Executive Director, Friends of Vista Hill ( Fundraising & Philanthropy)

ABOUT US

Vista Hill is all about serving people. As a dynamic community-based organization, we develop and maintain a diverse array of quality services and programs throughout San Diego County. Our programs range from brief early intervention and preventive work with youth experiencing challenges, to treatment with school age kids, to long-term special education and training for individuals with developmental disabilities. We can be found assisting families in very difficult situations in many of our communities large and small, rural and suburban. You will see our caring staff working with challenging populations that most other agencies shy away from in areas that are conveniently located to the people we serve.

At Vista Hill we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles. Vista Hill is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

THE POSITION

Friends of Vista Hill advances Vista Hill’s mission by building philanthropic support for behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, intellectual and developmental disability services, and other programs serving individuals and families throughout San Diego County. The Executive Director provides strategic and operational leadership for a comprehensive fundraising program and connects donors, volunteers, board members, community partners, and civic leaders with meaningful opportunities to strengthen this impact.

The ED develops and executes annual and long-range development strategies; cultivates, solicits, and stewards individual, corporate, foundation, and government supporters; partners with the Friends of Vista Hill Board on fundraising and governance; leads staff, volunteers, communications, and development operations; and serves as a visible ambassador throughout the region. Success is measured by sustainable revenue growth, strong donor retention and engagement, effective board participation, sound operations, and clear communication of community impact.

Primary Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership and Organizational Stewardship

• Provide mission-centered leadership that advances Friends of Vista Hill's short and long term philanthropic, financial, and community-engagement priorities.
• Develop and implement a board-approved annual and multi-year development plan with revenue goals, expense budgets, donor-pipeline targets, campaign milestones, and clear measures of return on investment.
• Serve as a strategic partner to the Vista Hill CEO, executive team, and FOVH Board Chair; communicate progress, opportunities, risks, and decisions in a timely and transparent manner. 
• Prepare and administer the FOVH budget; monitor revenue, expenses, cash flow, forecasts, and fundraising return on investment; explain variances and recommend timely adjustments. 
• Identify and communicate material fundraising, reputational, operational, technology, and compliance risks; maintain appropriate internal controls and continuity plans with Vista Hill leadership.

Fundraising and Donor Engagement

• Lead an integrated fundraising portfolio that includes annual giving, major and mid-level gifts, corporate partnerships and sponsorships, foundation and government grants, planned and legacy giving, donor stewardship, special events including galas, digital fundraising, and endowment or capital campaigns.
• Build and manage a qualified donor pipeline by identifying, researching, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding prospects; personally manager a portfolio of major-gift prospects and ensure that gift commitments and stewardship plans are completed. 
• Set annual fundraising goals and key performance indicators; provide regular dashboards and reports to leadership and the Board, and adjust strategies based on results.
• Develop compelling cases for support, proposals, sponsorship packages, appeals, and donor communications that connect community needs, program outcomes, and donor impact.
• Coordinate grant strategy, proposal development, submission calendars, award documentation, restricted-fund tracking, program and financial reporting, and compliance with funder requirements.
• Ensure timely, accurate, and personalized acknowledgment, recognition, and stewardship of all contributions.

Board Partnership and Governance

• Partner with the Board Chair and Vista Hill CEO to define annual organizational and fundraising priorities, prepare timely board materials, support effective governance, and maintain compliance with corporate bylaws and applicable requirements.
• Equip and engage board members to serve as ambassadors and fundraisers through orientation, prospect strategy, relationship assignments, coaching, talking points, and accountability, for agreed-upon outreach and fundraising commitments.

Community Engagement, Communications, and Impact

• Serve as a visible, credible ambassador for FOVH and Vista Hill donors, volunteers, collaborative partners, professional associations, community leaders, and the public.
• Build and sustain relationships with San Diego County nonprofit, healthcare, education, civic, business, philanthropic, and public-sector partners to expand awareness and identify collaborative opportunites.
• Lead fundraising and external communications across print, digital, social media, events, galas and presentations; ensure messaging is accurate, consistent, accessible, and aligned with organization standards.
• Partner with program and executive leaders to define, collect, and communicate meaningful indicators of program reach and outcomes so stakeholders understand the impact of their investment.

Team Leadership and Development Operations

• Lead, coach, and develop staff through clear goals, regular feedback, appropriate delegation, professional developmet, succession and continuity planning, and consistent application of organizational policies.
• Build, oversee and maintain an active volunteer program to include communications, support and overall direction.
• Foster a collaborative, accountable, inclusive, and mission-centered culture among staff, volunteers, board members, and partners.
• Oversee the integrity, confidentiality, and effective use of the donor management system, including gift processing, acknowledgments, constituent records, prospect, and portfolio tracking, reporting, data security, privacy, and documented procedures. 
• Use accurate data, analytics, segmentation, dashboards, and prospect research to guide fundraising strategy and decision-making.
• Organize and support committees, task forces, volunteers, consultants, and vendors needed to achieve fundraising and engagement goals. 
• Maintain current knowledge of charitable-giving regulations, ethical fundraising standards, and sector best practices. 
• Cross-Departmental RFP Support: Partner with the executive leadership and program staff to draft, review, and refine competitive grant applications, letters of inquiry (LOIs), and RFP responses.
• Proposal Coordination: Facilitate the preparation and packaging of proposals in response to philanthropic and municipal RFPs, ensuring compelling narrative alignment with organizational mission and funder priorities. 

 REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree or higher level of education required along with progressive responsibility and experience in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, philanthropy, community engagement, or a related field.
• Substantial progressively responsible fundraising experience with demonstrated success setting and achieving revenue goals, cultivating and soliciting major gifts, securing institutional funding, managing donor relationships, and leading staff, volunteers, or board partners.
• Demonstrated achievement across several advancement disciplines, which may include annual and major gifts, donor stewardship, foundation and government grants, corporate partnerships, events, communications, planned giving, and endowment or capital campaigns.
• Experience working effectively with governing boards and senior executives.
• Knowledge of San Diego County’s philanthropic and nonprofit landscape is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with behavioral health, substance use disorder, intellectual and developmental disability, healthcare, or human-services organizations is preferred.
• Proficiency with a constituent relationship management system and fundraising technologies, including data segmentation, moves management, dashboards, online giving, email communications, prospect research, and secure handling of donor information.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.
• Valid California driver’s license, reliable transportation, and an insurable driving record.
• Must pass background check, drug and TB test.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

Work is performed primarily in an office environment with frequent interruptions and regular use of Microsoft 365, donor management systems, videoconferencing, and standard office equipment. The position requires frequent local travel to program sites, donor visits, meetings, community events, and partner organizations; occasional evening and weekend work; prolong periods of sitting, typing, and speaking; and occasional exposure to outdoor weather conditions. The employee must occasionally move items weighing up to 20 pounds. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified individuals to perform the essential functions.

PAY

$140,000 - $160,000 annual base salary. Rate will be dependent on education and experience of successful candidate. A Generous Benefits package is included.