Development Manager

Development Manager

This job description is intended to convey information essential to understand the scope of the position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of skills, efforts, duties, or responsibilities associated with the position.

The Development Manager will work on a wide range of development-related activities including stewardship of existing funder relationships, managing grant submissions and reports, owning funder convenings, and development-related events, and ensuring BISC’s funders receive timely, relevant, and professional communication. This person will also play a critical role in maintaining the funder database and tracking funder follow up, among other responsibilities. Additionally, this person will understand the important connection between development and program work and collaborate closely with the operations and finance team. The person in this position must be organized, self-motivated, and an excellent communicator.

Apply here.

Location: BISC HQ is located in Washington, DC, but the location for this position is flexible in the US. This position will require occasional travel to the D.C. office, staff retreats, and BISC’s annual Road Ahead conference.

Notice of Exempt Position:

This is a full-time position and in accordance with the provisions of Federal and DC wage and hour laws, this position is classified as Exempt, which means that you will not be eligible for overtime for hours worked in excess of forty (40) during a work week. This position reports to the Development Director.

Responsibilities include:

  • Managing the grant submission and reporting process for BISC and BISC Foundation which includes;  tracking our submission and reporting deadlines, writing content for proposals and reports, collecting budget and financial information, and working with the Development Director and Executive Director;
  • Responding to funder requests for information and keeping our funders informed about program and organizational updates;
  • Ensure we are submitting complete and effective proposals;
  • Managing funder convenings including Road Ahead conference sessions, funder briefings, and development-focused funder alignment convenings;
  • Managing the development department’s funder communications schedule and process and consulting with the Development Director and Executive Director to create content for our funders;
  • Managing and coordinating any development-related meetings and follow-up for the Executive Director and Development Director as needed;
  • In concert with the Operations team – coordinating contribution correspondence including preparing and sending donor acknowledgments and financial information;
  • Conducting donor research as directed by the Development Director;
  • Creating and editing fundraising-related presentations for the Executive Director and the Development Director;
  • Working with the Development Director to draft fundraising materials including concept notes, one-pagers, decks, and repurposing organizational documents for current and potential donors;
  • Maintaining, updating, and taking ownership of funder data; and
  • Supporting the Operations team and their work to maintain and grow the organization’s financial health.

Additional responsibilities:

  • Aid in the implementation of BISC’s 5-year strategic plan focused on changing culture, centering directly impacted communities, capacity building, convening, and internal continuity and growth;
  • Represent BISC by attending meetings and convenings of stakeholders and partners;
  • Work with organizational leaders to deepen BISC’s racial equity work, both internally and in the field;
  • Support other BISC and BISC Foundation projects and activities as needed; and
  • Assist with the planning and execution of BISC’s annual conference.

Requirements:

  • 3 to 4  years of Development experience
  • Proven ability to effectively communicate program work to funders, including goals, budgets, and key elements of the work
  • Experience producing and submitting grant proposals
  • Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
  • Demonstrated attention to detail and follow-through on job responsibilities
  • Sound judgment and discretion
  • Strong organizational and project management skills, including, an ability to balance competing priorities, timelines, complex situations, and tight deadlines
  • Ability to work independently on assigned tasks as well as accept direction on given assignments
  • Intermediate to advanced mastery of G Suite, Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
  • Experience working with content relationship management systems (CRM) and donor databases such as Every Action.

We seek candidates who are: 

  • Collaborative: You know that building true partnerships takes time, trust, and transparency. You understand the complexities of coalition work, including the inherent race, power, and privilege dynamics often present, and can address them. You also are collaborative with your co-workers: willingly sharing information and tasks to get a job done.
  • Results and evaluation driven: You show relentless commitment to meeting a high bar and a history of getting things done even in the face of obstacles. You are receptive to feedback and know that evaluating and re-adjusting is critical to long term learning.
  • Organized and flexible: You have a plan, but you can quickly adapt when needed. You understand the plan is better when you collaborate with those around you.
  • Effective interpersonal skills: You have a proven ability to communicate effectively with different personalities to move projects forward.
  • Strong time management skills: You can balance many projects at once and prioritize accordingly.
  • Movement Focused: You have a demonstrated commitment to social, economic, and racial justice.

Salary & Benefits:

  • $65,000 – $75,000 / year
  • 100% Medical insurance for family paid for by employer
  • Dental Insurance
  • Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage
  • Paid vacation
  • Sick leave
  • Generous 401(k) plan with employer contribution

To apply:

Submit a cover letter, resume, and three references through BambooHR. Applicants will be considered on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

About BISC:

BISC’s mission is to strengthen democracy by implementing a national progressive strategy for ballot measures rooted in building state-based power.

The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC), a 501(c)(4) organization, is the only progressive organization that works across many policy, organizing, and political organizations, with local, state, and national leaders to analyze and support the ballot measure landscape.

We believe direct democracy can be a tool for liberation. We leverage ballot measures across the United States as part of a larger movement to strengthen democracy, center people of color, queer, low-income, immigrant, indigenous and other marginalized communities, move towards racial equity, build and transform power, and galvanize a new progressive base. In February 2020, we launched our strategic framework to help move towards our vision of building a world where all people are fully liberated, live with dignity and thrive so that equity and justice prevail.

We lead by supporting the use of ballot measures as a tool for transformational impact, not just in a measure’s outcomes, but at every stage of the ballot measure process—from policy development, signature gathering, civic engagement, the campaign itself, implementation and beyond. We believe in movement building and empowerment, bringing communities into the work and leaving lasting infrastructure for continued social change.

We know that success isn’t just defined by getting 50% + 1 of the vote. If we’re serious about building a more equitable world, we also must consider who’s driving the change and whether it will have a transformational impact on the people and communities who have been pushed to the margins for too long.

We achieve impact through training the field and developing leaders, convening state and national leaders and funders in a co-created strategy that results in transformative wins, leading innovative research and providing assistance to support ballot measures as a tool to build long term power.

BISC’s Racial Equity Stance:

At the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, we work to transform our country into one that is equitable and just. In our work, we strive to challenge structural racism, and center the people most impacted. BISC works with commitment to racial equity inside our organization in our operations and management processes, and externally through our research, training and organizing work with ballot-measure campaigns, partners and funders.

BISC’s Compensation Philosophy:

The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center seeks to recruit, retain, and develop high-talent individuals in order to achieve our mission. In 2022, BISC created a compensation philosophy that provides a framework for compensation decisions and shows how those decisions are a reflection of our organizational values. Salaries are benchmarked to the most expensive geographic markets in the U.S. Incoming staff have the opportunity to negotiate within the published salary range but final offers will preserve relative salary parity with similarly experienced staff who have similar roles at BISC. Annual raises (budget permitting and after one year of tenure) are flat rate rather than percentages of salary and are not connected to annual performance reviews. We have chosen to structure salary bands so salaries can continue to grow even without a promotion (BISC is a small organization and upward mobility may be more limited than in larger entities). We offer above-market benefits to support employee medical, retirement, and other needs and strive to create opportunities for continued learning and investment in staff professional development.

EEO Policy:

BISC follows an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and employs personnel without regard to race, ethnic or religious background, descent or nationality, sexual orientation, gender (including pregnancy), gender identification, disability, marital status, age, height, weight, or military service. This policy applies to employment, internships, internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, terminations, relationships with vendors, use of contractors and consultants and in dealing with the general public.