NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The coming year is an opportunity for us to continue centering our work at the intersection of the Inner Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goal frameworks, strengthening our programs, and gaining momentum with our new Wisdom Lab initiative. Read more at: http://globalgrassroots.org/

About the role:
Last year, Global Grassroots shifted its international headquarters and operational leadership from the US to East Africa. This transition was a deeply self-reflective response to the global reckoning around racial injustice and the structural imbalances threaded throughout so many institutions.

As we have continued to work through that process, the fact remains that our work is funded by a donor base that is predominately American. As such, Global Grassroots is seeking a Development and US Operations Director to serve as a strong liaison between our East Africa Director and Board of Directors to lead our development, donor engagement, communications, and administrative needs in the US in support of our East Africa programs. Working independently, yet as part of a dynamic, virtual, and global team, the Director of Development and US Operations will serve as our exclusive development professional and primary US employee to manage the back-end functions of the 501(c)(3) arm that supplies resources to the Africa NGO. Over the next two years, our goal is to ensure the long-term sustainability of our programming and improve our financial health. We’ll do this by increasing our grant funding with a laser-focus on multi-year operational grants, tripling our individual donor base, improving our annual fundraising campaigns, and developing a strong recurring donor base.

The ideal candidate has the capacity to design and execute independently on an overarching, annual fundraising strategy as well as the willingness to handle the micro-level administrative tasks of maintaining the 501(c)(3). The Development and US Operations Director will have proven experience in non-profit development, including a track record of identifying and securing gifts and grants, handling grants reporting and donor stewardship, and experience with administration, and operations.

The ideal candidate will be self-directed even during change and transition, have a strong relationship orientation and communications skills, and experience working across diverse relationships. Enthusiasm and knowledge of the philanthropic landscape for at least one of our key social issue areas (women’s empowerment, social entrepreneurship, clean water infrastructure, or mindfulness and personal transformation) and East Africa is important.

Your Responsibilities will include:
Co-Lead on Organizational Management (10%)
● With the board and Africa leadership team, participate in setting the strategic goals of the organization in alignment with available and potential resources
● Raise and implement creative ideas on how we work as an organization to continue punching above our weight and meet our ambitious goals
● Work with the finance committee and African leadership team to review financial progress each quarter
● Update cash flow and agreed monthly disbursements to Africa NGO in collaboration with African Leadership and board

Drive our Global Fundraising/Development (60%)
● Collaborate with East Africa Director and board to set annual fundraising and communication goals, strategies, and work plan, and execute and evaluate such plans
● Manage the organization’s grants program, including opportunity research, leading the grant proposal writing process with program data assistance from the East Africa team, and regular reporting in liaison with Africa program staff towards an increased funding base supported by multi-year commitments
● Cultivation of potential new funders/donors, foundations, and individuals through deep and effective relationship building
● Develop and execute an individual donor stewardship strategy, including researching and cultivating new prospects, maintaining donor relationships through personal contact and regular program updates, managing donor correspondence, securing pledges and major gifts, and expanding our overarching funding base
● Stay abreast of the donor landscape, and funders’ interests and the evolving issues related to our work, including empowerment of and elimination of violence against women and girls in post-conflict Africa, the mindfulness sector, and clean water infrastructure; conducting research on funders within these sectors
● Prepare communications tools and presentations to assist with donor cultivation and public relations
● Manage our donor database system (eTapestry, a BlackBaud platform), fundraising calendar, and records of donor information and fundraising transactions for regular donor analysis reporting
● Correspond with US funding partners, and steward strong relationships with our core donor base to ensure they feel meaningfully engaged in our mission, vision, and work
● Support our African leadership and board in development activities among new stakeholders in East Africa
● Facilitate board members’ involvement in donor stewardship and soliciting new gifts by ensuring they are equipped with organizational collateral for sharing with networks and have communications tools to develop donor relationships
● Advise and provide strategic support to programs and board on the opportunities and risks present in the resources development landscape as they pertain to overall strategy
● Collaborate closely with the board to ensure financial health of the organization and progress towards fundraising goals through regular board development updates and convening fundraising committee and finance committee meetings
● Lead a donor reporting calendar and write all grant reports

Oversee the Build-Out of our Communications (20%)
● Partner with Africa leadership team and board in developing and determining the annual communications strategy, including mapping out key stakeholders in both geographies, key messages to drive, how to position the organization and its work, raise visibility, and improve donor relations and engagement
● Partner with Africa Team to collect stories and data that reflect our work and can be used for communications and fundraising purposes
● At times, engage experts and volunteers to build out our Communications Strategy and Tools
● Supervise the part-time communications professional who will
○ Execute, evaluate and iterate our Communications Strategy
○ Seek out opportunities to position Global Grassroots in relevant ways
○ Manage our social media platforms, website, newsletters, and donor emails.
○ Package impact stories and data to communicate our mission, work and impact to our various stakeholders, by executing online fundraising and communications strategy (social media and website updates; reports, etc)
○ Manage volunteer and information inquiries

US Operations & Administration (10%)
● Oversee compliance with any tax, regulatory, legal, insurance, HR or financial requirements as a 501(c)(3) and US employer
● Work with East Africa Finance and Administrative Officer and US financial consultant to prepare financial reports for donor and board communications
● Work with accountants to ensure timely preparation and filing of tax returns
● Provide logistical and planning support for any donor events, site visits, and board meetings
● Process US mail and check donations
● Manage US banking transactions
● Manage disbursements to the African NGO
● Provide general administrative support

Who we are looking for:
● Personal experience with contemplative practice, mindfulness, trauma-healing or personal transformation
● Passionate about driving equitable social change based on a deep awareness and personal reflection of the challenges and historical power dynamics in philanthropy and development. Strong belief in Global Grassroots’ Conscious Social Change model
● Lived experience and knowledge of the development context on the African continent, specifically East Africa. Understanding and enjoyment of cross-cultural teamwork.
● Knowledge and previous experience in at least one of our priority social issue areas (women’s empowerment, social entrepreneurship, clean water infrastructure, or mindfulness and personal transformation)
● Comfort level working remotely but closely with a multicultural team
● At least 6-8 years fundraising/development experience
○ Track record of successful grant submissions and grant reporting and significantly growing major gifts and a recurring individual donor base in a related role with an international non-profit organization
○ Successful experience developing an annual fundraising strategy and executing it completely with impactful results
○ Standing network of philanthropic entities and understanding of current funding trends
○ Strong relationship-orientation and competency building trust, customizing and ensuring meaning in donor engagement, delivering and executing on a fundraising ask
○ Proven track record of cultivating high net worth individuals and securing multi-year grants from foundations and government agencies
○ Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to identify and articulate alignment between donor interests and our complex programmatic model
○ Proficiency with donor management software
● Financial Management skills including experience tracking cashflow projections, monitoring income and expenses, and creating budgets
● Experience with administrative and operational management tasks such as annual tax filings, charity compliance reporting, and handling vendor payments
● Experience with communications including writing annual reports, creating mass emails, and crafting documents that tell a good story
● Creativity and resourcefulness; willing to take initiative
● Ability to exercise good judgement, to demonstrate an understanding of ethics related to development activities, and to use discretion in interactions with donors, prospects, volunteers, and other organizational stakeholders
● Ability to prioritize multiple assignments and handle complex tasks independently in a changing environment, yet capable of building connections with and collaborating with staff across differing cultures and countries, Board of Directors, partners, program participants, staff, consultants, etc.
● Impeccable time management skills and the ability to meet all external deadlines
● High level of attention to detail
● Proactive and capable of thinking strategically with skills to evaluate success and mitigate risk
● Willingness to travel nationally/internationally, if necessary
● Commitment to inner development, personal well-being, and a growth mindset. Able to mitigate stress through a personal practice of mindfulness
● Relevant Bachelor’s degree

You will fit well with our Global Grassroots culture and family if you:
● Have the highest integrity: You value transparency, ensure accountability in all aspects of your life, and are committed to operate in alignment with core values.
● Are deeply compassionate: You exercise empathy and treat all people with respect and dignity. You give people the benefit of the doubt and encourage them to be the best version of themselves. You combine the urgency of getting things done while honoring the complexities of different work styles, locations, and needs.
● Are adaptable/agile: You are calm and curious in challenging and complex situations and are a critical thinker that can adapt to change, inspiring others around a common cause.
● Are innovative: You see solutions, not challenges and are creatively resourceful in taking informed risk and learning from mistakes.
● Wear multiple hats and get things done: You are efficient, organized, and use your time effectively. You are able to see problems from different perspectives and can balance competing demands. You are flexible in responding to occasional heavy, peak workloads, but also know how to manage stress and ensure your own wellbeing to protect from burn-out.
● Value working in a close-knit team: You value the importance of collaboration, honor the unique insight of all stakeholders, and know how to optimize the effectiveness of a diverse group while guarding its wellbeing.

Why Work with Us?
● Make a meaningful difference in the lives of underserved women, while demonstrating to the rest of the world their innate capacity as change leaders
● Play a transformative leadership role in an organization at an inflection point in shifting from its Western founding orientation to an Africa-led institution
● Influence community development as we take our cutting-edge model to global influence
● Join a committed team that cares deeply about each other’s wellbeing. We have a robust wellness policy, utilize mindfulness and stress reduction practices, and support opportunities for professional development. Global Grassroots offers a flexible work environment, a wellbeing and health insurance stipend, guaranteed vacation time, in addition to two weeks a year of office closure, paid vacation/sick days/holidays, and 3 months of parental leave.

Other Information
Anticipated Start Date is late January or early February, 2023. Work location within the US is flexible. Occasional travel to Rwanda (as per budget availability). Regular morning calls with the East Africa team can be expected. Full-time role with occasional urgent crunch periods around deadlines. We are looking for candidates who are ready to commit for the long-term. We will agree on performance and learning objectives for the onboarding and handover period.