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18 Jul 2019

Full-Time Chief Relationship Officer

DigDeep – Posted by digdeep Los Angeles, California, United States

Job Description

Simply Put:

DigDeep is the only WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) organization serving the nearly 2 million Americans who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home.

DigDeep is growing fast. Our Navajo Water Project brings clean, running water to hundreds of families across New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, and now we’re expanding that access, advocacy, and research work across the country. Our operating budget doubled this year to $2.6M; we’ve built new relationships with major foundations, trade groups, and companies who are passionate about our work, and we have a grassroots donor base of more than 14,000 Americans behind us.

Now we’re on the hunt for a dynamic, creative, and entrepreneurial non-profit professional who can provide strong leadership across development and program strategy as we take our place as the national leader on this issue.

The Opportunity:

The Chief Relationship Officer (CRO) is the CEO’s closest ally in strategizing, coordinating and implementing all aspects of DigDeep’s partnership and fundraising efforts. This is a development-focused role, but the right candidate has the passion and insight to support the CEO in program, communications and management decisions too.

The CRO is responsible for maintaining powerful, personal relationships with our supporters, and identifying and stewarding new relationships, with special emphasis on major donors and institutions. The right candidate has the curiosity and creativity to connect anyone’s interests to our work and loves special projects. Together, the CEO and the CRO, supported by our Board and a powerful team of passionate changemakers, will fight to bring clean, hot and cold running water to every American.

This job is full-time and based in Downtown Los Angeles, at DigDeep HQ. It involves travel to program sites and major US cities.

Key Responsibilities:

This is what you’ll do once you join the team.

1. Relationships & Development 

You will own every dollar that comes into the organization and the relationship behind it. You will create funding and partnership opportunities that will excite and engage our growing community, and track DigDeep’s progress against our annual goal to raise $3M.

  • Maintain regular, personal contact with every major donor, funder and partner; schedule in-person meetings, represent DigDeep at events, conferences and networking opportunities; organize and lead site visits; travel as necessary.
  • Leverage the CEO to maximize donor and cultivation opportunities; schedule and prep the CEO; accompany to meetings.
  • Collaborate with the Program team to identify opportunities for investment; collect information for grant proposals/reports, source storytelling material, and plan and execute field visits.
  • Grow and deepen relationships with major donors (like our Water Council), including prospecting, recruitment and engagement.
  • Research and apply for grants (leveraging Development Coordinator and contract grant writers, as needed); submit timely and accurate grant reports; ensure that all grant agreements and reporting requirements are organized and updated; manage the grant calendar.
  • Contribute to external communications, including email and direct-mail campaigns.
  • Build and maintain close relationships with members of the press and oversee the creation of PR materials and outreach.
  • Act as the development liaison to the Board CFO; work with the Finance Manager to prepare fundraising reports for board meetings

 2. Strategy & Operations

You will act as a crucial nexus inside the organization, linking the CEO and program staff to individual and institutional champions outside the organization who can power our work

  • Counsel the CEO on major program and operations decisions; help build new systems and processes to improve communication between departments.
  • Help external partners design creative and meaningful ways to support our work that create shared value for their institutions (ex. cause marketing campaigns, branded product, volunteer/visit opportunities).
  • Collaborate with the CEO to create an annual development plan including events, major donor, grassroots donor, foundation and partner fundraising.
  • Oversee the implementation and management of best practices in development operations, including systems, processes and tools to ensure effectiveness and accountability across fundraising functions.
  • Implement fundraising strategies and processes that increase the organization’s support from all funding sources, with a special emphasis on developing and managing foundation and organization donors (ex. Rotary Clubs).
  • Work with the CEO to develop benchmarks for fundraising effectiveness and to implement process for tracking and analyzing giving gains and losses.

 3. Leadership

You’re the second in command, and a strong thought partner to the CEO; you will also directly oversee the work of the Development Coordinator and Operations Manager and grow those teams to meet DigDeep’s needs as we continue to scale.

  • Schedule and lead regular development and partnership meetings with relevant staff; contribute to other staff and board meetings, both virtually and in-person.
  • Develop and manage relationships with contractors including grant writers, researchers and direct mail companies; execute bidding processes; monitor contract compliance and ensure projects stay on time and under budget.
  • Uphold the unique culture of DigDeep by implementing values-aligned development and management strategies.

 4. Budgeting & Reporting

You will have an up-to-the minute understanding of our financial health, especially our current raise, and you’ll receive strong support from Operations and Finance staff.

  • Partner with CEO and Finance staff to closely monitor our cash flow and raise, both actual and projected.
  • Develop the annual fundraising budget; manage implementation of the budget; monitor expenditures to ensure compliance with budget and that all expenses fall within funding and organization guidelines and policies.
  • Work closely with the Operations Manager to track expected gifts from major donors, grant programs and corporate partners (ex. wires and checks); ensure that contributions arrive on time and are accounted for properly.
  • Work closely with the Finance Manager to compile information for annual audit and compliance reports, as needed.

 5. Manage Development Coordinator

You’ll support and monitor your Development Coordinator as they:

  • Develop and maintain a robust pipeline of high-value donor prospects at all times; research and compile donor prospect briefs to support the CEO’s major donor, foundation and partner meetings; utilize wealth screenings and other free or subscription-based services.
  • Organize and oversee a highly responsive scheduling process to ensure that the CEO is maximizing donor and cultivation opportunities.
  • Maintain development records including calendars, timelines and progress reports to ensure that the team has a clear picture of progress, opportunities and deadlines.
  • Manage donor databases and mailing / email lists and ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date and being actively leveraged.
  • Execute email and direct-mail campaigns

As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall Job Description.

Skills and Competencies:

We want to hear from you if:

  • You have 8 or more years in the non-profit or social enterprise sector with strong development experience.
  • You believe anything is figure-out-able.
  • You’re a highly organized multi-tasker with a project management mindset.
  • You relate openly and comfortably with diverse groups of people.
  • You gain the trust of others through your honestly, integrity and authenticity.
  • You love people and figuring out how to align their interests with opportunities to create change.
  • You understand the value of healthy data and are comfortable using a CRM to make giving more predictable and efficient.
  • You have experience managing a staff and a budget.
  • You like to track your performance and continuously improve.
  • You have the flexibility to travel and attend meetings and events outside of regular business hours.
  • You’re driven by a desire to make our country (and our world) a better place to live.
  • Education: masters in business, communications, or a related field preferred

Compensation and Benefits:

At DigDeep, we believe that great work requires a great job. We pride ourselves on creating industry-leading employment opportunities for our team across the United States. We’re a supportive environment that values creativity, diversity and quick-thinking. Here’s how we’ll support you in your work:

  • $90,000 – $115,000 DOE
  • Generous paid vacation and sick leave
  • 6 weeks parental leave at full pay
  • Medical insurance, 100% employer paid
  • Prescription drug coverage
  • One Medical membership
  • Life insurance, 100% employer paid
  • Monthly cell phone allowance
  • Executive coaching and fully-paid capacity building offerings
  • Domestic travel
  • 401k retirement plan

How to Apply

Please submit a thoughtful cover letter and resume to: [email protected]. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We will respond to all applicants. Thank you.

Job Categories: Human and Civil Rights. Job Types: Full-Time. Job Tags: Poverty and water.

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