Development Director, Europe

Organization Profile:

Room to Read seeks to transform the lives of millions of children in developing countries by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments, we develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children, and support girls to complete secondary school with the relevant life skills to succeed in school and beyond.

We are non-governmental, non-religious and work with many local NGOs and community based organizations to implement our programs. We currently work in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Vietnam, and Zambia – countries with a desperate lack of resources to educate their children. Since our inception, Room to Read’s worldwide team has impacted over 6 million children by constructing more than 1,500 schools, establishing over 13,000 libraries, publishing 700 new children’s book titles in 11 local languages, and rewarding over 16,000 girls with long-term, holistic scholarships.

Room to Read has an annual budget of approximately US$44 million and our global staff numbers over 600. Our global headquarters is located in San Francisco, and we have smaller fundraising offices in Delhi, New York, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, Sydney, and Tokyo. We have an Asia Regional Office located in New Delhi, a Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria, and program offices in Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Kathmandu, Lusaka, New Delhi, Pretoria, Phnom Penh, Vientiane..

Position Overview:

The Development Director, Europe, oversees a team that focuses on fundraising from individuals, corporations, and family foundations located in the Europe region (primarily the UK, Netherlands, Switzerland and other geographies as necessary).  The Development Director, Europe, is responsible for developing a comprehensive and actionable regional development plan as well as sourcing and maintaining relationships with donors in the Europe region with a goal of raising a minimum of £5+ million annually across the team (including individuals, corporations and trusts & foundations) and has a personal portfolio target of a minimum of £2.5+ million.

This position is based in London and is expected to travel approximately 20% annually. The Development Director, Europe, is an integral part of our dynamic development team and reports to the Chief Development Officer, located at our Global Headquarters in San Francisco.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Act as the first point of contact and main liaison for Room to Read (RtR) in the Europe region
• Drive strategy while providing management of development activities and effective leadership and mentoring of the development team consisting of five full-time staff and one part-time staff member whose collective primary responsibilities include liaising with donors and soliciting donations, maintaining accurate donor records, financial management, coordinating with local volunteer chapters and representing RtR in the region
• Establish and monitor revenue goals for all areas of development in the Europe Region, including major gifts, corporate & foundations, individual gifts, memberships, electronic giving and special events
• Support the Co-Founders, executive staff and Board as they represent RtR to various constituencies
• Further fundraising strategies that use digital media
• Establish and manage an Advisory Board for the UK in collaboration with the Co-Founders
• Report progress to the RtR UK Trustee Board and Global Office (GO) and seek guidance as appropriate; comply with the UK Charity Commission Guidelines
• Strategize with the GO staff in San Francisco on donor communications, strategy (particularly as it relates to corporate and foundation donors), budgeting and reporting, and ensuring that strategies within Europe are in line with RtR’s global strategies
• Undertake structured cultivation and solicitation meetings with potential major donors and represent RtR at  fundraising events
• Build upon existing and create new financially-rewarding relationships with donors
• Drive strategy and strengthen donor stewardship programs across the organisation
• Ensure that donor records are accurate within Raiser's Edge and Salesforce.com databases; strengthen existing fundraising systems and processes
• Liaise with the London-based Sr. Manager, Chapters and Volunteers in the overall management of European volunteer chapters
• Provide leadership and supervision for the Finance and Development Associate who works closely with the GO Finance and Accounting team to support day-to-day finance and accounting activities including management of the region’s annual budget, preparing internal and external financial statements, and assisting in audits
• Work closely with the GO HR staff to assist in the coordination and management of office space and logistics, including planning for growth, negotiating agreements, overseeing procurement, communicating IT requirements, managing expenses, and identifying potential issues

Qualifications

• 8-10 years professional experience in nonprofit fundraising, business sales, marketing or equivalent experience in a fast-paced, growth-oriented organisation, strongly preferred
• Bachelor’s Degree; advanced degree or specific certification in fundraising preferred
• History of dedicated volunteer activity and/or commitment to non-profit organisations
• A record of personal success and results with planning, executing major gift activities and exceeding goals in raising money through major gifts from individuals, businesses, foundations and corporations or in business sales
• Demonstrated management skills in motivating, directing and managing staff and in coordinating and supporting fundraising activities of others
• Demonstrated successful experience in working with boards and foundations comprised of prominent corporate and community volunteers
• Positive initiative and mature judgment
• Highly organised, detail-oriented and self-motivated
• Computer literate, with experience in MS Office applications and Outlook; Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce, and WebEx a plus
• Able to balance competing priorities, complex situations and tight deadlines
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communications skills in English
• Adept at creating and working with budgets
• Ability to travel ~20% of the time (including at least 1 annual trip to San Francisco)
• Prior success working closely and building relationships with diverse groups of people
• Experience of living or working internationally is a plus
• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit organisation
• Be an innovative and creative thinker that tries new things and inspires others to do so
• Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
• Work well independently as well as part of a team
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

To be successful as a member of the Room to Read team, you will also:

• Have passion for our mission and a strong desire to impact a dynamic nonprofit organization
• Be an innovative and creative thinker that tries new things and inspires others to do so
• Have a very high level of personal and professional integrity and trustworthiness
• Have a strong work ethic and require minimal direction
• Work well independently as well as part of a team
• Thrive in a fast-paced and fun environment

Compensation:

Room to Read offers a competitive salary with excellent benefits. Benefits include cash back plans for health and dental care in addition to pension plan matching. The non-monetary compensation includes a unique opportunity to be part of an innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization that is changing the world through literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure:

For further information, including how to apply, please contact Liz Grimes at The Kage Partnership on liz@kagep.com or 020 7928 3434.

Room to Read is an equal opportunity employer committed to identifying and developing the skills and leadership of people from diverse backgrounds.