Posted on February 12, 2013

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Director of Development

Over the last 27 years, Aim High has changed the lives of over 9,000 low-income youth. By reaching youth during the critical transition from childhood to adulthood, Aim High instills a deep love of learning through an engaging, personalized, and rigorous academic summer school program. Aim High is the largest academic summer program provider in the Bay Area, operating campuses in San Francisco, Oakland, on the Peninsula, North Bay, and Tahoe Truckee. The organization has grown from one site, serving 50 students in 1986, to fourteen sites serving 1,350 students in 2012.

Now Aim High seeks a highly skilled and passionate Director of Development to oversee and grow the organization’s fundraising program and serve as a strategic leader in the organization. The Director of Development will work closely with the Executive Director and Board of Directors and manage a development team as well as collaborate with stakeholders across the organization to develop and execute successful strategies for increasing Aim High’s fundraising capacity.

This is a critical leadership role at Aim High, responsible for articulating and coordinating the organization’s development strategy and vision, providing leadership to inspire an expansion of funding support, managing important donor strategies and relationships to increase fundraising capacity and organizational impact, and assessing the potential impact of new strategies and changes in the funding landscape. The ideal candidate will be an entrepreneurial professional with a strong track record of fundraising success, management skills, a passion for the mission, and the ability to communicate Aim High’s vision and impact to a diverse group of constituents. This is a full-time position located in San Francisco, CA.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as a senior leader at Aim High, participating in high-level strategic discussions and decisions
• Lead the development and execution of immediate and long-term strategic fundraising plans to strengthen current funding sources and increase $3.2 M budget to support key goals laid out in Aim High’s strategic plan, Vision 2015:

1. Grow our summer school program – Aim High will focus on bringing our award-winning program to more kids in more communities, growing from our current 14 sites in 5 regions.
2. Build key program elements – Aim High has a long track record of success as an academic and youth development program. Over the next 5 years, we will continue to build upon our standards-based academic curriculum and strengthen the training we provide for teachers.
3. Strengthen evaluation - Aim High will continue to refine our evaluation methods so that we can learn more about our impact on youth, families, teachers and communities.

• Direct all of the organization’s fundraising activities, including identifying funding opportunities from foundations, corporations, and public sources, prospecting individual and major donors, and implementing targeted strategies for each opportunity
• Strengthen existing relationships with funders, ensuring they are appropriately engaged and invested in the Aim High mission
• Manage and grow the capacity of the development team, which consists of a Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations and a Communications and Events Manager and a development intern; provide direction and oversight of a high volume of institutional grant submissions and ongoing tasks such as writing proposals, developing budgets and financial reports, planning and executing events, and implementing communications strategies
• Oversee the work of consultants as needed, including grant writers and campaign consultant, etc
• Serve as a strategic partner to the Executive Director and Board of Directors on a range of fundraising initiatives and programs, including strategy development, donor identification, cultivation, and solicitation and stewardship events
• Assess the success of fundraising strategies and provide clear, concise reports on fundraising results
• Develop and maintain professional, effective relationships with foundation and corporate contacts and match prospects with strategic growth efforts and priorities
• Ensure that technology and data is appropriately integrated into all fundraising team processes, goals, and measurements
• Lead specific development initiatives, including supporting the establishment of regional Advisory Boards that support Aim High campuses and overseeing a database upgrade and implementation project

Qualifications:
Successful candidates will have a strong fundraising generalist skill set and bring innovation, energy, and perseverance to the fundraising process. They will approach challenges with creativity and collaboration, and will be so excited by the Aim High mission and model that they motivate and inspire others to get involved. Other desired qualifications include:

• At least 7 years of professional fundraising experience and a demonstrated track record of securing funds from corporations, foundations, public sources, and individual donors
• A passion for Aim High’s mission and model
• Sophisticated communicator and relationship builder who is just as comfortable interacting with Aim High students as with major donors and is able to convey the Aim High mission and model and engage and inspire a wide range of stakeholders
• Strong people and team management skills, including the ability to supervise a development team of at least three people, setting goals, providing coaching and mentoring, and holding team members accountable for their work
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including outstanding attention to detail
• Highly collaborative and reflective approach to work, including an openness to giving and receiving feedback
• Strong cultural fit and a desire to be a part of an organization that values continued learning and growth for all team members
• Superb relationship builder who can find common ground and build and expand partnerships
• Comfortable with technology and highly data-driven, including the ability to use the database system to analyze development data, looking for trends and opportunities, and use metrics to guide decisions and continual improvement
• Experience with budgeting and budget development; basic financial management skills
• The ability to establish and strengthen fundraising systems and processes, including utilizing a database and financial information in fundraising strategies and reports
• Deep sense of cultural competency, including the ability to communicate with and inspire a diverse range of stakeholders
• Familiarity with the importance of out of school learning time and an understanding of how equity issues, in particular, the achievement gap, impact educational opportunities and systems is highly desired
• Ability to travel regionally and occasionally attend events and meetings outside of typical work hours

Compensation and Benefits:
Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience.

Aim High is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, women, and LGBT applicants.

About Aim High:
The mission of Aim High is to inspire a life-long love of learning and instill a sense of community, opportunity, and respect so that students are prepared for success in school and life. The foundation of Aim High is an intensive, engaging and challenging five-week summer school program for middle school students from low-income families. Students join after 5th or 6th grade, and participate for three or four consecutive summers, many participating in after-school and weekend opportunities during the academic year. Students graduate from Aim High in the summer prior to their freshman year in high school.

Our Summer Program
Aim High is the largest academic summer program provider in the Bay Area, operating campuses in San Francisco, Oakland, Marin County, the Peninsula, and its first rural program in Tahoe/Truckee. The program combines intensive, engaging and challenging academic classes with activities and events that create opportunities for leadership development and community exploration. Students join after 5th or 6th grade, and participate for three or four consecutive summers - at no cost to them or their families.

Our Students
Over the last 27 years, Aim High has changed the lives of over 9,000 low-income youth. By reaching youth during the critical transition from childhood to adulthood, Aim High instills a deep love of learning through an engaging, personalized and supportive summer school program. The majority of the youth we serve come from low-income families, live in under-resourced neighborhoods, and will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Students call our culture the "Aim High Magic," and they want to return year after year. Our teachers and staff create an atmosphere where youth feel safe, welcomed and nurtured—an environment where they can truly develop a love of learning.

Our Teachers
Aim High not only prepares students for success in high school and higher education, but is also committed to encouraging talented young adults to serve their communities and to consider teaching as a career. We hire and train a cadre of over 350 teachers—a combination of experienced professional teachers and high school and college students—each summer. Our intensive training and team teaching model gives our teaching staff the opportunity to create a rigorous, engaging and fun learning environment. Many of Aim High’s faculty members are graduates of Aim High and serve as powerful role models for our students. For more information visit www.aimhigh.org.

About Koya Leadership Partners:
Koya Leadership Partners is a national retained search and consulting firm that works exclusively with non-profits and social enterprises. We deliver measurable results, finding exceptionally talented people who truly fit the unique culture of our client organizations. For more information about Koya Leadership Partners, visit www.koyapartners.com.

Application Instructions

To Apply:
Aim High has engaged Koya Leadership Partners to help in this hire. Please submit a compelling cover letter and resume to Molly Brennan at
https://koya.refineapp.com/jobPosting/apply/609