Director of Development & Communications
Families First
Watertown, MA
About Families First
Parents have the power to shape their children's futures. Families First offers Greater Boston's most comprehensive model for parenting education, family engagement, and parent leadership programming. Founded in 1988, our mission is to bring parents of young children together in their communities so they can strengthen their parenting knowledge, skills, and support systems.
Our Power of Parenting and Parent Leadership programs are evidence-informed and centered around building knowledge of parenting and child development, social and emotional competence of children, parental resilience, social connections, and concrete support in times of need. We have served thousands of families since our founding, including more than 350 parents in our 2020-2021 program year.
This is an exciting time for Families First as we are seeing incredible outcomes for families in our programs as well as significant revenue growth. As a result, we have been able to launch new innovations to deepen our program model while expanding our reach outside of Boston. This year, after formally launching our new Parent Leadership program, we are replicating it at early childhood partner sites statewide. We will also launch our programs in the Springfield, MA area in 2022. We are currently operating with a budget of approximately $1.7M; 82% of our revenue is currently raised by our Development Team across a diverse range of sources, including foundation and government grants, corporate contributions, and individual contributions. Our budget also includes program revenue and investment income.
To learn more about our work, values, and outcomes, please visit http://www.families-first.org.
The Opportunity
Joining Families First during a time of continued growth, the Director of Development & Communications will play a critical role in our success and expansion. The Director will lead the Development & Communications Team with goals of sustaining and increasing our revenue and ensuring strong internal systems for our fund development and communications activities. They will bring creativity to refining and implementing our overall fund development strategy, with particular attention to our individual and corporate donor activities, and they will ensure we have the right internal systems to support our development and communications activities.
Acting as a steward of our organizational values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, the Director will uphold our commitment to ethical storytelling, using a racial equity lens to evaluate our development and communications work, and ensure ongoing learning and development for department staff.
The Director will supervise the Development & Communications Manager, a grantwriting consultant, and an events consultant, and will staff the Board's Development Committee. The Director will report to and collaborate closely with the Executive Director and will serve as a key member of our leadership team.
Key Responsibilities
Team, Strategy, and Systems Leadership
- Serve as the lead strategist for our development and communications plans, defining goals, tracking progress, and ensuring accountability
- Provide leadership, supervision, and coaching to the department's staff and consultants, supporting team members toward achieving individual and shared goals
- Collaborate with the Regional Director, Western MA on development and communications activities related to our regional expansion
- Contribute to organization-wide strategic planning efforts
- Partner with an active Board of Directors and serve as the staff liaison to the Development Committee
- Collaborate with the Program Team and Directors Team to identify and oversee communications projects that support programming and organizational goals
- Advance strategies to ensure ethical storytelling and demonstration of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging through our development and communications practices
- Oversee utilization and maintenance of our internal donor tracking systems
Relationship Management
- Identify opportunities that will allow us to sustain, diversify, and grow our base of support, with a focus on expanding our individual donor and corporate funder pipelines
- Manage a portfolio of key relationships, including individual donors, corporations, and foundations, growing Families First's revenue, visibility, and impact through these relationships
- Support staff and Board members in their relationship management activities as appropriate
- Cultivate relationships with community leaders and media contacts to expand Families First's visibility
Candidate Profile
Strong candidates will demonstrate many, though perhaps not all, of the following professional experiences, skills, and characteristics: - You share our deep belief in the power of parents and are aligned with our diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging values.
- You come to this role with 6+ years of proven success in nonprofit development roles, including experience growing revenue from both individual donors and institutional funders.
- You are a strong project leader and manager, with demonstrated success in leading complex work flows and coordinating with colleagues to set and achieve goals through effective planning and tracking.
- You work with an entrepreneurial spirit, taking initiative to deepen existing relationships, build new ones, and improve upon systems and practices. You are able to identify needs and secure and manage resources to meet them.
- You are a skilled collaborator, able to cultivate strong relationships with colleagues across different levels of an organization and externally.
- You bring excellent communication skills and have the ability to inspire and motivate a variety of audiences, including staff, donors, and Board members, toward shared goals.
- You demonstrate strong instincts and abilities as a manager for skilled, experienced development and communications staff, ideally with past experience managing small teams.
- Existing connections to or knowledge of the communities in which we work is considered a strong benefit; these include Roxbury, Dorchester, East Boston, and Chelsea.
- Prior experience and success in roles that include responsibility for communications is also considered a plus.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this position is $90,000 - $110,000. Families First is proud to maintain a balanced work environment for all employees. Our benefits package includes: - Medical and dental insurance (Families First pays 70%; medical plan is Blue Cross Blue Shield) for employee and family
- 3 weeks of vacation time to start, with one additional week per year, up to 5 weeks
- 12 paid holidays
- 12 paid sick days
- Healthcare Flex Spending Account
- Paid family leave to supplement FMLA
- Flexible work from home options available
- Funds available for professional development
Contact
Families First has partnered with Cassie Scarano and Kirstin Griffiths of Koya Partners on this search. To express your interest in this role, please submit your resume and a compelling cover letter that speaks to your interest in our mission and how your experience aligns with this position. Cover letters may be addressed to Sue Covitz, and application materials can be submitted here. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential..........
Families First has a strong commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We aim to attract qualified candidates who hold these same values and help us further recognize and celebrate the diversity among us.Families First is an equal employment opportunity for all regardless of race, color, citizenship, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran or reservist status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.
About Koya Partners
Koya Partners, a part of the Diversified Search Group, is a leading executive search and strategic advising firm dedicated to connecting exceptionally talented people with mission-driven clients. Our founding philosophy—The Right Person in the Right Place Can Change the World—guides our work as we partner with nonprofits & NGOs, institutions of higher education, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.For more information about Koya Partners, visit http://www.koyapartners.com.
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