TITLE: Senior Director of Development
ORGANIZATION: Cityside
LOCATION: Oakland, CA
REPORTS TO: Chief Executive Officer
CITYSIDE’S MISSION
Recognizing that local communities are the lifeblood of society, we aim to deliver high-quality journalism to underserved communities in order to foster civic engagement, enrich people’s lives and contribute to a healthy democracy.
ABOUT CITYSIDE
Cityside Journalism Initiative was founded in 2019 on a foundation established by Berkeleyside, which was started in 2009.
Since 2004, more than 2,000 local newspapers have closed in the United States and tens of thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. Communities without local news see lower voting rates, more partisanship, and less civic engagement, contributing to a crisis in our democracy. Cityside’s journalism seeks to buttress community connections, and help people feel more engaged with their city and with one another.
Cityside is creating a nonprofit local news network that’s built to serve, scale, and last.
Our work has taught us that a strong community focus, an unswerving commitment to covering local stories that matter to residents, and an openness to dialogue create a powerful bond with our readers and enable trusted, valuable journalism.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY
The Senior Director of Development will be part of the executive team and work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Content Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, to engage and cultivate major donors for Cityside along with board members. Cityside is raising nearly $4 million a year from a variety of sources such as memberships, major donors and foundations. The new Senior Director of Development will have an immediate opportunity to build their team by hiring a Development Manager and Membership Manager. Cityside is poised for growth into new markets for local journalism. The Senior Director of Development will play in integral role in Cityside’s growth by building relationships with prospective donors in new communities being served as well as deepening existing connections between members and donors of Cityside in established communities.
Key Responsibilities
• Leadership
- Provide leadership, management, and mentoring to Development staff; provide guidance on best practices and strategy when needed
- Partner with the Chief Executive Officer, other executive team members, Development staff, and Cityside board in order to deliver effective strategies for donor engagement and giving
- Help build culture of philanthropy where everyone at Cityside has a role in strengthening philanthropy
• Fundraising
- Develop, refine and implement strategies for fundraising that maximize potential giving
- Direct the work of the Development team in order to implement fundraising programs using donor cultivation and stewardship opportunities that maximize giving
- Manage an active portfolio of donors and prospects by creating and implementing personalized cultivation and stewardship plans and gift requests for each donor within portfolio; assign other donors as appropriate to executive team
- Play a leading role in fundraising and ensure Cityside’s ability to cultivate and solicit major individual donors and foundations to significantly increase contributions
- Analyze reports on donor interactions to make strategic decisions to maximize giving opportunities; prepare and present information and progress to Cityside’s senior leadership team and the board of directors
Professional Experience/Qualifications
Experience:
• Six or more years of substantial and progressively responsible professional experience, including at least two years of experience supervising professional staff
• Demonstrated experience overseeing complex or multiple projects through to success, including meeting financial goals and coordinating the work of key staff
• Demonstrated success in fundraising; experience with individuals, foundations, and corporations; track record of soliciting and closing six-figure gifts with experience in seven-figure gifts a plus
• Planned giving knowledge and experience in implementing or running a legacy gifts program a plus
Skills:
• Exceptional leadership skills, with a collaborative spirit and strong management skills; demonstrated ability to inspire and motivate staff, board, donors, and potential partners a must
• Strong strategic and implementation skills; ability to grasp the opportunities and challenges of the organization and the role
• Outstanding communicator; excellent speaking, writing and interpersonal skills
• Enthusiasm for developing and leading fundraising campaigns
• Experience understanding a donor database (Salesforce preferred) and high comfort level analyzing and applying data to hone strategies and achieve goals
Personal Characteristics:
• Passionate about the mission of Cityside to create more engaged communities through an unswerving commitment to covering local stories that matter to residents, and an openness to dialogue create a powerful bond with our readers and enable trusted, valuable journalism
• Commitment to understanding diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to lean in to the conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Growth mindset and entrepreneurial outlook to take a strong development program to the next level
Education:
• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential a plus
COMPENSATION
The starting salary range for the Senior Director of Development is $140,000 to $180,000 plus an attractive benefits package.
TO APPLY
Brakeley Search is conducting this search on an exclusive basis on behalf of Cityside. Interested candidates should apply via email by sending a resume and a letter outlining qualifications as PDF or Word documents to Chelsea Burr at CBurr@BrakeleySearch.com with “Cityside” in the subject line.
Inquiries may be made, in confidence, to Search Consultant Scott Staub at SStaub@BrakeleySearch.com.
EOE STATEMENT
Cityside is committed to building an inclusive organization that represents the people and communities we serve. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply for this position, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities.
BRAKELEY SEARCH is a search firm focused exclusively on the nonprofit sector. As a division of Brakeley Briscoe, Inc. (BBI), the San Francisco Bay Area-based firm works with local, national, and international nonprofits to help them hire exceptional senior-level leaders. https://www.brakeleybriscoe.com/fundraising-capital-campaigns-executive-search/brakeley-search/