Director of Fundraising

Job Title: Director of Fundraising

Location: London, UK or New York, NY

Team: Fundraising

Salary: £80,000 GBP dependent on experience for London base (preferred); alternative location New York, NY, with competitive market equivalent salary

Benefits: Generous leave allowance (35 days), health insurance, dental, and 10% non-contributory pension

Background/NRGI Summary:  For the one billion impoverished people living in resource-rich countries, the oil, gas and mining sectors have failed to deliver on the promise of better quality of life. Massive corruption, the climate crisis, and now the coronavirus pandemic threaten to entrench these deep inequalities. The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) works to secure a future where countries rich in oil, gas and minerals achieve sustainable, inclusive development. With the launch of our new 2020-2025 Strategy, our staff of country and issue experts, lawyers, economists and governance specialists will leverage our 15+ years of experience to lift countries out of poverty by contributing evidence-based knowledge, building capacities and alliances, and seizing reform opportunities during moments of political openness.

NRGI’s international staff of more than 90 work in over 15 countries around the world. With an annual budget of roughly $15 million, NRGI benefits from the support of major foundations and governmental funders — including the Open Society Foundations, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Luminate, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Department for International Development (DFID), and German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), among others. To preserve its independence, NRGI does not accept funding from oil, gas or mining companies.

Job Overview: NRGI seeks an experienced, inspiring, and hands-on fundraising leader with a proven track record raising six to seven-figure gifts from institutional (foundation, government, and multilateral) funders to address the world’s most challenging international causes. Reporting to the President/Chief Executive Officer, the ideal candidate will build a thriving fundraising operation to support NRGI’s new multi-year strategy, and increase and diversify its sources of support, building on its strong base and leveraging its current strong financial position.  This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to build their own team of two additional full-time staff within NRGI and nurture pipelines that will ensure NRGI’s sustainability.

Major Responsibilities:

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION

Serve as a thought partner who leads the development and implementation of effective fundraising strategies and ensures the financial viability and sustainability of NRGI:

• Develop and execute NRGI’s annual fundraising plan, capitalizing on and in line with the organizational strategy.
• Develop and track revenue projections, and prepare budgets and forecasts related to all fundraising activities.
• Strengthen development infrastructure to develop a systematic and proactive fundraising approach with efficient and effective systems for donor tracking, record keeping, preparation and follow-up.
• Create and ensure compliance with ethical and best practice fundraising policies and procedures.
• Lead NRGI to excel in funder cultivation and stewardship, building a culture of philanthropy across staff and the leadership team.

INSTITUTIONAL (foundation and government) fundraising

Identify, build, secure, and maintain relationships with a diversity of institutional funding partners.

Take responsibility for the government funding portfolio, including drafting proposals, reports and other collateral; oversee the second primary funding portfolio:

• Supervise the Fundraising Manager and Associate, responsible for the foundation funding portfolio and select bilateral partnerships.
• Oversee and analyze research to identify and prioritize new sources of institutional giving.
• Lead on strategies to secure priority prospects, assisting with aligning NRGI programs and mission with funder priorities.
• Work closely with senior staff to nurture and develop new relationships with donor points of contact.
• Ensure overall timely, high quality, development and submission of reports and proposals, and appropriate mechanisms for donor engagement and recognition.

INTERNAL ReLATIONSHIPS AND COMMUNICATION

Nurture relationships with key internal stakeholders through effective relationship - building and communication.

Serve on the institutional leadership team, providing strategic direction to NRGI:

• Effectively leverage NRGI’s Governing Board to support institutional fundraising.
• Lead on the development of effective and appropriate reporting systems, working closely with relevant IT, program, finance and monitoring and evaluation staff.
• Lead work with the Communications Director and colleagues to develop appropriate messages and communication channels for various donor audiences.
• Lead internal communications on the policies, processes, and approaches to ensure a coherent and strategic approach to fundraising.

TEAM LEADERSHIP

Lead the fundraising team of staff and consultants in a manner that empowers them to add value to NRGI and deliver high standards of performance:

• Ensure that the department is properly resourced and capacitated through a combination of recruitment and management of staff and procurement of consultants.
• Ensure that each team member is clear on goals and expectations to deliver.
• Plan and organize the work of the team to deliver in the most cost-effective and impactful manner possible.
• Ensure delivery of an engaging leadership style that motivates team members and results in high performance.

The responsibilities of this role are subject to modifications as required by the needs of the organization.

Key Working Relationships:

Position reports to: President/Chief Executive Officer
Position directly supervises:  Two additional full-time staff to be recruited – Fundraising Associate, and Fundraising Manager 
Indirect reporting: Finance team, monitoring, evaluation and learning team
Other internal and/or external contacts: Internal: Program staff, support services team, Governing Board. External:  Funder and implementing partners, fundraising professionals

Job Requirements:

Experience required:

• Seasoned fundraising professional with a minimum of 10 years of experience in progressively senior positions, raising money from institutional sources for international development and governance causes
• Successful fundraising of six figure grants from foundations and/or governments in both Europe and the US
• Strong line management experience with excellent interpersonal and team building skills, ability to delegate and supervise
• Experience working in matrixed environment and collaborating with staff across different cultures and time zones

Technical skills

• Experience generating organizational and program budgets
• Experience using and developing donor databases
• Competency in MS Office and databases, including familiarity with Excel spreadsheets
• Ability to write clear and concise reports, analyzing data for different audiences
• Exceptional communication skills and ability to translate complex ideas into engaging language
• Fluency in Spanish or French an asset

Educational Qualifications

• Preference for graduate level degree in international development or related field, or equivalent work experience

Working Environment:  Standard office work environment, some international travel required.