Chief Development Officer

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

Reporting to the CEO and managing a team of eleven full-time staff members, the Chief Development Officer is responsible for developing and implementing Larkin Street Youth Services’ fund development and communications strategy, to ensure the organization meets its annual revenue goals and effectively communicates its mission and impact to current and prospective supporters. The Chief Development Officer leads the team responsible for corporate and foundation grants, individual donor giving, funder events, volunteer opportunities, strategic communications, and marketing. The Chief Development Officer is a member of the Senior Executive Staff team and as such will hold shared responsibility for shaping the culture of the organization, strategic planning, budgeting, and communications (internal and external). This is a collaborative role; the Chief Development Officer will be expected to communicate important events and information across the organization, to foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the staff and board, and to work effectively with diverse teams and departments.

Your responsibilities:

Strategy and Planning

• Design and execute a yearly fund development plan, in alignment with the organization’s mission and strategic plan, considering multiple revenue sources including private foundations, corporations, major gifts, individual and monthly donors, events, and legacy gifts. 
• Design and execute a yearly communications and marketing plan that enhances the organization’s brand, position and reputation, ensures the organization has a strong and consistent voice, and effectively communicates the organization’s progress and priorities to current and potential supporters. 
• In partnership with staff and consultants, develop and oversee timebound fundraising and communications campaigns, beginning with a three-year fundraising campaign to implement Larkin Street Youth Services’ new strategic plan. 
• Mentor staff in the creation of annual work plans that guide the department’s efforts to achieve its goals. Monitor the team’s progress against benchmarks, provide feedback and supervision, and adjust plans as needed. 
• Actively participate in annual strategic and operational planning sessions. Report regularly to the CEO and Board of Directors on the progress of the Fund Development and Communications work. 

Institutional Giving and Community Impact

• Provide guidance to the institutional giving team, who assume primary responsibility for identifying, cultivating, applying and reporting to private foundations and corporations. 
• Provide oversight of internal systems to ensure funders are properly acknowledged, grants are allocated according to funder restrictions, appropriate data is collected, and all reporting requirements are met. 
• Ensure the community impact program, which curates engaging opportunities for staff, volunteers and corporate partners to deepen their understanding of the organization’s programs, has a clear strategy that incudes goals and metrics.  

Individual Donors and Major Gifts

• Support the CEO, board members, and individual giving team in developing and implementing individual donor fundraising efforts, including annual giving and fundraising campaigns. 
• Provide guidance on prospect research, portfolio management, targeted cultivation and solicitation, donor recognition and stewardship, and fundraising committee meetings and events. 
• Personally manage a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors.
• Direct team in managing and producing print and electronic appeals and publications, direct mail, monthly giving, major gifts, and planned giving appeals. Work with staff to review donor lists to ensure effective segmentation and coordination of mailing lists. 
• Ensure that the fundraising database is being used consistently and in-line with best practices. 

Marketing, Communications and Events

• Provide guidance to staff as they design and implement events and communications efforts to ensure activities and messages are effective and consistent with the organization’s brand and goals. 
• Provide guidance and feedback to staff as they create content for print, social media, website, videos and multimedia projects, annual report, e-news, event materials, press releases, talking points, marketing collateral, programmatic materials, and other communications needs. 
• Collaborate with colleagues and external partners to develop messaging and communications strategies to advance policy, advocacy and narrative change goals. 
• Oversee the organization’s PR and media strategy.
• Assist with crisis communication strategies and respond to sensitive issue inquiries as needed.
• Represent Larkin Street at external events and speaking engagements, including networking events, panels, and other community events.

Leadership and Management 

• Coach team in setting goals, measuring and managing progress, and fostering growth of donor base and strategic communications.
• Track progress and report to CEO and board, including developing and overseeing necessary dashboards and protocols.
• Promote a culture of philanthropy across the organization, building strong relationships with other departments and helping staff and board members to develop their skills and confidence to serve as ambassadors for the organization.
• Participate in staff meetings and trainings as required, including joining a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Work Group.
• Other duties as assigned.

Location and Schedule:

This full-time position will require working onsite (711 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco) for a minimum of three days/week, depending on job duties and agency requirements. May also include occasional local travel to and from various partner organizations, businesses, and donors. Depending on the events schedule, it may occasionally require working evenings or weekends. 

WHO YOU ARE:

• You are passionate about the Larkin Street Youth Services mission to end youth homelessness.
• You are a seasoned non-profit development leader, touching multiple areas of the discipline - individual giving, institutional giving, events, etc.
  • At least 5 years of experience and proven track record in fund development and communications for a mission-driven organization. 
  • At least 5 years of experience managing and supervising a team.
• You have experience developing and implementing communications and fundraising strategies.
• You have exceptional writing skills with the ability to persuasively convey program impact to a variety of audiences.
• You are well-versed in delivering training on messaging, narrative change, and asset-focused framing.
• You have strong relationship-building and interpersonal skills, with the ability to listen attentively and speak persuasively.
• You have experience fostering teamwork in a multicultural environment. 
• You enjoy public speaking, including during tours/site visits, external speaking engagements, and internal meetings.
• You have experience with fundraising databases; Salesforce preferred.
• You have a keen understanding of nonprofit operations, including financial statements and budgets.
• You have a proven track record in social media strategy and management.
• You are comfortable with Microsoft Office Suite.
• You are well versed in Development software tools: WordPress open-source platform, Hootsuite, Salesforce, Classy, Predictive Response, MailChimp, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, media monitoring tools, web analytics tools and software, search engine optimization techniques, all preferred.
• You work best in a hybrid working environment, with about 2 days per week Work-from-Home.
• You are vaccinated against COVID 19.

THE PERKS:

• $170,000-$180,000 annual salary.
• Choice of Kaiser and Sutter medical plans, plus dental and vision.
• Generous 3 weeks of vacation annually, plus 11 Paid Holidays and 3 Floating Holidays.
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer matching.
• Flexible spending accounts for Healthcare and Dependent Care expenses.
• Life Insurance.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for counseling services.
• Health Advocate Service.
• Commuter Benefits Program.
• Paid Sabbatical following 5 and 10 years of employment.