Director of Development and Communications

Position description

Meedan seeks a dynamic and strategic Director of Development and Communications to lead our fundraising and communications efforts and amplify our organization’s message across various channels. The successful candidate will be responsible for building and executing comprehensive communication and fundraising strategies to enhance our organization’s awareness, reputation, and funding partnerships with key stakeholders.

We are a global not-for-profit that helps journalists and human rights groups investigate and distribute critical information during elections, war, epidemics and other major events. We design programs that help improve the exchange of quality information in communities during breaking news. Our work has won multiple awards for collaborative project design around the world. Our software, Check, allows journalists and other information leaders to communicate directly with their audiences on closed messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Viber. 

As our Development lead, you will be responsible for all aspects of fundraising including developing, implementing, and monitoring/evaluating fundraising strategies, working closely with our CEO, COO, Program Directors, and other members of the leadership team. You’ll be expected to lead development initiatives and donor cultivation, as well as meet or exceed annual fundraising targets. You’ll also work closely with our monitoring and evaluation team to make sure you can successfully report on organizational impact. 

As the Communications lead, you will be responsible for crafting and delivering on a communications strategy that effectively engages our audiences and conveys our global programming and open-access software for funders, partners and community stakeholders. You will be responsible for managing the day-to-day tasks of a small communications team, overseeing the production of communications content and leading Directors through major communications deliverables. 

Some of the content you’ll manage will be drafted by team members living and working in North Africa and Western Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean. You’ll be expected to work closely with colleagues to incorporate critical regional context and information into all communications assets. 

This role requires a deep understanding of our programmatic efforts as well as Meedan’s software, Check, in particular ensuring that our software is serving our programmatic partnerships effectively, and vice versa. 

As a medium-sized 501(c)(3) organization, the successful candidate for this role will be able to demonstrate a strong ability to work across multiple projects at once, manage stakeholders effectively and independently present solutions for emerging internal and external challenges. 

We are looking for someone with the experience, drive and leadership skills to build up and execute Meedan’s fundraising strategy.

Required Experience and Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• Proven experience (5 years) in a communications or development leadership role, preferably within the non-profit, journalism and/or technology sector(s)
• Experience securing large grants/contracts from government, corporate, and foundation funders, including multi-year commitments
• Demonstrated knowledge of fundraising environments and grants management software
• Data analytics and problem-solving skills, with an ability to synthesize disparate
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling messages for diverse audiences.
• Strong media relations skills and experience working with journalists
• Strategic thinker with the ability to develop and execute comprehensive communication plans.
• Crisis management experience and the ability to remain calm and composed under pressure.
• Self-starter who enjoys working in a remote, globally diverse team in a collaborative and innovative environment
• Willingness to roll up your sleeves and take on whatever tasks necessary to get the job done
• Proficiency in digital marketing tools and platforms.
• Strong leadership and team management skills.

Key Responsibilities:

Development

• Create and execute comprehensive development plans, with detailed strategies and outputs to achieve annual fundraising goals and objectives, including plans for related marketing and outreach
• Research, identify and qualify prospects; cultivate and steward relationships with donors (individuals, foundations, governments, corporations) to diversify and expand revenue streams with a focus on building solid annual fund program to support general operations and programs
• Lead and maintain scheduling and execution of all grant reporting, with support from the Monitoring and Evaluation team
• Partner and lead with Program Directors on development initiatives and donor cultivation, including prep and follow-ups to funder meetings, grant proposal writing
• Design and manage fundraising campaigns in collaboration with Editorial Lead and Communications & Marketing Manager
• Build out and maintain Meedan’s CRM by developing donor profiles, recording giving history and other relevant data to effectively cultivate, solicit, and steward prospects and donors
• Build and maintain internal processes to successfully manage and track current portfolio of partners, campaigns and prospects within Hubspot CRM, leading data entry and trends reports on the types of partnerships that are succeeding and by what metrics
• Developing and maintaining a centralized repository of outreach materials (including technical diagrams and impact reporting)
• Be part of the end-to-end lifecycle of a grant, from application and documentation to execution and results, including managing the delegation and monitoring of follow-ups to new deals, grant proposals, relationships & developing/tracking a relationship outreach calendar
• Meet specific fundraising milestones for the organization based on metrics set by the executive leadership team
• Own and drive the quarterly development review and annual long-term strategy processes
• Develop and execute strategy for large revenue generating opportunities, including annual giving, major gifts, and special events

Communications

• Work with Meedan’s Media Relations Consultant to cultivate and maintain relationships with media outlets, and journalists to secure positive coverage and manage crisis communications effectively.
• Oversee the creation of compelling content for funder presentations, press releases, blog posts, social media, website, and other communication materials.
• Oversee comms/design teams; initially line manage Senior Graphic Designer and Copy Writer/Editor.
• Ensure consistent messaging and branding across all communication channels to strengthen Meedan’s identity and reputation.
• Lead PR initiatives to promote our company’s achievements, milestones, and thought leadership in relevant industry publications and events.
• Integrate communication efforts with digital marketing campaigns, including email marketing.
• Act as the primary spokesperson during crises or sensitive situations, managing communication with stakeholders, media, and the public.
• Develop internal communication strategies to keep employees informed and engaged, including newsletters, memos, and town hall meetings.
• Track and analyze communication metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns and make data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

About Meedan

Meedan is a global technology not-for-profit that builds software and programmatic initiatives to strengthen journalism, digital literacy, and accessibility of information online and off. We help journalists, fact-checkers and human rights groups investigate and distribute critical information to local audiences. We deploy messaging technology, training and emergency funds during elections, natural disasters, global crises and other major events.  

We collaborate with technologists, newsrooms, fact-checkers, public health professionals, NGOs and academic institutions on award-winning projects from election monitoring to pandemic response to human rights documentation. This work supports our vision of a more equitable internet.

Our team members are distributed through multiple cities and time zones. Our team members are able to work flexibly and respond to challenges across a range of project areas. This includes the following:

• Flexible work from home
• Flexible schedule
• Support for home office
• Internal EDI training and regular EDI impact and policy reviews
• Code of Conduct

Benefits

At Meedan, we believe that the work we do is only as strong as the wellbeing of the people who make it happen. We’re committed to providing a broad range of employee benefits that uplift the engagement and growth of our people.

For candidates from the US, we have the following benefits available:

• Unlimited PTO including vacation, holidays, and sick time with expansive coverage, including for menstrual pain, caretaking responsibilities, and mental health needs. Additionally, we are closed the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
• Flexible leave for bereavement, major illness, parental responsibilities, pregnancy, military duties, civic responsibility, severe weather conditions
• Generous health and dental benefits, including 100% employee premium coverage and 50% coverage of dependents
• Complimentary One Medical subscriptions for employees and dependents
• Complimentary HealthAdvocate Healthcare Support and Talkspace Online Mental Health Therapy plans for employees
• 401k plan with an elective match of 100% of the first 3% of each employee’s contribution and 50% of the next 2% employer contribution and a flexible spending account
• Employer-paid life insurance, short-term disability, & long-term disability
• Options of employee-paid vision insurance, commuter benefits, healthcare FSA, and childcare FSA
• A one calendar month paid sabbatical after five years of employment

For candidates outside of the US, we negotiate a generous monthly service fee to allow you to manage your retirement and other costs.

Professional Development and Social Support

All candidates around the world have the following resources available:

• Professional development support
• Mentorship program plus regular learning sessions/seminars
• Regular optional team social activities online and offline, including games, yoga, meditation and meals
• Generous travel support for in-person meetings and retreats with colleagues, where public health guidelines allow
• Paid subscription to meditation apps and other mental health resources
• Complimentary access to publications like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and others
• Digital security training and support

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

We actively recruit and encourage applications from individuals from historically underrepresented communities in technology and journalism, including those who identify as LGBTQ+, women, people of color and/or from underrepresented cultural communities, and people with disabilities.

Application instructions

Please be sure to indicate you saw this position on tendersglobal.net