Director of Development, Land & Water Conservation, Outdoor Recreation

The Director of Development is a new position on the Southern
Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) team.  This position
is responsible for leading, developing and implementing SAHC’s
fundraising campaign strategies across a range of giving
initiatives. The position supervises SAHC’s development and
engagement staff team, and works as a member of that team. The new
Director of Development will help guide a major capital campaign,
Fulfilling A Promise for Future Generations, Forever, into its
public phase, engaging donors of all levels and the broader
community to realize SAHC’s strategic plan and vision and secure
support for its future.

 

Location: Across SAHC’s 10-county conservation
focus areas in Western North Carolina and East TN, with an emphasis
on programming in the Asheville, NC area

Job Category:  Full time, Exempt

Benefits: SAHC covers the full premium for
basic medical and a portion of dependent coverage, a healthcare
spending account with employer match, life insurance, SIMPLE IRA
with up to 3% employer match; Generous leave policy and
needs-accommodations including flex time, flexibility for a hybrid
work schedule.

Salary:  Salary range: $100,000 – $125,000
depending on experience.

Supervision: This position will be supervised
by the Associate Director.

To Apply: Interested applicants should submit a
cover letter, resume, and 3 professional references to Kristy
Urquhart, Associate Director – Kristy@appalachian.org. Applicants
are encouraged to augment application materials with copies of
development documents. Please include “Director of Development” in
the subject line.  We encourage Black, Indigenous, and other
People of Color to apply. However you identify and whatever your
background, please apply if this is a position that excites you. No
phone calls please.  Open until filled.

Duties & Responsibilities: The Director of
Development is responsible for leading, developing and implementing
fundraising campaign strategies across a range of giving
initiatives with a goal of increasing financial support to meet or
exceed SAHC’s annual budget and strategic objectives. 

Responsibilities include all aspects of non-profit fundraising,
ranging from identifying, evaluating, cultivating, soliciting
current and prospective major gift donors, to overseeing and
preparing grant proposals and corporate funding proposals, to
planning SAHC’s calendar of fundraising and donor-appreciation
events and other related responsibilities.

SAHC seeks an energetic experienced major gifts fundraiser who
deeply appreciates conserving our region’s beautiful open spaces so
that people and wildlife can thrive. Someone who loves to engage
with donors and tell the stories of the work we are doing to
preserve our region’s biodiversity, boost our resilience to climate
change, and make a meaningful impact supporting equitable access to
green spaces and farmland,. We would be particularly excited to
hear from candidates with experience diversifying organizations’
donor portfolios.

SAHC is currently a hybrid in-person and remote workplace. We
foresee continuing to offer hybrid working arrangements and
flexibility regarding schedules. The successful candidate for this
job must live within a reasonable driving distance to SAHC’s office
in Asheville, NC. The position requires in-person donor and team
meetings, as well as hosting donors at many of our wonderful SAHC
preserves.

The Director of Development works collaboratively with SAHC’s
Executive & Associate Directors, Development and Engagement
team – Communications Director, Membership Director, and
Development & Communications Manager, board, and volunteers to
achieve strategic fundraising goals and boost community outreach.
This position reports to the Associate Director.

In this role you would:

• Create and implement an annual Development & Engagement
  work plan and budget with input from senior staff leaders and
  others. Respond to lessons learned in order to provide long-term
  program management and ongoing planning; Manage the
  Development & Engagement team and development budget.
• Identify, evaluate, cultivate, and solicit prospects for
  Major, Legacy, and Campaign gifts
• Work with Membership Director on Corporate Giving,
  Memberships, and Annual Giving
• Work with Finance Director on developing organization’s
  annual budget to meet strategic goals; ensure fiduciary
  responsibility, compliance, sound financial management and
  financial accountability for contributions, income, and all other
  assets.
• Work with Director of Communication on development-related
  messaging and review other public communications; provide counsel
  and guidance on the organization’s communications and marketing
  from a donor perspective; help draft social media appeal
  campaigns.
• Deeply understand and compellingly communicate the
  organization’s financial needs and goals to diverse audiences;

Work with Development & Engagement team to:

• Implement strategies to achieve fundraising goals, including
  emphasis on deepening relationships with donors and developing
  strategic partnerships implementing fundraising strategies to
  increase major gifts; corporate gifts and legacy gifts and
  memberships in order to meet goals in SAHC long-range plans.
• Execute, measure, and seek to improve all current fundraising
  programs (events, appeals, membership programs, etc.);
• Generate excitement and energy around the organization’s
  mission and activities, encouraging others to provide financial
  support;
• Create and implement annual and long-range fundraising
  plans;
• Seek grant-making opportunities and prepare grant proposals and
  corporate proposal packages;
• Actively seek opportunities to participate in events that
  position the organization for improved fundraising or
  visibility;
• Monitor, analyze, and report on campaign and annual fundraising
  performance metrics, ensuring progress toward goals;
• Attend Development Committee and Finance & Investment
  Committee meetings;
• Serve as the staff liaison to the Development & Engagement
  Committee;
• Ensure that the Development Database (Salesforce) is accurate
  and up-to-date;
• Ongoing cultivation of potential and current members, donors,
  and friends.
• Represent SAHC at various public outreach meetings and
  events.

 

• Use Zoom and web-based Trustee Hub to improve cloud-based
  collaboration across staff, board, and committee members.
• Actively network with other nonprofit land trust professionals
  and bring forward ideas.

For the best opportunity to succeed in this role, you
would have:

Qualifications required to excel in this position can come
from professional and lived experiences. Below we describe what we
believe to be important qualifications for a candidate while
remaining open to diverse backgrounds that can lead to these skill
sets. Position descriptions are often presented in a way that
leaves qualified candidates, particularly women, people of
working-class backgrounds, people of color, and LGBTQIA applicants,
feeling unwelcome, intimidated, uncomfortable, and/or unqualified
to apply. Recognizing that, we strongly encourage anyone who feels
passionate about this work and believes they have what it takes to
thrive in this role to apply

• Strategic planning and management of the public phase of a
  significant comprehensive capital campaign.
• Experience in increasingly responsible positions in
  development, including at least seven years of major gift work
  involving successful cultivation and closing 5-, 6-, and 7- figure
  gifts.
• Experience actively managing a talented team of fundraising
  professionals with a collaborative, team[1]building approach.
• Experience monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on fundraising
  metrics to inform annual and long[1]range planning.
• Demonstrated ability to manage complex programs and budgets.
  Knowledge of corporate, legacy, annual, and campaign giving.
• Experience working with Board members, volunteers and high-end
  prospects.
• Possesses creative vision and the ability to translate ideas
  for new initiatives into measurable successes.
• Demonstrated ability to cooperatively and productively work
  with internal stakeholders across functional and departmental
  lines.
• Create a culture of accountability and inspiration, guiding the
  advancement team to attain and exceed fundraising goals.
• Emotional intelligence, intellectual curiosity, and adeptness
  in steering through transitions underscore the desired candidate’s
  leadership qualities.
• Highly self-motivated. Ability to work independently with
  minimal initial direction and as part of a collaborative
  team.
• Excellent written and oral communications, interpersonal,
  public speaking, and presentation skills.
• Ability to effectively collaborate with diverse external
  groups.
• Commitment to environmental and conservation issues.
• Sense of humor.
• Strong analytical capabilities, including ability to summarize
  quantitative and qualitative information to help Development and
  Engagement team make data-driven decisions.
• Exercises excellent judgment and ability to maintain
  confidentiality of sensitive information.
• Experience with Development/CRM databases; Salesforce a plus
  and proficient knowledge of Microsoft and Adobe programs (MS Word,
  Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe Acrobat in particular).
• General understanding of, and interest in, land conservation
  work and nonprofit management.
• Desire to work in a dynamic, entrepreneurial environment.
• Outstanding planning and analytical skills.
• Valid Driver’s License and insurable driving record; access to
  transportation for travel throughout the region.
• Weekend or evening work is required occasionally, as needed for
  events.
• Commitment to continuous learning, reflection, and growth
  around SAHC’s core organizational values, and goals regarding
  Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

 

The above statements are intended to describe the general
nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this
position. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all
responsibilities, duties and skills required. All personnel may be
required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities
from time to time, as needed.

 

This job has the following physical
requirements:

• Regular and accurate communication with others and completion
  of work tasks involving the use of phone, computer, web, and video
  technology, the ability to interact effectively with digital and
  printed materials, and to operate required job-related
  equipment.
• Ability to drive a vehicle to remote locations for donor
  meetings, tours and events.
• Ability to lift and carry up to 25 lbs. of event supplies or
  equipment in the office or the field.
• Ability to traverse uneven or rough terrain, and to tolerate
  exposure to outdoor elements and varying weather conditions. This
  position requires hosting donors on hikes of various levels of
  elevation and duration.
• There are occasional duties that occur outside regular working
  hours for donor meetings and events.
• Reasonable accommodations will be made to allow a person to
  perform essential functions.

 

About Southern Appalachian Highlands
Conservancy:

 

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is an
established land trust serving a 10-county region in the mountains
of North Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1974, we have conserved more
than 75,000 acres of the region’s most important lands, including
places that offer opportunities to all people to enjoy outdoor
recreation, protect scenic beauty, protect rivers and streams that
serve the region’s water needs, connect places for wildlife and
plants to ensure resilient landscapes in the mountains, and
preserve working farmland that supply local foods.

 

We emphasize proactively:

• Protecting high-priority tracts identified through strategic
  conservation planning, mapping and prioritization
• Helping government agency partners and community partners
  acquire their highest priority tracts for public benefit
• Protecting tracts that enhance landscape resilience to climate
  change
• Protecting prime soils and working farms.
• Striving to protect culturally significant sites that can help
  reverse inequities among racialized people(s) in our
  communities.

 

SAHC is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  SAHC
recognizes historic inequities in the conservation field, access to
land and ownership of land. These factors cause imbalance in
communities, and we commit to purposeful action to correct them.
Conservation is best advanced by the leadership and contributions
of people of widely diverse backgrounds, experiences and
identities.  We encourage “racialized people(s)” to apply.
However you identify and whatever your background, please apply if
this is a position that excites you.

 

We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry,
national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical
disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including
pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), family
responsibilities, sexual orientation, gender identity,
gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran
status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or
federal law or local ordinance.