Senior Director, Development Services

Brief Description

Natural Lands, a vibrant, regional, nonprofit organization and leader in land conservation, natural resource stewardship, and public engagement, seeks a Senior Director of Development Services to join our team at our headquarters on the Hildacy Preserve in Media, Pennsylvania.

Since the early 1950s, Natural Lands has saved open space, cared for nature, and connected people to the outdoors in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Today, the organization is one of the nation’s largest regional land conservancies and is widely respected for its record of success, technical expertise, respectful and creative approach to partnerships, fiscal strength, and integrity.

Over the course of its nearly 70-year history, Natural Lands has helped preserve more than 135,000 acres including a network of over 40 nature preserves and one public garden across two states and 13 counties. These properties total 23,000 acres and include many of the most spectacular and diverse properties in the region, which are enjoyed by more than 300,000 visitors annually.

Natural Lands seeks to hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our organization stronger. We aim to build a workplace where employees feel empowered to be their full, authentic selves. We welcome you to explore a career at Natural Lands.

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Development Services oversees Natural Lands’ fundraising operations and directs strategy and management of all internal support services – including processes, procedures, technological advancements, data management and hygiene, and reporting and analytics—with the goal of strengthening organizational capacity to grow philanthropic revenue and deepen donor relationships.

The position has core responsibility for coordinating with the Finance Department and providing day-to-day supervision for the Development Services team, which includes the Systems and Reporting Manager, Development Coordinator, and Development Associate. As an integral member of a twelve-person, fast-paced, and highly motivated development team, the Senior Director of Development Services has additional assignments associated with strategic and work planning, budgeting, and development compliance.

Overview

Primary Responsibilities

• Direct internal and external development services to enable and strengthen frontline fundraisers’ capacities to grow philanthropic revenue and advance donor relationships.
• Manage and evolve a department infrastructure that capitalizes on external opportunities, advances internal processes, procedures, and technologies, and unifies department fundraising across the donor spectrum.
• Supervise staff involved with Development Department operations and maintain a support service unit that excels at both internal and external customer service.
  
  

Development Operations

• Provide strategic direction for development operations along with an infrastructure that builds on fundraising successes and increases Natural Lands’ capacity to attract and secure philanthropic support for short- and long-term organizational priorities.
• Ensure the effective implementation and maintenance of technical and operational systems for development-related gift and donor data, relationship tracking, acknowledgement processes, list management and segmentation, donor surveys, and reporting to support and inform all fundraising activity.
• Develop and maintain a working knowledge of individual donors and giving patterns to support the efficient and accurate allocation, acknowledgement, stewardship, and reporting of gifts.
• In collaboration with the Senior Directors of Donor Relations and Development, create workflows and tools that stimulate the donor pipeline supporting the upgrade of members and ensuring the coordination of fundraising across the entire department.
• Oversee the budget for Development Services and help manage and ensure accuracy of and synergies between other development budgets.
  
  

Development Support Services

• Oversee technical strategy for the department through the proactive identification, implementation, and use of technology that supports fundraising efforts and data integrity.
• Identify needs and develop innovative solutions that drive efficiency and positively impact revenue.
• Oversee database management, maintenance, and data health for efficiency and accuracy of donation processing and constituent data management.
• Ensure the creation and ongoing maintenance of constituent management policies and procedures to ensure consistency across Natural Lands as well as to optimize donor segmentation, deliver superior customer service, and promote best practices.
• Ensure the creation and implementation of effective gift and donor coding structures, donor segmentation, and list generation for the Development and Communications & Engagement Departments.
• Direct the creation, generation, and dissemination of development-related reports and metrics across the institution.
• Ensure the regular review and update of gift acceptance, document retention and other development-related policies.
• Serve as liaison to the Finance Department to reconcile accounting, manage restricted funds, monitor the budget, and ensure compliance with the IRS and other regulatory entities.
  
  

Other

• Assist Development Department colleagues with donor cultivation and fundraising events as required.
• Participate in Board of Trustee committee and other leadership meetings as well as special project-based task forces as requested.
• Read, network, and attend professional meetings to stay informed about best practices in development services, technology, and other fundraising trends.
• Perform duties and responsibilities as directed by the Vice President of Development.
  
  

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum ten years of development experience, including a track record of overseeing fundraising operations.
• Broad knowledge of all facets of a sophisticated development program.
• In-depth knowledge of development technology and digital communications systems, specifically Raiser’s Edge, Omatic, development email platforms, and other communication tools, as well as research analytics and screening tools.
• Skilled at establishing and cultivating strong relationships with peers, organizational leadership, and colleagues across different levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated track record of success managing and monitoring complex budgets, department management and administration, and current trends in philanthropy.
• History of direct supervisory experience of two or more employees.
• A talent for managing up (particularly senior management and board leadership), including evidence of successful relationship management partnerships.
• Unwavering commitment to discretion in dealing with donor information.
• Exceptional and practiced history of written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to understand and articulate Natural Lands’ case for support as well as organizational priorities.
• Capacity to balance multiple and sometimes competing deadlines and to work productively and amicably in a fast-paced and motivated environment.
• Strong interest in conservation and Natural Lands’ mission.
• Commitment to take CPR and basic first aid training if not certified already.
  
  

Summary

Natural Lands is committed to creating an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. We aim to build a workplace where employees feel empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.