Associate Director, Major Giving East (Chicago)

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

The External Relations (ER) department is comprised of three main but complementary functional areas: Private fundraising, Communications, and Advocacy. The main objective of the department is to enable this organization of more than 15,000 staff to have the resources needed to continue serving 18 million people worldwide in places affected by war and disaster. The Philanthropy unit, part of the ER department, leads on the organization’s work with High-Net-Worth Individuals.

Positioned within the USA Philanthropy department, the Major Giving East team has a goal of growing private individual support for the IRC by engaging, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding significant, multi-year commitments from high-net-worth individual supporters based in the Eastern United States (East of the Mississippi River).

The Associate Director of Major Giving, Chicago will be a dynamic seasoned fundraiser and relationship cultivator who will work closely with the Director of USA Philanthropy’s Major Giving East team to build a strategy to support a growing portfolio of high-net-worth individuals. With a geographic focus on the Chicago, IL metro region, the Associate Director will serve as a relationship manager throughout the donor life cycle, working across fundraising teams and cross-functional teams with senior leadership to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward five, six, and seven-figure gifts, using donor-centric fundraising practices and deploying program and IRC leaders. They will also build a strong donor pipeline of major gift donor prospects and increase regional revenue.

The ideal candidate is an entrepreneurial professional who has demonstrated experience understanding the motivations of philanthropists and can assess the inclination of a donor or prospect’s willingness to make a significant gift to the IRC over a number of years.

Major Responsibilities

• Grow and manage a dynamic portfolio of 75-100 high-net-worth individuals by moving the IRC's relationship with each through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Participate in active prospect discovery through relationship and network mapping. Qualify prospects using research and discovery to unearth new donor relationships.
• Design creative and meaningful engagement opportunities for area donors to learn and connect with the IRC’s programs and leadership working across functions and teams, with participation from key existing donors and leadership volunteers.
• Co-create and deploy strategic correspondence, including solicitations, cultivation pieces, reports, and other stewardship materials, to engage donors and prospects.
• Design tactics and creative, long-term engagement strategy to deepen donor dedication and increase giving.
• Choreograph, prepare strategy, and briefing and debriefing materials for face-to-face meetings and solicitations with Major donors conducted personally and/or by senior staff and Board leadership.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the IRC, institutional fundraising colleagues, and field staff, to align donor and organizational priorities in a way that increases income for the IRC and builds multi-layered, deep engagement with the organization.
• Work collaboratively with Account Managers to strategize, actively track, and measure progress toward financial goals and movement of prospects and donors across the donor lifecycle.
• Undertake special projects as requested.
  
  

Candidate Requirements

• 6-8 years of progressive fundraising experience and demonstrated expertise in private sector, major gifts, or major gifts fundraising; or sales, including direct solicitation of donors or clients.
• Knowledge of and experience working with the philanthropic community in the Chicago metro area
  
  

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Proven track record of closing 5 and 6-figure gifts from a dynamic portfolio of donors and prospects, including qualifying prospects and upgrading donors;
• Consistent record of developing blended and multi-year funding opportunities;
• Outstanding communication skills, including writing, listening, verbal presentation, and speaking;
• Ability to develop creative and nuanced donor strategy often carried out in partnership with program staff or senior leadership;
• Adaptable to change in a fast-paced work environment while keeping donor priorities at the center of strategy and relationship building;
• Ability to diplomatically and sensitively collaborate across teams internally, regardless of distance, and garner support for and implement initiatives effectively;
• Ability to identify, build, and implement processes vital to supporting effective donor relationships;
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data;
• Ability to navigate CRM systems;
• Dedication to fundraising for international development, humanitarian, human rights, gender and racial equality, social justice, and US immigrant communities.
  
  

Working Environment: Requires remote/flex-time work.

• Compensation: (Pay Range: $105,000 - $120,000)**Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.
  
  

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS

All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding, Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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Compensation: Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

US Benefits: We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days depending on role and tenure, medical insurance starting at $143 per month, dental starting at $6.50 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with immediately vested matching, disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.