Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) envisions a world where children are safe, families are strong and communities are vibrant.

LSF is looking for a talented Development & Community Relations Manager who wants to make an impact in the lives of others.

Purpose & Impact:

The Development & Community Relations Manager serves as the lead development officer for LSF in the assigned county or counties. This high-capacity Manager drives the development efforts at multiple large metropolitan Florida cities/campuses and reports to the Director of Development at LSF’s Central Services while collaborating with the Program Director at the assigned location for all community engagement work. This position requires a high level of self-motivation, as the Manager will be responsible for driving fundraising success, creating community partnerships, and fostering broad awareness of the organization. The Manager must have a commitment to serving the region’s most vulnerable populations, and a desire to play an important role in LSF’s state-wide Development Team. The goal of this position is to create annual fundraising efforts totally over $300,000 annually. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Development: 

• Brand Management 
• Increase visibility and understanding of the mission of LSF programs. 
• Leads/promotes legislative advocacy for LSF programs as needed and delivers impactful results. 
• Serve on community boards, clubs, and committees to expand awareness and advocacy for LSF programs.
• Participate in speaking engagements with community partners, corporate sponsors, and other organizations as needed. 
• Fundraising Management 
• In coordination with the Development Team, leads efforts to create and implement fundraising strategies for the acquisition, cultivation, and stewardship of donors at all
• Plans for and drives regional annual campaign, including direct mail, email, and social media fundraising.
• Collaborate with Central Team to create annual capital campaign for building needs and upkeep. 
• Facilitates donor Cultivation & Management 
• Develop fruitful relationships with regional businesses, organizations, foundations, and individuals to build a solid and diverse funding base. 
• Collaborate with LSF’s team to consistently update the social, online, and physical collateral of programs for lead generation and donations. 
• Create direct connection and ongoing systems to ensure donor satisfaction and retention. 
• Curate experiential and meaningful tours for visitors to become allies and donors. 
• Event Management 
• Lead a minimum of two fundraising events per year to both increase awareness of regional programming and raise funds for it. 
• Build relationships with regional organizations to produce mutually beneficial fundraising events in the
• Grant Management, Reporting & Analysis 
• Build relationships with local foundations and funding organizations. 
• Coordinate with Central Team to track grant timelines, requirements, and reporting. 

Community Relations:  

• In collaboration with program leadership, act as lead regional development officer for the LSF Development Team to create and implement an annual community engagement plan that creates awareness of and engagement with specific programs. 
• Actively engage in community organizations and activities to foster relationships and partnerships that support the organization’s goals. 
• Lead and coordinate community events, meetings, workshops, and other gatherings to facilitate dialogue, information sharing, and community building. 
• Manage volunteers to support the program’s engagement efforts and necessary activities. 
• Stay up to date with community issues, trends, and best practices in community engagement, and share relevant information and resources with community members and colleagues. 

Other Functions: 

• Share program success stories with LSF teams as well as through print, social media, and digital platforms.
• Coordinate all collateral for printed materials, signage, websites, social media, and signage with the communications team to ensure brand consistency. 

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Education / Certifications:  

• Bachelor’s Degree required.
• A degree in nonprofit management, business, marketing, communications or a related field is preferred.
• CFRE desired. 

Experience: 

• 5 years of directly related community relations and/or development experience
• Experience required in fundraising event management, personal donor solicitation, relationship management, and fundraising principles and operations. 
• Proven experience as a self-starter with a track record of fundraising over $100,000 per year. 

Skills: 

• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including board members, volunteers, and staff.
• Creative problem solver with proven experience in setting and achieving big goals. 
• High-achieving self-starter with the ability to balance numerous projects simultaneously. 
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with proficiency in writing, editing, digital marketing, and presentation skills. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a commitment to professionalism and collegiality including the ability to receive feedback and act when appropriate.
• Ability to handle confidential financial and personal information with discretion and sensitivity. 
• Energetic teammate with a willingness to help even outside of their own responsibilities.
• High energy level and self-motivation. 
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), CRMs, and social media. 

Other: 

• Must demonstrate sensitivity to our service population’s cultural and socioeconomic characteristics and needs. 

Supervisory Responsibility: 

• None 

Physical Requirements:

• This work requires the following physical activities: constant hearing/ visual acuity. Frequent sitting, talking in person, and talking on the phone. Occasional walking, driving, standing and stretching/reaching. Work is performed in office, community, and social settings.

Why work for LSF?

LSF offers 60 programs across the state of Florida serving a wide range of populations in need. Mission Driven staff members become part of the LSF community while transforming the lives of those in need. Our staff additionally find growth opportunities as they explore areas of interest within the organization. 

Amazing benefits package including:

• Medical, dental and vision
• Teladoc (24/7 access to doctors)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Long-term disability
• Employer paid life insurance (1X salary), AD&D
• Health and dependent care FSA
• 13 paid holidays 1 floating holiday
• Generous PTO policy
• 403(b) Retirement plan with 3% discretionary employer match
• Tuition reimbursement

Lutheran Services Florida embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion in all business practices. LSF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.