Senior Development Officer

Position description

Ploughshares’ mission is to reduce and eventually eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons. We do critical work to drive collaborative action within the nuclear field and provide funding to experts and organizations focused on mitigating the threat. We seek to strengthen the nuclear field with new voices and diverse perspectives; motivate the public and build power with allies; stimulate new approaches and challenge status quo thinking; and catalyze inclusion within the nuclear field and our organization through Equity Rises.

Equity Rises aims to increase equity and justice in nuclear policies and institutions by empowering diverse voices, cultivating inclusive spaces (across identity, sector, and geography), and collaborating with new partners both inside and outside the nuclear field.

Ploughshares is publicly-supported and the largest US foundation singularly focused on reducing nuclear threats.

General Description

This is a unique opportunity for an experienced development professional to join a vibrant and cutting-edge organization and be part of changing history for the better. We are currently seeking an experienced development officer to be a key member of our 5-person Development Team working to identify and reach new supporters. This position reports directly to the Director of Development and includes opportunities to be creative in developing innovative messaging to attract multi-generational audiences who are invested in addressing one of the world’s gravest threats.

In this job you will:

Portfolio Management

• The Senior Development Officer will manage a portfolio of 125-150 donors and donor prospects, develop and implement strategies to identify major gift prospects, and cultivate existing donors to maximize their gift potential. This includes setting annual giving goals, cultivating and soliciting gifts, and providing ongoing donor relation management.

• Primary focus on growing new supporters in the $1,000 to $5,000 gift range, although the Senior Development Officer will work with donors whose gifts cut across a much broader range.

• The Senior Development Officer will also be responsible for planning and implementing regional donor cultivation events, in addition to overseeing the organization’s major annual fundraising events in coordination with the Director of Development.

To do this job, you will need to have the following skills. We understand that candidates may not initially have all these skills, but we ask that you have most of them when you apply.

• The successful candidate will be a creative self-starter with the ambition to grow individual donations for the organization and savvy in targeting new stakeholders across a variety of constituencies.
• They will have a proven track record of success in major donor cultivation and giving, as well as experience implementing donor-facing events.
• This position interacts with an extremely sophisticated donor base, so must possess outstanding and persuasive communication skills in order to convey the urgency and importance of the mission of the organization.
• Candidates should be organized, efficient, and comfortable working both independently and in a collaborative, fast-paced team environment.

Additional skills that are preferred but not required:

• Storytelling or other persuasive writing training

In addition, we require all of our staff to have the following skills, drawn from our organizational values of collaboration, adaptability, understanding and our commitment to Equity Rises:

• Generate new ideas with other staff members by cultivating curiosity.
• Build trust by forgiving others’ mistakes and taking responsibility for their own.
• Communicate needs around tasks, priorities and deadlines clearly to colleagues.
• Adjust their workflow (pace, topic, relationships) to respond to immediate challenges.
• Learn from and respond to others through active listening.
• Ensure their own work derives from the organization’s mission and goals (for example, in strategies and workplans).
• Reflect on and address power (personal and organizational) when communicating and making decisions.
• Help set and achieve departmental and organizational DEIA goals.

For this position we require that you have the following experience:

• At least three years of experience in progressively responsible roles in fund development.
• Experience deploying senior staff strategically in moves management and asks, assessing giving capacity through prospect research, and managing donor relations.
• An interest in international relations, national security, and philanthropy.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite and familiarity with Raiser’s Edge is highly desirable.

Physical requirements:

• Ability to work at a computer for the majority of the day.
• Some travel may be required.

Compensation and Benefits

FLSA Designation: Exempt

This is a full-time position, based either in San Francisco, CA or Washington, DC. Ploughshares allows for some remote work flexibility regarding both location and scheduling. Currently, Wednesday has been designated a “core collaboration” day in which all employees are expected to work in office (subject to change). Additional in person meetings may be required for collaboration and onboarding.

Application instructions

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