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Employment Opportunities at Cultural Survival

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT 

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Cambridge, MA or Boulder, CO 

Cultural Survival is a global leader in advancing the world’s Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands, languages, and cultures.  We seek an experienced and entrepreneurial Director of Development who will provide vision and leadership for the organization’s development operation. 

The Director of Development will join a new management team focused on strengthening and revitalizing the organization’s programs and global reach, and furthering the goals of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.  Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Development will design and execute all aspects of development to address the short- and long-term needs of the organization, building on a strong and loyal base of supporters.  The Director will be a member of the senior leadership team. 

The ideal candidate must possess a 10+ years of increasing fundraising success, including leadership, comprehensive knowledge of all major advancement functions, and a superior ability to communicate and collaborate with supporters, partners, and leadership of CS. He/she will be a strategic, creative thinker, and an entrepreneurial fundraiser with a demonstrated ability to solicit major gifts.  Experience living and/or working with or on behalf of Indigenous Peoples is strongly preferred, as is experience in a human rights or similar advocacy organization.   

About Cultural Survival  

Cultural Survival is a global leader in advancing the world’s Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands, languages, and cultures. The majority of the 370 million Indigenous Peoples lives in the world’s last biodiverse regions and speak the majority of the world’s endangered languages.  

Indigenous Peoples experience neglect, racism, discrimination, or outright abuse from governments and/or corporate interests that usurp their power and perpetuate centuries-old patterns of colonization. These patterns disregard Indigenous Peoples’ rights, self-determination, control over homelands and natural resources, and governance. Poverty, isolation, forced assimilation, and relocation often go hand in hand with complex issues arising from land claims, degradation of the environment, theft of intellectual property, and loss of language and cultural traditions. Cultural Survival works with Indigenous communities to ensure that our efforts are in concert with local cultures and decision-making processes. We provide advocacy and capacity building to make sure their voices are heard around the world and support their efforts to strengthen their communities.  

Currently, we are partnering with Native American communities who are losing their remaining elderly language speakers to support their efforts in language revitalization. We support community-based and community-controlled radio stations to provide social, educational and locally determined broadcasting for remote Indigenous communities in Guatemala. We develop advocacy campaigns for Indigenous Peoples’ whose homelands are threatened by large-scale development projects in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Panama, Brazil, and the United States.  Cultural Survival partners with the United Nations and regional human rights bodies, supportive members of the U.S. Congress and Administration, nongovernmental human rights and environmental protection organizations, and, most importantly, national and local Indigenous leaders and communities. The efficacy of Cultural Survival’s work is promoted by transparency and by our accountability to an expert cohort of Indigenous leaders who serve on our Board of Directors. 

The organization’s operating budget for FY10 was approximately $1.7 million.  The two largest sources of income are contributions and subscriptions (38%) and grant revenue (23%). 

The Position

The DOD provides leadership, strategy, and direction for the advancement of fundraising among key constituents.  She/he will be expected to increase philanthropic giving by expanding the individual giving program, developing the major gift prospect pool, and increasing support from national and international foundations, governmental, and quasi-governmental agencies. The Director will be a key spokesperson for the organization and must successfully engage diverse internal and external constituencies.

The DOD will serve as the chief advisor to the Executive Director and the Board of Directors on all matters related to institutional advancement, cultivating and leading efforts to provide program leaders with significant opportunities to present their work to major donors, corporations, foundations, and community groups.  She or he will strengthen development across the organization, working collaboratively with the program directors and communications staff.

Particular focus in the first year will be placed on building the major gift portfolio. In alignment with the organization’s efforts to increase overall donations, the Director will have the opportunity to evaluate the current program and operations, identify and provide recommendations for growth, and build a development plan.  Preferably the Director will be based in the Cambridge office but consideration will be given to candidates who can work in Boulder.  

Key Responsibilities

  • Oversee all development functions and including major gifts, annual giving, foundation, corporate, and government relations, donor recognition and stewardship, special events
  • Set goals for and define metrics for evaluation of the development program
  • Galvanize Board, senior leadership, and supporters in promoting philanthropy to advance the mission of Cultural Survival
  • Individually and in partnership with the Executive Director and Board members, cultivate, solicit, close and steward major gifts
  • Serve as the organization’s leading major gift officer and build and strengthen the individual gifts program
  • Serve as a member of the senior management team
  • Plan for and build a comprehensive, fully integrated, expanded development program in keeping with the organization’s mission and core values
  • Manage a small staff.
  • Serve as an effective, knowledgeable spokesperson for Cultural Survival

Qualifications 

The Director must be an accomplished, dynamic development professional with a proven track record of raising funds through major gift, foundation, corporate, and government grants and annual fund (memberships/subscriptions).  She/he must possess appreciation of CS’s mission and the ability to effectively communicate it. 

Ideally, the candidate should also demonstrate the following: 

  • Ability to create and implement strategy to guide major initiatives, program growth, and short- and long-term goals
  • Ability to be a strategic and management partner to the Executive Director, Board of Directors, and other organizational leaders
  • Experience supporting organizational leadership in major gift cultivation and solicitation
  • Ability to expand funding sources, leverage existing prospects, identify new approaches, and link organization-wide issues with opportunities for fundraising
  • Demonstrated success cultivating, soliciting, and closing principal gifts from individual, family, and foundation prospects
  • Evidence of a successful track record in securing grants
  • Outstanding communication and presentation skills (written and verbal)
  • Ability to develop and utilize budgets and metrics to drive performance
  • Demonstrated skills in overseeing and using computerized systems to ensure records management of donors

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following personal characteristics and competencies: 

  • The maturity and experience to collaborate with a broad range of staff, synthesize options, and authoritatively and respectfully make decisions and implement changes
  • Enthusiasm, flexibility, adaptability, humor, and resilience, enabling success in setting direction, gaining commitment, and creating alignment
  • Highly organized, detail-oriented, self-motivated, set high standards for accuracy and efficiency, and demonstrate a strong work ethic
  • Skilled at leveraging diversity, leading and managing an inclusive workplace.
  • Extremely reliable with confidential, sensitive information

 

Applications and Nominations 

Confidential applications, inquiries, and nominations may be made to: Gale Batchelder, g.batchelder@newleadershipgroup.com or 617.547.3159.  Please include letter of interest and resume. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. 

Cultural Survival is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and actively seeks a diverse pool of candidates. We particularly encourage Indigenous individuals to apply and to identify their Indigenous community, but we welcome applications from all qualified candidates.  For more information about Cultural Survival and its programs, please visit: www.cs.org.