Position Overview

The Associate Director of Advancement will be critical in leading the organization’s fundraising and communication efforts. This person will be part of a dynamic team and will conduct activities in three key areas: 1) Creating compelling funding proposals to private and family foundations, corporate groups, and government entities, 2) Contributing to strategic communication and development strategies, and 3) Cultivating strong relationships with key individual donors for the organization.

Organization Overview

With a focus on improving educational equity and promoting a more just society, Helping Education provides evidence-based programs and services that are free or low-cost and meaningfully advance student outcomes from birth through adulthood. To promote educational equity, we partner with educators and community organizations that serve a high percentage of students who are historically underserved. We support educators and families from every state in the U.S. and more than 65 countries around the globe, supporting more than 10,000 individuals annually. More information about Helping Education’s mission, values, staff, and programs can be found at https://helpingeducation.org/who-we-are/.

Detailed Job Description

The primary tasks of the Associate Director of Advancement will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Grant proposal and content development:

• Develop compelling, well-written, and organized grant proposals, that communicate the impact of our work to potential donors, funders, and key stakeholders
• Generate and maintain a robust grant pipeline (supporting an annual budget of approximately $3M ) representing a strong mix of established partners and new entities from private and family foundations, corporate groups, and government entities
• Collaborate with executive staff to facilitate and maintain relationships with key funding stakeholders and contacts
• Liaise with program and finance team members to gather relevant data for grant applications and reports
• Generate substantive content for new and existing communication platforms for the organization (e.g., blog posts, relevant articles, podcasts, etc.)

Implement individual donor strategies:

• Oversee strategies to maintain a successful pipeline of individual donations (e.g., collaboratively develop creative fundraising campaigns, renew engagement with existing and past donors, enact successful events, etc.)
• Develop and conduct outreach to cultivate relationships with local businesses, civic and social groups, estate and financial planning professionals, and other professionals
• Create and execute plans for donor acquisition, retention, and engagement 
• Analyze donor data to assess the effectiveness of individual giving campaigns
• Optimize the functions of the donor software system to manage and maximize fundraising and donor relations
• Completing other duties and responsibilities as assigned

Desired Skills, Experience, and Characteristics

The ideal candidate will possess experience and training to execute the responsibilities summarized in the job description and demonstrate the following skills and characteristics:

• Self-motivated, results-oriented, collaborative, and able to work on multiple projects simultaneously
• Proven track record (5 years ) of successful, front-line fundraising, particularly with winning grants and funding from individual donors
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong copy-editing and analytic skills
• Ability to prioritize assignments and work with minimal supervision; capable of working under pressure and juggling multiple deadlines
• Team player, driven by success, but willing to support Advancement team members in reaching their recruitment and fundraising goals
• Deeply motivated to promote educational equity and social justice as well as experience with and passion for working with diverse populations and stakeholders

Pay and Benefits

Helping Education is a family-friendly organization dedicated to attracting and retaining talented, hard-working staff. As such, Helping Education offers unlimited paid time off with a minimum of 15 days off taken per year. Full-time employees receive 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance.

The salary for this position will be commensurate with experience and will range from $58,000 to $69,000. 

Work Environment

Helping Education operates in a hybrid home/office environment. This position will be based out of our Raleigh headquarters, with flexible arrangements to work from home.

Diversity and Inclusion

Helping Education is committed to cultivating a diverse environment and continues to be an equal-opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, socio-economic class, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, record of arrest or conviction, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Applications

Applications will be reviewed by a hiring committee on a rolling basis with interviews scheduled for qualified applicants starting at the end of April. The application process will require candidates to complete a time-bound, written assessment. The ideal anticipated start date for this position is before May 30th. 

Successful candidates must be able to pass a background check, which requires a driver’s license or state ID card. If you have any questions, please contact us at careers@helpingeducation.org.