Senior Manager, Philanthropy

Position: Senior Manager, Philanthropy

Location: Remote 

Employment Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt

Compensation Range: $90,000/year – $105,000/year DOE

Level: Manager II

Reports To: Chief Development Officer

Manages: None

Supported By: Development team, Communications team, Operations team, Program team

Education/Experience Preferences: Bachelor's Degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred

Start Date: ASAP

We Are DigDeep  

The DigDeep Right to Water Project is a WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) organization serving the 2 million + people in the U.S. who still don’t have a tap or a toilet at home. 

DigDeep believes access to clean water is a human right. We run several nationally recognized programs that empower communities to build their own water and sanitation systems. We won the 2018 US Water Prize for our Navajo Water Project, which has brought clean, running water to hundreds of Native families across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. DigDeep launched the Appalachia Water Project in 2020, in McDowell County, WV. It has since brought clean, sustainable running water to hundreds of families in Southern West Virginia through public - private partnerships with the McDowell County and East Logan PSD's in Wyoming County. In addition to clean running water, the project is installing septic systems and connecting households to centralized sewer. The AWP is now expanding into neighboring states of Kentucky and Virginia to continue its quest of clean water for every Appalachian family. Our water projects expanded in 2022 when we launched our Colonias Water Project. This project works to bring clean, running water to the residents living in communities along the Texas-Mexico border. The Texas colonias are largely unincorporated, low-income communities that fall just outside city limits and often lack basic infrastructure. Our work began in Cochran colonia near El Paso. DigDeep partnered with residents, housing nonprofits, and county officials to innovate a new model for public-private-partnership that brings these basic services to families for the first time. Now we're getting the water flowing in 5 more communities. 

The Opportunity

DigDeep is looking for a collaborative, relationship builder to join our growing Development team as the Senior Manager, Philanthropy. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer (CDO), the Senior Manager, Philanthropy will be responsible for DigDeep’s engagement with major and planned giving donors including personally managing a portfolio, designing and implementing high-impact programs, and working collaboratively to communicate the impact of DigDeep’s work. The ideal candidate will be an active listener, engaging storyteller, and proactive problem solver with a deep commitment to water as a human right.  

Key Responsibilities

This is what you’ll do once you join the team: 

• Personally manage a portfolio of major and planned giving donors, assuring they receive high quality engagement with the organization. Create and implement individualized plans for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Regularly meet with donors both virtually and in person.
• Design and implement high-impact programs to bolster relationships with major and planned giving donors. This includes creating short and long-term plans, and a calendar of activities throughout the year.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner and collaborator on transformational major donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship with the Chief Development Officer.
• Promote high levels of engagement for major donors by working with event and development operations staff to support the planning and curation of site visits for major donors to DigDeep’s project sites across the United States. 
• Work collaborative with grants staff and contractors to create cases for support, proposals, and reports. When needed, write and submit compelling proposals in alignment with DigDeep’s focus areas and funding priorities.
• Work collaboratively with development operations staff to assure that all major and planned giving donor information is accurate in Salesforce. Personally responsible for timely data entry of activities with donors, including emails, meeting notes, and other relationship management information. 
• Prepare donor briefings prior to meetings as needed, and work collaboratively with development operations staff on prospect research.
• Work collaboratively with communications staff to create and implement a communications strategy for major and planned giving donors throughout the year, and work together to create engaging communications and materials.
• Build first-hand knowledge of the DigDeep model and impact by working collaboratively with other departments, participating in relevant programmatic discussions and activities, and traveling to visit project sites. Regularly engage programmatic staff in major and planned giving donor meetings.
• Assist with ad-hoc projects and support other tasks/duties as assigned.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. As the organization continues to evolve, duties or tasks may change without impacting the overall job description. 

Competencies 

• Change Management: Task/Strategy orientation. Seeks out opportunities for task /team/ functional area growth and innovation, may collaborate with cross-functional teams to better inform decisions. Anticipates obstacles from both team members and active projects, forecast and prepare contingencies. Establishes new structures and policies within functional area to plan and manage the orderly implementation of change. Effectively navigates uncertainties and incomplete information with a problem-solving mindset to identify appropriate strategies, creatively apply solutions, and uses a community-driven, sustainable approach. Champions new policies/ procedures/ strategies. Are a focal point for driving adoption both within functional area and across company.
• Professional Communication: Professional presence, strong written and verbal communications skills, typically represents both oneself and the company well in external facing situations, able to adapt and react appropriately to novel circumstances. Tailors communications and presentations to effectively reach the desired audience and with maximum impact, both internal and external to the organization. Converses with, writes reports for, and creates/delivers presentations to all levels of colleagues and peer groups in ways that support understanding, problem solving, and planning. Brings apparent conflict, and possible resolutions, into the open empathetically. Demonstrates more than effective interpersonal skills. Checks for understanding of the communication by asking open-ended questions that draw out the listener’s understanding. Debates opinions, tests understanding, and effectively clarifies ambiguities and judgments. Explains the context of multiple interrelated challenges within functional area.
• Influence: Oversees relationships and alliances within and outside functional area with minimal support from supervisor (internal and external). Leads by example, seen as a model employee that other's desire to work with. Able to synthesize and triage various project needs in order to best achieve goals within functional area, with consideration to company-wide goals and needs. Challenge directives when appropriate and, with evidence, propose alternative solutions.
• Innovation: Encourages and promotes exploration of new ideas and creative thinking in self and others. Uses understanding and forward thinking to devise responses to future situations. Displays open mindedness and is willing to try new approaches. Adapts readily to changes and needs. Is able to shift attention and priorities in own work in response to needs of their work. Actively seeks opportunities to try out new experiences.
• Ownership: Direct ownership of major project(s) with decreasing guidance. Demonstrates commitment to delivering on all promises as a credible, trusted organizational representative. Establishes agreements with others as to how success will be measured. Accepts the consequences of own performance. Able to work independently with limited guidance and exercise independent judgment, knowing when to elevate concerns or issues.
• Technical Expertise: Has demonstrated ability and depth of knowledge with the technology in the desired technical area. Effectively uses and applies technical knowledge, and uses knowledge to identify solutions to existing problems. Basic understanding of data security best practices.

Skills and Qualifications

We want to hear from you if you have:

• Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent professional experience preferred
• At least 5 years of applicable professional experience required; experience in relationship building and major gifts fundraising highly preferred
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite, Google Workspace required
• High computer literacy, and tech savviness required
• Experience with Salesforce, Slack, Zoom preferred
• Able to focus in the face of pressure, deliver against timelines and not be intimidated by tasks/time limitations
• Organized, trustworthy, dependable, and diplomatic
• Comfortable with autonomy, able to work independently and complete assigned tasks within established time frames required
• Willingness to travel, including but not limited to: Navajo Nation (AZ/NM/UT), West Virginia, Texas, DigDeep HQ in Los Angeles, and additional locations as needed
• Experience/Willingness to work across various cultural contexts and communicating across cultural differences