Director of Development

Job Description

Job Description

Description: Director of Development ALBANY OFFICE

Do you want an impactful career AND quality time to spend with your family or pursue your hobbies?

You can have both by joining Empire Justice Center as a Director of Development !

About Empire Justice Center
Empire Justice Center is a diverse, highly respected statewide legal services organization that fights for marginalized low-income individuals and families across New York. We succeed through direct legal representation, high-impact litigation, legislative advocacy, and training the next generation of advocates. Our team is passionate, determined, and committed to justice for communities facing poverty, housing insecurity, immigration issues, domestic violence, disability discrimination, and civil rights violations in schools.

What makes this role unique:  

The Director of Development is responsible for leading, implementing and managing Empire Justice Center's comprehensive fundraising program in partnership with the Chief Operating Officer, President & CEO, Board of Directors and program leadership.

The Director will lead day-to-day fundraising activities across individual giving, major gifts, foundation and institutional giving, corporate and law firm support, annual giving, donor cultivation and stewardship. The Director will help translate the organization's development strategy into clear annual work plans, fundraising campaigns, prospect strategies, and measurable results. You’ll also enjoy:

True work-life Balance: A flexible 35-hour full-time workweek (true work-life balance)!

• A comprehensive health insurance plan for you AND your family!
• Additional benefits include: 14 paid holidays + generous vacation, sick, and personal time, group term life insurance, 403(b) with employer contributions (after 12 months of employment), and a $2,000 bilingual salary enhancement for qualifying employees.

Responsibilities:

• Travel to and work in the Albany office 3 days per week is required to meet client and organizational needs.
• Must demonstrate a high level of comfort and commitment to working with people from marginalized communities. 
• Work closely with your assigned supervisor and participate in regular supervision meetings, including work plan development and grant deliverable management. 
• Please note that all positions will supervise other practice group members if needed.
• Due to limited resources, all staff are expected to perform administrative and other support-related duties to serve our clients and fulfill our mission as a non-profit legal services organization.
• Other duties as assigned by your supervisor and/or to meet the organization’s needs. 

Fundraising Program Management

• Implement the organization's annual and multi-year fundraising plans.
• Establish fundraising calendars, goals, timelines, and performance measures.
• Track progress toward fundraising goals and identify opportunities or challenges requiring attention.
• Lead and coordinate fundraising activities across individual, foundation, corporate, law firm, and other philanthropic sources.
• Develop and maintain a strong donor and prospect pipeline.
• Coordinate prospect identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
• Work with the COO and CEO to prepare for donor meetings and solicitations.

Individual & Major Gifts

• Manage and grow the organization's individual giving program.
• Develop and implement strategies for annual giving, recurring giving, and donor retention.
• Manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects.
• Develop individualized cultivation and solicitation plans.
• In collaboration with Marketing, prepare briefing materials, proposals, donor correspondence, and solicitation materials.
• Coordinate donor meetings, cultivation activities, and stewardship.
• Track donor moves and next steps through the organization's CRM.

Foundation & Institutional Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of foundation and institutional funders.
• Research prospective funders and identify opportunities aligned with organizational priorities.
• Draft and manage letters of inquiry, proposals, and reports.
• Work with program staff and the Senior Manager of Grants and Data Systems to obtain programmatic information, outcomes, and impact data needed for proposals.
• Maintain a comprehensive foundation calendar and work with the Senior Manager of  Grants and Data Systems to ensure timely submissions and reports.
• Support the CEO in developing and maintaining strategic funder relationships.

Corporate & Law Firm Giving

• Develop and implement a strategy for corporate and law firm philanthropy.
• Research and identify prospective corporate and law firm partners.
• Solicit and coordinate sponsorships, charitable contributions, and other partnership opportunities.
• Develop cultivation and stewardship strategies.

Annual Giving & Campaigns

• Develop and coordinate annual fundraising campaigns.
• Develop and manage direct-mail, digital, and other annual giving appeals in partnership with marketing and communications staff.
• Work with Marketing to develop donor communications and campaign materials.
• Analyze campaign results and make recommendations for improvement.

Donor Stewardship

• Develop and implement a consistent donor stewardship program.
• Ensure donors receive timely acknowledgments and meaningful communications about the impact of their support.
• Develop and draft donor reports, impact updates, and other stewardship materials.
• Develop strategies to increase donor retention and engagement.

Fundraising Events

• Lead the planning, coordination, and execution of Empire Justice Center's annual Celebration of Leadership fundraising event.
• Work with Marketing to develop materials and email campaigns.
• Assess opportunities for additional fundraising events.

Experience and Attributes:

• At least 5 years of Director-level or leadership role in Development with an $8M+ nonprofit.
• Demonstrated experience and success with individual, major gift and/or institutional fundraising.
• Strong writing and proposal-development skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
• Strong project-management and organizational skills.
• Experience managing and using a nonprofit CRM/database.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Commitment to Empire Justice Center's mission and to advancing justice for low-income New Yorkers.
• Proficiency in utilizing the Microsoft 365 Suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, PowerPoint), with the ability to quickly learn and adapt to other applications.
• Proficiency in utilizing Adobe and other document management systems, with the ability to schedule appointments, manage calendars, documents, and collaborative workflows.

Preferred

• Experience in legal services, civil rights, advocacy, public interest, or a similarly mission-driven organization.
• Experience with major gifts and donor portfolios.
• Experience working with foundations, corporations, or law firms. 

TO APPLY: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. If interested, please visit our “Work With Us” employment page at Please submit a complete application, including a resume, writing sample, and contact information for three professional references (one supervisor is required). Please do not call or send hard copies. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Empire Justice Center is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer and strongly desires a diverse and inclusive workforce. Empire Justice Center provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants. It prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type, specifically: race, color, religion, age, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, disability status, genetics, neurodiversity, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. 

If you need reasonable accommodations, please contact Human Resources at View email address on ziprecruiter.com. Empire Justice Center is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Empire Justice Center ensures that persons with disabilities and/or communication barriers have reasonable accommodations.

Salary

The referenced pay range/scale represents this job's estimated minimum and maximum compensation. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates will be set within the job's compensation range and determined by factors including, but not limited to, education, experience, qualifications, the individual's expertise, market data, and internal equity considerations.