Senior Specialist, Board and Donor Engagement

Senior Specialist, Board and Donor Engagement

Location: Hybrid/NYC, Hybrid/Washington, DC or Hybrid/San Francisco

Overall Function

The Senior Specialist, Board and Donor Engagement is part of a highly productive Development team. The Senior Specialist will be responsible for supporting the efforts of the Vice President, Board and Donor Engagement, to cultivate, solicit, and steward a very select portfolio of EDF’s leadership donors, support Board engagement initiatives, and participate in a variety of special initiatives related to board and donor engagement. The Senior Specialist employs the highest standards of a donor-centered approach to fundraising playing a key role in the solicitation, stewardship, and engagement of EDF’s donors. The Senior Specialist manages complex projects that involve stakeholders across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Work in partnership with the VP to engage top donors; develop deep familiarity with the VP’s donor work plans; support communications and solicitation strategies.
• Project manage the process for developing, editing, and proofreading documents for senior executives’ donor meetings, briefings, proposals, stewardship reports, acknowledgements, and other communications; coordinating with the Donor Communications team and ensuring documents meet the highest standards of writing and content reflects EDF’s priorities.
• Assist in the timely and accurate preparation for donor and prospect visits, including talking points, scheduling, logistics.  Participate in donor strategy sessions.
• Enter data into Salesforce; analyze and develop various fundraising reports to track goals, giving and fundraising activities.
• Coordinate and lead internal strategy calls with program, finance and development communications staff to facilitate appropriate and timely donor reports and proposals.
• Track EDF and other relevant environmental news; make recommendations for outreach to donors and draft correspondence designed to deepen donor engagement.
• Support engaging donors in assigned portfolio to create cultivation events to deepen their engagement with EDF and help identify new prospects from their networks.
• Respond to donor and staff inquires and other special projects, as assigned.
• Actively manage and oversee administrative needs including scheduling, expenses and travel for the VP, Board and Donor Engagement.
• Provide support for the Donor Engagement and Events team at EDF Board meetings as needed.
• Provide support for EDF Board’s Mission Advisory Committees including working with mission staff leadership to facilitate preparation for meetings, scheduling of meetings, and following up. 
• Work with the VP on developing and maintaining efforts to engage current trustees, advisory trustees, and former trustees.
• Support efforts around strategic initiatives as needed.
• Participate in advancing EDF DEI goals in which people from all backgrounds and experiences feel connected, included, and empowered to address the environmental and organizational challenges in alignment with EDF values.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• A minimum of four (4) years of relevant experience preferably in a fundraising, nonprofit or academic setting.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to compose, edit, and expertly proofread correspondence and other documents.
• Strong strategic and analytical skills and the ability to convey complex ideas in writing, with a level of clarity and sophistication expected by our highly integral donors and prospects.
• Strong project management skills. Experience managing complex projects is preferred.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to maintain tact, diplomacy, and confidentiality while representing the organization and interfacing with all levels of staff at the national and affiliate offices, as well as with volunteers, donors, board members, and outside vendors.
• High ability to actively listen to colleagues, senior development management, donors and trustees to deftly navigate and manage relationships.
• Demonstrates self-awareness, cultural competency and inclusivity, and ability to work with colleagues and stakeholders across diverse cultures and backgrounds
• Demonstrated initiative and creativity; the ability to work independently as well as within a team.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Internet research. Experience working with Salesforce, fundraising or relational databases strongly preferred.
• Desire to learn major gifts fundraising and donor engagement.
• Ability to travel to board meetings and donor events required.
• Occasional work in the evenings and weekends may be required.
• Commitment to the mission of Environmental Defense Fund.