able to lead or contribute to distinctly Christian activities (including, but not limited to, worship or staff chapel).

• Develop and lead Mercy Street’s annual and multi-year fundraising strategy.
• Translate organizational revenue goals into clear fundraising plans, strategies, assignments, and measurable outcomes.
• Maintain overall accountability for achieving contributed-revenue goals.
• Lead and develop the Development team.
• Establish clear priorities and accountability across major gifts, grants and foundations, operations, annual giving, events, and stewardship.
• Lead regular Development team meetings and performance reviews.
• Build a culture of excellence, collaboration, accountability, stewardship, and continuous improvement.

• Maintain visibility into the entire fundraising pipeline.
• Monitor performance against annual goals and make strategic adjustments when revenue is behind plan.
• Ensure Mercy Street maintains a healthy mix of individual, foundation, corporate, church, event, and other contributed revenue.
• Partner with the CEO to identify significant prospective donors and funding opportunities.
• Develop strategies for donor acquisition, retention, upgrades, lapsed donors, and multi-year commitments.

• Manage the CEO’s development involvement strategically rather than operationally.
• Help determine which donors and prospects require CEO engagement.
• Prepare the CEO for donor meetings, solicitations, stewardship conversations, and events.
• Provide the CEO with concise dashboards, forecasts, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.
• Follow up on CEO donor activity so…