Job Title: Senior Executive Director of Fund Development (0998) 

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About 

Job Class: Senior Executive Director of Fund Development (0998) 

Salary Range: $157,229.94 - $206,895.71/annually   

Appointment Type: Permanent Exempt (what does this mean?) 

Hours: Full-Time 

Who We Are 

With an annual budget of $1.17 billion, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is California's seventh-largest school district serving 50,000 students who speak more than 44 documented languages across 136 schools in the City of San Francisco annually. We aim for All SFUSD students to graduate as independent thinkers with a sense of agency who have attained academic and creative skills to lead productive lives and contribute to our community. 

Overview of the Position 

We are seeking a self-driven and experienced Senior Executive Director of Fund Development to be the external representative and internal leader of SFUSD’s fundraising efforts that will help the district achieve its ambitious five-year student outcome goals. The successful candidate will serve as the President of Spark SF Public Schools (SFUSD’s 501(c)(3) organization), determine its strategic priorities, steward its board of directors, and shape the organization’s external communications and brand.

The Senior Executive Director of Fund Development will report to the Associate Superintendent of Educational Services. Together they will maintain a close link between fundraising and the district’s goals-aligned strategic initiatives. As with other senior district leaders, the Senior Executive Director of Fund Development is expected to work in person from the district headquarters in downtown San Francisco or one of its school sites every day. 

The District is currently undertaking a multi-year effort to focus its activities, resources, and teams to better align with our board-approved, five-year, student outcomes-focused Vision, Values, Goals, and Guardrails. The Senior Executive Director of Fund Development will be critical in shepherding the organization through mindset shifts and structural changes to best serve its students. 

Essential Duties 

• Create and maintain innovative systems and strategies for fund development, including major investor stewardship, research and cultivation, gift processing, and recognition. Establish performance measures, monitor results, and evaluate the effectiveness of SFUSD’s fund development efforts in collaboration with key stakeholders. 
• Act as the external representative and internal leader of SFUSD’s fund development function and efforts. 
• Develop and execute a comprehensive fund development strategy aligned with SFUSD’s vision, values, goals, and guardrails, including annual fundraising plans and reports. Lead the SFUSD Fund Development team (3.5 FTEs), ensuring the team maintains appropriate systems and strategies, and manages day-to-day operations in coordination with central office and school staff, district leadership, and Spark SF board. 
• Champion an anti-racist “one-team” culture across the District, promoting connections between the central office and schools and modeling accountability throughout the organization. 
• Serve as a highly-visible advocate for initiatives that aim to improve student and school-level performance, building relationships across school sites and central offices that help effect change. 
• Exemplify and model the District’s core values, serving as an effective ambassador to staff, funders, parent and community groups, the Board of Education, and the public. 

Responsibilities 

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below represent the duties assigned to this job code/class.They are not intended to be an inclusive list. 

Be the external representative and internal leader of SFUSD’s fund development function 

• Serve as the President of Spark SF Public Schools, the District’s 501(c)(3), and steward its 19-member Board of Directors 
• Oversee all administrative functions, including recruiting the Board of Directors and partnering with the chairperson to develop an annual fundraising plan 
• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and laws to maintain 501(c)(3) status Steward key investors and ensure all funding partner relationships are cultivated toward mutual goals and objectives that promote multi-year investments 
• Serve as liaison to the SF Mayor’s Office in coordinating and managing strategic relationships with existing and emerging business and philanthropic partners 
• Guide executive and mid-level district staff to institutionalize philanthropy and fund development 
• Partner with the SFUSD Communications Department and senior leadership in promoting the SFUSD brand in the community and manage press with key funders to highlight successful investment results and news stories 
• Develop and execute a comprehensive fund development strategy aligned with SFUSD’s goals Identify opportunities to align district fund initiatives and priorities with philanthropists' interests in supporting public education 
• Provide critical fundraising capacity to help SFUSD strategically engage funders and increase our district’s private revenue 
• Evaluate internal and external factors impacting fund development to inform recommendations for short- and long-term fund development plans and programs
• Develop and implement annual fundraising plans aligned to Spark SF Public Schools and district fundraising priorities and targets, anchored to SFUSD’s vision and strategic plan Plan and manage an annual development event to highlight the success of philanthropic investments and to raise funds for targeted priorities anchored to SFUSD’s vision and strategic plan 
• Establish performance measures, monitor results, and help the Superintendent, SFUSD executive leadership, Spark SF Public Schools, and the SFUSD Board of Education to evaluate the effectiveness of SFUSD’s fund development efforts 

Lead our SFUSD Fund Development team 

• Provide general oversight of all of SFUSD’s fund development activities; manage the day-to-day operations in coordination with central office and school staff, district leadership, and the Spark SF Public Schools and SFUSD boards 
• Manage the Development team, including the hiring and development of team members, setting and managing the annual budget, and ensuring positive relationships and the support of central office departments and schools 
• Ensure the Development team maintains appropriate systems and strategies to develop funds, research, cultivate, and steward major investors, and process gifts 
• Ensure all grant reporting requirements are fulfilled in an accurate and timely fashion to ensure transparency and credibility with the funding community 
• Strategically build a strong, cohesive, and collaborative Development team to ensure shared decision-making, commitment, and implementation of priorities and to model healthy and productive adult culture 
• Using an equity lens, develop and implement a strong talent strategy, including regular one-to-one meetings, to supervise and evaluate the performance of direct reports 

District leadership 

• Recognize and skillfully interrupt inequity and racism in policies and practices Champion a “one-team” culture across the District, promoting connections across divisions and between the central office and schools 
• Create and implement the policies, programs, structures, and systems to help the District achieve its board-approved five-year student outcome goals 
• Relentlessly evaluate the effectiveness of policies and programs to improve student outcomes, using data to make adjustments and drive decision-making 
• Model accountability and champion it across every level of the District, monitoring individual, school-site, departmental, and organizational performance through continuous improvement Partner across the District to lead the district-wide alignment between district program needs and initiatives with private philanthropic interests 
• Serve as a highly-visible champion of initiatives that aim to improve student and school-level performance, building relationships across school sites and central offices that help effect change 
• Exemplify and model the District’s core values, serving as an effective ambassador of the District to stakeholders, including parent and community groups, the Board of Education, and the public 
• Supervise, evaluate, and guide staff across divisions, building the leadership capacity of direct reports and holding staff accountable towards meeting short and long-term goals Well-developed cultural humility, awareness of their own identity, and understanding of internalized, interpersonal, and systemic racism and other forms of oppression 

Desired Qualifications 

Pre-K-12 Education

• Experience and expertise in the pre-K-12 education sector.
• Understanding large public institutions' intricacies with demonstrated ability to navigate them effectively to achieve desired results.
• Leadership experience within a school district, a large charter management organization, or a significant nonprofit organization.

Strategy 

• Demonstrated proficiency in strategic planning, including identifying and defining long-term organizational goals and developing comprehensive strategies to achieve them.
• Successful track record in revenue planning with measurable financial goals and devising efficient strategies to meet and exceed them.
• Experience creating sustainable financial models through diversified income sources, prudent fiscal management, and the ability to foresee and mitigate potential financial risks.

Fund Development

• Ability to formulate a clear vision for Spark's role and leverage philanthropy in supporting the Superintendent’s objectives.
• Success in building and managing relationships proactively with high-net-worth individuals, institutional funders, and corporate partners.
• Substantial fundraising or business development experience and deep knowledge of the San Francisco Bay Area philanthropic landscape with a demonstrated track record of raising significant funds.
• Demonstrated track record of implementing effective fundraising tactics such as planned giving and capital campaigns, event organization, online campaigns, grant writing, and maintaining donor relations.
• Deep understanding of the interplay between public school funding and private fundraising, including their respective roles in budget planning.
• Knowledgeable in managing a portfolio of restricted funds, unrestricted funds, and administrative overheads.
• Proficiency in structuring grants for long-term sustainability, including identification of ongoing district funds for program scaling and sustenance.

Communications 

• Excellent interpersonal communication and public speaking skills with the capability to engage effectively with diverse groups.
• Demonstrated success in creating external communication strategies and campaigns to support fundraising initiatives.
• Experience establishing and upholding a strong brand and reaching target audiences.
• Ability to differentiate between Spark's and SFUSD's communication needs and align communications with SFUSD’s team.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Ability to translate district priorities into compelling a value proposition for major donors. 
• Skill in working with district implementers, understanding their fundraising needs, and educating them on philanthropy.
• Extensive experience in results-oriented management, utilizing robust monitoring systems for tracking progress and making data-driven decisions.
• Experience reporting to a board, leading regular board meetings, providing performance updates, conducting self-assessments, and leveraging board member expertise.
• Experience building cross-sector alliances across the public and private sectors, including engaging elected officials and C-Suite executives.
• Strong interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple departments and business functions.
• Well-developed and demonstrated cultural humility and understanding of systems of oppression, equity, and inclusion, especially around issues of race.

Minimum Qualifications 

• Baccalaureate Degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in public or business administration, accounting, finance, economics, social sciences, education or related fields, or other subject areas closely related to a specific departmental program or function; Master’s Degree preferred. 
• At least ten (10) years of experience as a senior-level professional; senior-level fund development experience preferred. 

What It Means to Work Here 

When you join our team at SFUSD, you can expect to be part of a collaborative, inclusive, and equity-oriented organization that is intensely focused on achieving our student outcome goals. 

Who We Want 

We want talented people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are committed to and will champion our Core Values, are inspired by our mission, are steeped in equity, and are motivated to unleash our students’ potential. We want people who are strong collaborators, skilled communicators, and problem solvers comfortable in a community of continuous learning. 

What We Offer 

SFUSD offers a competitive salary of $157,229.94 - $206,895.71 annually, commensurate with experience in a similar position. We offer a comprehensive benefits plan, including dental and vision plans, a defined benefit pension plan, disability, life insurance, flexible spending account options, and vacation time. We also offer an inclusive and equity-centered environment that encourages staff to bring their whole selves to work.

Apply here: https://careers.sfusd.edu/job/San-Francisco-Senior-Executive-Director-of-Fund-Development-%280998%29-CA-94102/1043362900/