Director, Foundation Relations
Location: Flexible, National Office (Boston) strongly preferred
Position is available: Immediately
WHO WE ARE
Achievement Network (ANet) is a nonprofit dedicated to educational equity. We help schools boost student learning with great teaching that’s grounded in standards, informed by data, and built on the successful practices of educators around the country. Founded in 2005, ANet now serves over 700 schools educating over 230,000 students across the country. Our support has consistently helped our partner schools—both district and charter—achieve breakthrough results for their students.
ANet has received multiple awards and recognitions, most recently receiving the highest ratings (Tier 1) on our math and ELA formative assessments from the Louisiana Department of Education, the only organization to receive such high marks. We were also named to The NonProfit Time’s “Best Nonprofits to Work For” and in the 2018-19 school year will be launching the Breakthrough Results Fund, a four-year collaboration to prove what’s possible in instructional improvement.
ANet is a dynamic, values driven, team-oriented organization that is committed to the growth and development of all staff members. Individuals who join ANet have the opportunity to join an exceptional team of colleagues committed to helping schools drive excellent teaching and learning by investing in each other and learning together.
THE OPPORTUNITY
We are seeking an experienced fundraiser with strong writing and project management skills to serve as ANet’s Director, Foundation Relations on our national Business Development & Organizational Effectiveness Team. This Diretor will play a key role in securing roughly $10M per year in funding from philanthropic foundations to support ANet’s work. They will manage complex and highly-detailed project plans, write in a way that sticks, and think strategically about how to reach and effectively communicate with a wide audience.
This person will partner with the Chief Business Development Officer and the CEO to develop grant proposals, ensure we deliver on the milestones in our grants, submit grant reports, build relationships with funders, and manage progress toward ANet’s fundraising goals overall. The Director will also help build and tighten the systems we use to track our philanthropic resources. This role will report to the Chief Business Development Officer.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Create compelling written materials, including grant applications, reports, and presentation
Conduct research to understand funder objectives, priorities, and requirements, and think strategically about their fit with ANet’s prioritie
Work with our Program Team to understand the strategic projects we are undertaking each year and incorporate those projects into strategic outreach to funders with aligned interests
- Develop content for grant proposals and other “pitch” materials (including materials for site visits by potential funders) based on a strong understanding of ANet’s program and strategy
- Compose grant reports and work with our finance team to track ANet’s expenditure against grant budgets
- Support regular meetings with funders to report on progress through development of presentations and planning of funder interactions
Ensure ANet achieves its fundraising goals
- Oversee tracking our fundraising pipeline, application deadlines, progress against fundraising goals, and reporting requirements
- Use tracking information and knowledge of potential funders to identify strategies to reach our fundraising goals
- Work across teams to ensure that we are completing the projects described in our grant agreements and help project manage key aspects of grant-funded work
- Work with our Finance Team to ensure that our grants budget accurately captures the work associated with managing grant projects
- Empower and equip ANet’s regional leaders to secure local grant funding where appropriate and develop systems that enable efficient, consistent grant proposals in our different geographies
- Run regular check-ins with our CEO and Chief Business Development Officer to ensure we are making progress toward our philanthropic goals
Steward relationships with foundation partners
- Help build relationships with ANet’s funders by regularly connecting them with opportunities to experience our work in action
- Manage requests from funders for information and proactively ensure that our funders are receiving the most important news and information about ANet
- Help cultivate, recognize, and appreciate key donors
WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU BRING
In order to be successful in this role, candidates must demonstrate the following:
- You have a passionate commitment to and a sense of urgency for the support of schools, along with a belief that all students can achieve at high levels
- You have a demonstrated ability to write in a compelling manner, with prose that captures the audience’s attention and clearly communicates relevant content
- You are skilled at managing your time, organizing multi-part projects, and collaborating with colleagues across tenure and geography
- You thrive at distilling complex projects that require input from a broad set of collaborators into clear workstreams that can be executed efficiently
- You know how to analyze data and critically examine content developed by others to ensure it is accurate and relevant
- You have a track record of successfully building and stewarding relationships with funders and communicating with them and other key stakeholders in a way that is both humble and persuasive
- You are motivated by working in an environment where we live out our core values daily and are eager to examine personal archetypes and biases while discussing topics related to race, class, and privilege which relate to ANet’s Advance Equity and People Matter values
Ideal candidates may also demonstrate the following preferred qualifications:
- You have five to seven years’ experience in development, including writing grants, managing execution of grants, tracking and reporting on grants, and managing or working with grant budgets
- You bring experience in a high-growth, fast-moving, evolving, multi-site organization
- You have experience with technology platforms related to fundraising with foundations, such as Fluxx, Salesforce, Foundation Center, and others
WHAT WE OFFER
ANet offers highly competitive compensation based on prior experience and qualifications as well as comprehensive benefits in order to best support our people. Benefits we offer include: health, dental and vision insurance where ANet pays 80% of the cost of these benefits for employees and their families/domestic partner; 3 weeks of vacation (4 weeks after two years with ANet); 10 paid holidays with paid days off between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays; a paid floating holiday; paid sick & personal days; paid parental leave; retirement plan options; commuter benefits; tuition reimbursement; flexible spending accounts; short and long-term disability coverage; and basic life and personal accident insurance.
HOW TO APPLY
We are now accepting applications for this position, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis. To apply, please click on the blue “Apply” button. You will then be prompted to complete a brief application and upload a resume and thoughtful cover letter in which you outline why you are interested in working for ANet and how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position.
ANet is committed to maximizing the diversity of our organization. We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage individuals of all ethnic and racial backgrounds and gender identities to apply to our positions.
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