Major Gifts Associate

Job Description

Job Description

Associate, Major Gifts

Hybrid – based in Washington, DC or Providence, RI 

Position Description:

The organization:

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian nonprofit that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. We believe in the power and potential of every child, but know this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it is girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of challenges children face. We’re there from birth until adulthood, and we support children to prepare for and respond to crises and adversity, while particularly focusing on the experiences of girls. We drive changes in practice and policy at the local, national and global levels using our reach, expertise and knowledge.

With more than 85 years of experience, we work to transform lives in over 80 countries.

Plan International USA is fully committed to the safeguarding of all children and young people from all forms of violence.

We won’t stop until we are all equal.

The position:

If you are ready to be at the forefront of driving meaningful partnerships and making a global impact, we would love for you to join Plan USA’s dynamic Major Gifts (MG) Team.

The MG team leads fundraising and relationships with US-based individuals and private sector entities partnering at the $5K+ level, including corporations, private foundations, community foundations, donor-advised funds, giving intermediaries, and service and membership-based associations. The MG Team is responsible for building relationships with prospective donors and securing support for partnerships in support of Plan International's work globally. Partnerships can include donations, grants, cause marketing initiatives, employee engagements, and gifts in kind. The MG Team collaborates closely with various departments at Plan USA and across the Plan International Federation to successfully carry out its tasks.

The MG Team is recruiting an Associate to become a key player and support its impactful work. This is a position well-suited for an individual with exceptional interpersonal and organizational skills who wants to be part of the fight against gender inequality in a fast-paced role. The Associate will join a team of five that is mission-driven and passionate about relationship-based fundraising. The Associate will have the opportunity to take ownership of projects, collaborate with talented Plan USA and Plan International global colleagues, and learn how to manage complex and strategic private-sector partnerships that will advance girl’s rights and gender equality. The Associate will also have opportunities to engage in organization-wide transformation initiatives at Plan USA.

Together with other members of the MG Team, the Associate will assist on prospect research, fundraising proposals and reports, donation asks, and project management. The Associate will primarily be internal facing, providing coordination support to external oriented front-line fundraisers.

Essential Functions:

Administrative Support:

• Set-up and facilitate work flows for invoices needing to be paid out of MG budgets or approved by MG staff
• Provide logistics support for fundraising events and conferences – both those that we are putting on and those that we are attending
  • Research and quotes for venues and catering
  • Conference and event registration
  • Itinerary creation for travel and conference

Fundraising Coordination:

• Manage in-bound private sector partnership inquiries on behalf of the team. This can include first-stage screening and evaluation of inquiries (from internal and external sources) for relevance, utilizing desk research, providing a recommendation for action, and routing the inquiry to the appropriate colleague(s) at Plan USA.
• Manage registration in grant portals and advise on portal submission requirements
• Serve as team lead for pulling together organizational information requested by prospective and current MG donors, such as pulling documents to meet due-diligence requirements. Liaise with other colleagues as needed to gather the information and ensure that it is up to date and meets request specifications.
• Under the direction of team Relationship Managers, coordinate with internal stakeholders to facilitate the completion of proposal and/or partnership requirements (i.e. coordinate with Legal for obtaining multi-market licensing approval, coordinate with Communications for development of materials or approving use of partner names and logos).
• Under the direction of team Relationship Managers, prepare briefings and collateral materials for meetings and correspondence with prospective donors and current partners.
• Under the direction of team Relationship Managers, join meetings with prospective donors and current partners to assist in leading internal coordination of follow-up actions. 
• Serve as secondary lead for drafting of Ethical Engagement documents to approve partnerships with private sector prospective donors. Conduct desk research on the private sector partner, draft responses for the Ethical Engagement template, flag ethical engagement risks to the associated Relationship Manager, and make a preliminary recommendation on Ethical Engagement approval.
• Work in Salesforce as needed for adding to or pulling information from prospect records, recording actions, and/or reviewing dashboards and reports.

Internal Team Representation:

• Liaise with other Plan offices to learn about their Country Strategic Plans and other fundraising priorities and to share information with them about the MG team’s fundraising approach. 
• Liaise with the Global Partnerships Team at the Plan Global Hub to understand Global Account Management requirements, flow those requirements down to Relationship Managers, assist Relationship Managers in preparing documents required for Global Account Management compliance, and coordinate submission of required documentation on behalf of individual Relationship Managers and/or the MG Team. 
• Lead on taking note of program and strategy updates from other Plan USA teams or other Plan International offices as well as new posts or news updates coming from across Plan and identify key points that may pertain to the MG Team’s workflow and accounts and summarize and disseminate that information to MG Team members. 

Skills and Competencies:

• Passionate advocate for Plan’s mission – drawn to work on advancing gender equality and girls’ rights globally and interested in sharing that passion with partners.
• Organized – thrives with structure and able to maintain personal organizational systems that don’t let details fall through the cracks. 
• Accountable – able to self-manage toward and meet deadlines.
• Confident communicator – comfortable communicating in a cross-cultural environment and adapting communication style from formal letters and video calls to more casual emails and group instant message chats.
• Flexible and adaptive – excited by the thought of never quite knowing what tasks will be needed at the outset of any given workday and willing to change gears depending on new opportunities, information, and deadlines. 
• Strategic thinker – enjoys researching and analyzing information to determine strategic fit and to recommend application to the initiative at hand.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office. Experience with the larger suite of Microsoft Office 360 applications as well as Salesforce is a plus. 
• This position is hybrid and requires the employee to be based in the Washington, DC or Providence, RI area to attend in-office days at the Washington, DC or Providence, RI office, as requested. This position also requires occasional domestic and international travel. 

Education and Experience:

• 1-2 years’ experience working in a professional office environment required – may be satisfied via professional internship experience. 
  • Prior work experience in fundraising, partnership development, business development, non-profit administration, international field work, or related field(s) is preferred.
• Familiarity with international development and/or prior experience working in a multi-cultural environment with colleagues in multiple countries is preferred.
• Undergraduate degree is preferred.

Other Duties:

This job description does not contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time.

Plan International USA offers a comprehensive total compensation package inclusive of health benefits, paid time off (PTO), sick leave, and retirement plan contributions. We take several factors into account when determining salary offers, including candidate qualifications and experience, and internal equity. The target range for this position is between $52,000 – 65,000 annually.

Priority for this recruitment will be given to applicants in the Washington, DC region and the Providence, RI region.

We hire in the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Plan is an equal opportunity employer and follows all laws associated with the EEOC.

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