Senior Director of Development & Community Engagement

Position Category: Full-time,
Regular
Employee Type: Salaried, Exempt
Reports To: Andrew Proctor,
Executive Director
Direct Reports: 3–4 team members
Work Schedule: Mon–Fri, 9 am–5 pm;
event-driven evening and weekend hours required. This is an
in-person position.
Literary Arts is looking for an exceptional
individual to join our team as Senior Director of Development &
Community Engagement. Literary Arts is in the middle of a
transformational, once-in-a-generation project (the Project) that
will grow and remake the organization for generations to come. The
Project includes opening a new 14,000-square-foot facility (716 SE
Grand Ave) that will serve as our national headquarters and
launching a new writers residency program in a separate facility.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to shape and
build a development department for the organization, oversee a
small marketing department, evaluate current systems, and expand
fundraising and marketing capacities.
Organization:
Literary Arts is a community-based nonprofit arts
organization located in Portland, Oregon, with a 40-year history of
serving the state’s readers and writers. Our programs include
Portland Arts & Lectures, one of the country’s largest lecture
series; Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships, which celebrates
Oregon’s writers and independent publishers; and Writers in the
Schools, which hires professional writers to teach semester-long
creative writing workshops in Portland’s public high schools. Our
mission is to engage readers, support writers, and inspire the next
generation with great literature.
The Position:
The Senior Director of Development &
Community Engagement is responsible for the fundraising
program and for overseeing the marketing strategy and goals of the
organization.
The Senior Director will manage key institutional
relationships and will lead a team of frontline fundraising
employees to meet or exceed an annual goal of $2.5M in contributed
income through individual, foundation, corporate, and governmental
sources. They will also manage the marketing department (lead by
the Director of Marketing and Communications) and oversee marketing
and communications strategies to support $1.5M in annual earned
revenue for all Literary Arts’ ticketed events, classes, and
seminars. This senior fundraising role is directly involved in the
final stages of the capital campaign supporting the Project and
will be responsible for overseeing its fundraising requirements in
coordination with the Executive Director and implementing all
development system needs. The Project’s 14,000-square-foot facility
(716 SE Grand Ave) is under construction and is expected to be
fully operational during the fourth calendar quarter of 2024. This
is a senior position and will work closely with key personnel and
board members as part of the leadership team.
Organizational Leadership:

Serve as a contributing member of the senior
leadership team. Share responsibility for day-to-day management of
Literary Arts including managing a large portfolio of key external
relationships, participating in significant management decisions,
and acting as organizational representative and spokesperson.
In concert with the Executive Director, take
responsibility for contributed and earned income,
oversee/coordinate/collaborate marketing goals, and share the
responsibility for balancing the budget.
In concert with the Executive Director, senior
staff, and board, determine the strategic direction of Literary
Arts, especially in matters of institutional development, and
messaging.

Development Leadership:

Develop, budget, and implement yearly strategic
development plan to meet the goals of Literary Arts. Revise plan as
necessary to meet development goals.
Own a portfolio of major gifts donors and prospects
to achieve annual goals.
Oversee portfolio management of development
officers.
Oversee capital campaign and major gifts strategy
and activity. In collaboration with development staff, partner with
volunteers (Campaign Cabinet members and board members) on
high-level prospect visits, briefings, and solicitations.
Set strategy for cultivation events, annual
fundraising events, and donor stewardship events, including but not
limited to an annual gala (Bookmark), sponsor dinners, and special
events.
Work with Executive Director, Board of Directors,
and other committees/councils to identify and cultivate new donors,
as well as maintain/improve donor relations at each level of giving
and within each giving category (foundation, corporate, and
individual).
Direct effective grant-writing plans for foundation
and governmental sources. Oversee the writing of successful
foundation and government grants by independent contractor.
Oversee the preparation of timely and appropriate
grant reports and other correspondence to ensure excellent
foundation relations.
Develop corporate support plans. Generate targeted,
effective corporate support prospects and proposals. Manage
relations with corporate supporters.
Lead and/or support the following
committees/councils: Board of Directors, Executive Committee,
Finance Committee, Development Council, Campaign Cabinet, Patron
Advisory Council
Implement a major gifts and planned giving program
and other development initiatives.

Marketing Leadership:

Collaborate with the Director of Marketing and
Communications to set institutional strategy for marketing,
communications, and public relations to support Portland Arts &
Lectures Series and Special Events, the organization’s primary
earned income channels.
Oversee direct contact with press and media, and
pitch story ideas about Literary Arts and its programs.
Participate in audience development strategies.
Reach out to new groups and individuals to increase involvement in
events and programs.

Project Duties:

With the support of development staff and campaign
cabinet members, oversee the final stages of the quiet phase and
launch of the public phase of a multiyear $22.5M campaign.
Public phase activities will include email/phone
solicitations, hard hat tours, media coverage, and community
events.
Oversee Project fundraising budget and provide
timely reconciliation with Finance and presentations to board and
councils.

Qualifications:

Demonstrated success developing and growing
individual donor programs and closing substantial major gifts.
Equivalent to a bachelor’s degree with 5–10 years
of progressive experience in fundraising including, but not limited
to, institutional giving for nonprofit organizations with a proven
track record meeting and exceeding fund development goals.
Experience partnering with funding agencies of the
government and giving offices within corporations.
Expertise in volunteer management and the ability
to lead and collaborate with various councils and committees with
success building consensus among various stakeholders.
Demonstrated strong project management skills with
impeccable attention to detail.
Experience in building and managing a team and
contributing to a collaborative organizational culture.
Strong knowledge of fundraising principles and
current trends, financial fluency, and budgeting practices, with
experience collaborating with marketing and communications
preferred.
Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills,
including effectiveness in public speaking.
Superior organizational and time management skills,
with a successful track record of setting priorities in a
fast-moving environment.
Experience working with an executive leadership
team and the board.
Fluency with Mac and Microsoft business
applications, Filemaker Pro and Adobe Suite.
CFRE a plus.

Job Conditions:
Benefits: Literary Arts currently
pays for health, dental, and vision coverage for each FTE employee,
and offers a 401K program with employer match. Literary Arts also
fully pays for short- and long-term disability insurance. All
full-time employees begin with three weeks of paid vacation time,
which increases to five weeks after five years of employment. We
also provide three additional paid personal days off, in addition
to observing approximately 12 paid holidays. As a registered
nonprofit, the organization qualifies for public service loan
forgiveness. Information on additional benefits is available upon
request.
Flexible work environment: The
organization also permits flexible scheduling to accommodate family
or personal needs and preferences, including the option to be fully
remote for up to one month (upon review and approval).
Office Layout is open concept,
between two common spaces used for meetings, events, and workshops.
The Project’s new facility will also be open concept, with flexible
meeting rooms and hoteling workstations.
Equipment Used: Mac laptop,
copier/printer, postage machine, and other standard office
equipment. Literary Arts provides an adjustable office chair; a
standing desk can be requested.
Physical Demands: Long periods of
sitting are required at the computer or in meetings. Some
concentrated periods of computer keyboarding may be required
throughout the work week. However, this position does accommodate
breaks from sitting as needed. Lifting and moving of boxes is
required; boxes in excess of 25 pounds should be lifted with
assistance.
To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter
to applications@literary-arts.org with the subject line “Senior
Director of Development & Community Engagement.” We
will begin formally reviewing applications on April 8,
2024.
After you submit your application materials, you will
be invited to participate in a voluntary survey. Literary Arts is
committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, and equitable
environment for our employees and volunteers, and data collected
from these surveys allows us to measure and show the progress we
are making in a concrete way. We welcome applicants from diverse
backgrounds and experiences.
For more information about Literary Arts, visit
www.literary-arts.org