CWI DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

CWI DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

LOCATION: Northern California or Nevada – Bay Area/Sacramento
Region/Reno/Tahoe area.
Some travel required.
REPORTS TO: Executive Director (ED)
APPLICATION WINDOW: December 2023-January 19 or until position is
filled.
AREA: Northern California or Nevada – Bay Area/Sacramento
Region/Reno/Tahoe area. Some
travel required.
TYPE OF POSITION: Full-time, permanent, exempt.
SALARY + BENEFITS: Salary is competitive and commensurate with
experience (range:
$120,000-$140,000 per year), with generous benefits package.
Benefits include PTO, paid
holidays, retirement plan, and medical, vision, and dental
coverage.
ANTICIPATED START: Preferably Spring 2024.

OVERVIEW tendersglobal.net CLIMATE & WILDFIRE INSTITUTE
Climate & Wildfire Institute (CWI) is committed to identifying
and implementing the best
available science, policy, and technology that can address wildfire
and climate change
challenges, risks, and solutions. We are innovators and
problem-solvers, working at the cutting
edge of and in close partnership with public, private, and
community partners as well as
academic institutions. We develop practices that reduce the
societal and environmental risks
of wildfire that are just, equitable, and inclusive.

POSITION OVERVIEW
CWI is seeking our first Deputy Director of Development to build
and implement our fundraising
systems from the ground up for our organization of more than $5
million annual operating
budget. Our ideal candidate is an experienced, flexible team player
and independent doer who
embodies the values of collaborative, courageous leadership. You’ll
report directly to the
Executive Director and serve as a thought partner to support
organizational growth in the
coming years. As part of the Leadership Team, you will establish
and build CWI’s fundraising
capacity and develop realistic revenue goals that can be met or
exceeded to ensure CWI’s
long-term sustainability. For this position, work in the
environmental and/or climate change
sector and an understanding of climate change issues is
preferable.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The position includes the following primary responsibilities that
will create a “runway” for
success.

Fund Development Planning + Implementation
In collaboration with the ED, the Leadership Team, and the Board of
Directors, you will create and
implement the organization’s first high level and comprehensive 1-3
year fund development
plan. This will include reviewing and analyzing CWI’s current
financial state and intended future
state; assessing the organization’s strategic goals and objectives
and how those map back to
revenue goals; defining the structures and processes needed to set
up a streamlined and
successful development team; developing, integrating, and refining
organizational messages
for donor and institutional outreach; and creating an annual
calendar of development
activities.

Development of Inclusive Systems and Processes
You’ll innovate creative and streamlined systems and processes for
successful and efficient
fundraising. This will include curating and managing multiple
systems to track and retain
individual donor and institutional relationships as well as clear
communications systems
between key leadership and the development team as it grows.
Working collaboratively with
the team, you will facilitate inclusive decision-making processes
and collaboratively test and
adjust systems as needed to meet overall needs.

Institutional Giving – Government and Philanthropic
Grants
With deep knowledge of and potentially connections to the
foundation world, you will support
the ED in building and maintaining institutional donor
relationships. Familiarity with
philanthropic as well as government grant processes – from
prospecting to grant writing, grant
awards and tracking – is critical. With the ability to
collaboratively manage and construct
complex government grant applications, you will ensure grant
proposals – potentially
developed with other partners – will be submitted and awarded.

Individual Donor Outreach, Cultivation, and
Stewardship
Cultivating individual donor relationships will set up the
conditions for diversified revenue
growth. You will provide ongoing support to the ED in donor
outreach strategies, cultivating
ongoing relationships and ensuring all donor information is tracked
accurately so relationships
can be maintained and leveraged. You will serve as the ED’s
“guide-by-the-side” in developing
new relationships, and supporting her efforts to secure large
donations while providing ongoing
learning and development resources to the ED, Board, and Leadership
Team.

Strategic Thought Leadership
Your efforts will create the conditions for success that will allow
our ED to focus on topline
development decisions and relationship-building with potential
foundations and donors. A
knowledge of ongoing development trends and an understanding of
shifts in philanthropic
giving will be important in adjusting development strategies over
time.

Board Engagement
You will work collaboratively with the ED to present a Development
Board report for each Board
meeting that highlights development strategy aligned with the
organization’s overall mission
and goals. As a thought leader, you will work closely with the ED
to advocate for short and
long-term development decisions that will inform the Board’s
understanding of development
processes and strategies. You will also lead the effort to
establish annual Board contributions
and provide the Board with the support needed to leverage their
funder connections.

Budgeting/Finance
In collaboration with the ED and the Board, you will support the
annual budgeting process,
including how projects, programs, and operational revenue goals are
integrated into a full
budget that is attainable. You will track funds over time, and make
assessments about how
much is to be raised annually, considering what funds have been
secured and/or are expected
with realistic growth goals.

Organization Development
An understanding of intersecting components of non-profit and
organizational life will be
important to collaboratively build and support CWI’s growth over
time. This includes a
willingness to contribute and support CWI’s organizational
growth.

QUALIFICATIONS
As the Deputy Director of Development, you must have 8-10 years of
proven development
experience (preferably in the environmental/climate change space).
Concrete evidence of
interacting with institutional and individual donors and a track
record of securing funds from
private foundations and public agencies is required.

Systems Thinking/Knowledge of External Environment
● Have a deep understanding of the nonprofit lifecycle and how to
create and implement
development strategies that will evolve CWI from the start-up phase
into ongoing
growth and maturity for sustained success.
● Have a systems approach to organizational growth – including an
understanding of how
strategy, structure, process, and culture informs fund development
and vice versa.

● Understand the foundation environment, the overall development
space, and preferably
climate change/environmental issues to increase the chance of
securing project and
operations funding. Have the ability to adjust strategies based on
shifts in the external
environment.

Fundraising Management Skills
● Have proven fundraising and management skills, including a deep
understanding of the
processes related to applying for, securing and maintaining
philanthropic and
government grants. Manage complex government grant processes and
write grants as
necessary.
● Have experience hiring, recruiting, and managing a fundraising
team.
● Oversee, monitor, and analyze fundraising data as well as
tracking and retention
systems and make adjustments as needed. Be detail oriented.

Creative Risk-Taker
● Be confident in domain expertise and openly share what does (and
doesn’t) need to be
developed and implemented; be willing to take risks and challenge
traditional thinking or
perceived knowledge about fundraising, including being able to
identify organizational
“blind spots” and offer potential solutions.
● Have a high level of professional experience in managing
ambiguous and complex
situations, as well as collaborative, institutional
partnerships.
● Based on expertise, support CWI’s leadership and Board as
necessary about fundraising
expectations and accountability.

Relational
● Be a team player, leading from a place of equity and
inclusion.
● Provide proactive collaboration and networking skills across
diverse stakeholder groups.
● Have comfort with and success in cultivating and building
donor/philanthropic
relationships, with an established process for doing so.

Communications
● Ability to attract and sell CWI’s brand value to donor and
foundation prospects and
clearly communicate complex programs and impacts.
● Have excellent grant writing and presentation skills as well as
an understanding of how
to create compelling messages for potential donors.
● Have an understanding of and experience with testing key messages
with funders (and
adjust development communications strategies accordingly).

Technical
● Ease in using Google workspace/G Suite.
● Familiarity with project management programs.
● Proficiency in using donor management software and CRM
systems.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
● Cover letter that illustrates an overall understanding of fund
development and
implementation and how your experience would benefit CWI
● Resume that includes tangible accomplishments and impact
● Three references required (please provide name, email address,
and phone number)
● Cover letter, resume, and references should be submitted
to https://forms.monday.com/forms/48406d534d31f34901d9b4ef9976d04f?r=use1

● NOTE: If you are selected for the final candidate pool, we will
require work samples,
including but not limited to: writing samples; a sample fund
development plan; and
samples of funder pitches.

CWI is dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic
workplace. We encourage and
welcome applicants who are BIPOC and LGBTQIA+. Successful
candidates will demonstrate
evidence of a commitment to advancing DEI both internally and with
our partners and funders.
If you’re excited about this position but are uncertain if your
experience aligns with the full
qualifications listed above, we still encourage you to apply or
reach out to discuss. You might
just have the qualities we’re looking for!

CWI is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All
qualified applicants will receive
consideration for employment without regard to race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, national origin, disability, age, or protected
veteran status.

All letters will be treated as confidential per California state
law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
CWI will not sponsor
applicants for work visas at this time.

Any questions? Feel free to reach out at
[email protected]