General Summary of the Position
Reporting to Director of Development, the Senior Development Officer will serve as a frontline fundraiser managing the process of identifying, cultivating, and soliciting lead and principle level gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Senior Development Officer will maintain a personal portfolio of donors and prospects who have the capacity to make annual gifts of $50,000 and higher. The Senior Development Officer must be a highly energetic professional with a track record of building donor relationships and securing gifts in the six-figure and seven-figure range. The Sr. Development Officer will manage development professionals as assigned.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities of the Position
- Collaborate with the development team in building a culture of Christian stewardship and philanthropy while advancing the Diocesan priorities.
- Develop/nurture existing and prospective donor relationships.
- Evaluate major gift prospects to cultivate new gifts from individuals.
- Create a donor portfolio with appropriate individualized donor pipelines and donor strategies including identifying strategies to renew and increase giving from current donors.
- Strengthen the successful implementation of the Diocese of Dallas annual development plan.
- Facilitate the implementation of donor giving plans, including the direct solicitation of gifts and submission of proposals to individuals, corporations, and foundations.
- Assist in the Diocesan stewardship efforts that offer parishes the ability to establish a program allowing an engaged, financially stable and spiritual community.
- Work collaboratively with pastor and other parish staff along with other diocesan offices and ministries when appropriate to support parishes with successful stewardship and capital fund-raising strategies and goals.
- Support the Director of Development as needed and perform other duties as assigned.
Position Requirements
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- An understanding of Christian stewardship and supports and upholds the mission of the Gospel and the Catholic Church by modeling the teachings of the Catholic Church.
- A commitment to the cultivation and stewardship of donors and prospective donors
- Candidate must enjoy engaging with people both professionally and socially.
- Ability to understand the needs and interests of leadership and major gifts donors in order to develop relationships between them and the Diocese.
- Demonstrated leadership and the ability to successfully manage multi-functional areas.
- Successful experience in making cold calls as well as developing cultivation and solicitation strategies.
- Must have excellent interpersonal skills, be detailed-oriented, and have a high level of initiative with strong communication, organization and people skills.
- A knowledge of how best to utilize/maximize/analyze prospect research.
- Be well-versed in fundraising analytics and systems management.
Education and Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree, required.
- Successful experience in major gift fundraising, required.
- Capital Campaign experience, highly preferred.
- Excellent computer skills required (Excel, MS Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat).
Special Requirements:
- Practicing Roman Catholic in good standing, required.
- Bilingual, English/Spanish, highly preferred but not required.
- Experience with donor databases, including Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT, preferred
- Some travel may be required.
- Occasional work in the evening and weekends relating to events, donor engagement, etc., will be required but typically scheduled well in advance.
Physical Requirements Specific to the Job:
N/A
