Design for America
Director of External Relations
Reports to:
Executive Director
Manages: Business Development & Fundraising (Corporate, Individual and Foundation); Marketing & Communications; Brand Stewardship
Location: Fully remote; occasional travel; occasional evening/weekend events
Estimated base salary range: $115,000 to $155,000, depending on a variety of factors,
including, but not limited to, the candidate’s skills, experience, and
qualifications
DESIGN FOR AMERICA (DFA), founded in 2008,is a pioneering social impact nonprofit training the nextgeneration of social innovators.DFA is a network of college students, young
professionals, alumni, educators, and partner organizations using DFA'saward-winning
design thinking curriculum to explore and address community challenges. DFA’s
program of courageous changemaking provides the structure and psychological
safety people need to explore the problems they want to solve and the futures
they want to create. Participants develop lifelong skills: sustained curiosity;
systems thinking; comfort with ambiguity; collaborative problem-solving;
real-world prototyping; and communications. Mission-aligned partners gain
access to a robust student network of innovators, potential employees, and
youth market voice while activating broader goals around employee and community
engagement.
Director of External Relations
DFA seeks an experienced, motivated, entrepreneurial Director of External Relations to lead and implement across several critical functions:
Fundraising (Individual, Corporate, and Institutional)
· Attract mission-aligned philanthropic partners
· Engage DFA alumni (currently 6000+ alumni)
Business Development
· Cultivate National Project Partners (corporations, civic, and
social organizations) as part of DFA’s revenue-generating project portfolio
· Catalyze related corporate philanthropy opportunities (e.g. through CSR and ESG alignment)
Marketing & Communications
· Lead DFA’s communications initiatives, including web, social,
traditional comms, and DFA’s Slack-based community innovation platform
· Bring innovation, experimentation, and new opportunities to DFA’s Marketing/Communications portfolio
Brand Stewardship
· Build coherent alignment across current brand assets
· Provide leadership for brand refresh initiatives and/or rebranding
After more than a decade of stable growth, DFA is poised to scale
as it continues to expand its robust network of student-led studios at
colleges/universities across the US, and increasingly abroad, while also
expanding and diversifying its revenue portfolio of project partnerships,
sponsorships, and philanthropic support.
The Director of External Relations is a key leadership role, reporting to the Executive
Director and working alongside two peer directors - Director of Operations and
Programs Director - and a dedicated multi-disciplinary team to deliver on
strategic priorities and KPIs:
· Grow and diversify DFA’s studio network
· Enhance studio/network sustainability
· Identity, measure, and validate program impacts
· Diversify funding streams to enhance financial sustainability
· Establish DFA’s position as a member-led, community-centered
social innovation and education leader
For this role, success in year one includes:
Quickly onboard to DFA’s culture, mission, vision, values, and
strategic direction for DFA national, studio network, and partner landscape.
Drive strategic direction and activate day-to-day execution of
earned and philanthropic revenue.
Earned revenue min target:
· Support Executive Director and Programs Director in closing on
$500K+ revenue from current or new National Project partners.
· Expand cultivation efforts for new National Project partners.
Philanthropic giving min target:
· Build on $1M+ annual philanthropic support to prospect, steward
and close $300K+ in philanthropic giving by March 2025 and prospect additional
$500K+ by end of first year – may include partnerships with like-minded
organizations, alumni, or other sources.
Provide leadership for in-house team members and/or external
consultants supporting business development, marketing, and brand stewardship
as DFA grows and scales.
Develop and deploy new and existing structures (alumni network,
councils, volunteers, etc.); communications tools (website, social media, DFA’s
community innovation platform, case for support, events, PR); operating
procedures (fundraising budgets, database management, gift acknowledgement,
benefits); and stewardship planning needed for success.
Support clear, efficient translation of project artifacts (studio
updates, videos, etc.) and data (via DFA’s Salesforce database, historical
data, web/social data, etc.) into compelling brand narratives and storytelling
assets.
Who is a great fit for this role?
Are you entrepreneurial? Have a curious and inquisitive spirit? Want to help grow a
beloved organization into a new chapter of performance and impact? Do you
thrive at linking relationship-building and revenue development? Do you bring a
sense of daring optimism to the teams you lead and support? If you excel at
communicating about mission-driven work and building a community around shared
vision and purpose, then this opportunity is for you! We’re looking for a
Director of External Relations who is:
· A Strategist + Tactician: You have 10+ years of experience in
business development and fundraising - a strategist/generalist AND
tactician/implementor who has had exposure and personal success with
individual, corporate, institutional fundraising as well as earned revenue.
· A Builder: You can assess where the organization is today, see the
potential articulated by the current roadmap/plans, and quickly get to work
building the relationships that will support DFA’s needs and ambitions.
· A Persuasive Communicator: You can smoothly transition between
different communication styles and activate the right communication tools for
the right audiences with the right tone.
· A Planner: You’re able to connect the dots between short-term
revenue targets and longer-term strategic goals, identifying key inputs and
outputs.
· A Flexible Thinker with a Bias Toward Action: You’re able to zoom
in / zoom out on strategy but are always in “action mode” ready to test, learn,
and perform - networking and communicating with existing and new partners;
consistently following up, and framing actionable next steps.
· A Connector: You bring a diverse, connected network with you and
you have a track record of building and sustaining mission-aligned networks.
· A Champion: You understand and advocate for nonprofits, especially
nonprofits in informal learning, social innovation, and/or focused on DFA’s
core demographic of emerging adults, students, and young professionals.
· An Analyst: You love integrating and understanding data and the
stories data can tell. You are hungry for information and research, and you
want to help develop, track, and (beautifully) package KPI-aligned impact
metrics. You are comfortable with CRM platforms and lead-tracking software.
· A Visual Communicator: Whether or not you have design in your
background (not a requirement), you have experience overseeing effective and
memorable visual design, brand assets, and content production.
· A Mission-driven Professional: DFA resonates with your experience,
skills, and passions.
How to Apply
Please submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@designforamerica.com and include “Director of External Relations” in the subject line.
In your cover letter, please address:
· specific metrics pointing to business development and fundraising
success
· your reasons for being interested in this role
· why you think you are a great fit
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Interviews will open in July, with a goal of
onboarding the selected candidate Aug/Sept 2024.
DFA is an equal opportunity employer. Policies and procedures are designed to promote and
maintain equitable opportunities for all without regard to actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, pregnancy-related conditions, and lactation), gender identity or expression (including transgender status), sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, physical or mental disability, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. DFA is currently unable to offer Visa sponsorship as part of this opportunity.
Thank you for your interest!
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $115,000.00 - $155,000.00 per year
Work Location: Remote