Director of Development

Overview

The Director of Development will serve as a compelling ambassador for Youth Guidance Kansas City. In close partnership with the Executive Director, the Director will lead a comprehensive fundraising strategy to sustain and scale the organization’s programs. This role will leverage Youth Guidance’s national reputation and local impact to build donor relationships and expand government contracts and philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Director will also work collaboratively with the Executive Director to strengthen the local Advisory Council’s engagement, generating increased resources, visibility, and partnerships that advance the organization’s work in Kansas City. The position is hybrid; working in the office and in the community. The position reports to the Executive Director of Kansas City, with a dotted-line relationship to the National Director of Development.

About Youth Guidance

For more than 100 years, Youth Guidance has helped young people overcome obstacles, focus on their education, and succeed in school and in life. Today, Youth Guidance is a national organization serving approximately 17,000 young people each year through school-based programs that strengthen social-emotional well-being, build meaningful relationships with caring adults, and help young people realize their full potential.

Youth Guidance delivers programs in communities across the country, combining the strength, expertise, and evidence base of a national organization with deep local partnerships and leadership. Our nationally scalable programs include Becoming A Man (BAM), Working on Womanhood (WOW) and EVOLVE, and we are continuing to expand our reach in response to the needs of young people, schools, and communities.

Youth Guidance Kansas City is an important part of this national network. Launched in 2020 with support from local community leaders and philanthropic partners, Kansas City became the first Youth Guidance expansion site outside Chicago to offer both BAM and WOW, and the first expansion site for WOW nationally. Today, Youth Guidance Kansas City works alongside schools, community leaders, funders, and public-sector partners to deepen the impact and reach of these evidence-based programs throughout the region.

The Kansas City Director of Development will have the opportunity to build on this strong local foundation while leveraging the resources, expertise, and reputation of a growing national organization.

Responsibilities

• Develop, oversee and direct the implementation of the Youth Guidance Kansas City annual development plan and annual fundraising goals and targets that achieve funding sustainability and growth; Monitor fundraising results and report progress to the National Director of Development and Executive Director on a monthly basis.
• Partners with the Executive Director to engage with key champions, including Youth Guidance Kansas City Advisory Council members, to leverage networks for connections that grow resources, visibility, and strategic partnerships.
• Manages the Kansas City Advisory Council by supporting the Executive Director and Advisory Council Chair in organizing quarterly meetings, developing meeting agendas, organizing member engagement opportunities and optimizing member fundraising activities.
• Manage a portfolio of foundation, corporate and individual prospects and donors, strategically moving each relationship to and through solicitation; Maintain and strengthen relationships with current and past donors.
• Oversee government relations efforts to mobilize public sector leaders as champions of Youth Guidance Kansas City and unlock public resources to support services.
• Oversee and manage the Kansas City grants calendar by enhancing processes and procedures to ensure a collaborative and timely approach for proposal and budget creation, prospecting, grant submission, ongoing engagement, and reporting.
• Completes ongoing prospect research to identify viable local funding opportunities.
• Lead Kansas City donor engagement and cultivation activities and support the Executive Director in strategic engagement with funders.
• Maintain current knowledge of the local operating and philanthropic context, including education and political landscapes, as well as trends in the field of youth development.
• Develop effective partnerships with the Senior Leadership Team and staff across programmatic and administrative departments to design and fulfill annual fundraising strategy and goals.
• Partner with the Marketing & Communications team on strategy and execution of an annual communications plan that tells our organizational story and elevates the impact of the organization’s Kansas City programming in a compelling way.
• Maximize use of Salesforce (Client Relationship Management) database with a focus on moves management and annual giving processes.
• Participate in team meetings, agency training, and staff development.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Education/Experience/Training

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 3 years of professional fundraising experience with a superior record of achievement in complex, mission-driven organizations. Experience in youth development, human services, and/or K-12 education sectors preferred.
• Experience engaging and partnering with Kansas City area funders and community-based organizations preferred.
• Experience operating in a collaborative development environment and in planning and leading successful initiatives and projects from concept through planning and execution.
• Solid understanding of comprehensive fundraising programs, including individual, foundation, corporate, and special events.
• Experience working with volunteers to leverage fundraising efforts.
• Experience in leveraging a fundraising Client Relationship Management (CRM) system to drive moves management tactics and strategy. Salesforce experience is a plus.
• Superior writing skills with the ability to write effectively to produce written material, including grant proposals, organizational reports, briefs, fact sheets, and PowerPoint presentations.
• Proven experience in building relationships and effectively working internally and across teams in a hybrid office environment.

Skills/Abilities

Demonstrates Youth Guidance Core Competencies

Communication

Uses effective written and oral communication with internal staff, teams, and community served; demonstrates empathy and listening

Equity mindset

Understands and is committed to goals of equity; consistently brings an equity mindset to the organization’s work and workplace

Growth mindset

Views growth as important for personal and professional development; seeks out opportunities to expand skills, even if change is required; demonstrates curiosity and eagerness to learn

Supervisory skills

Effectively manages and develops others, ensuring delivery of high-quality work

Mission driven

Demonstrates commitment to the mission of the organization as a whole and alignment with organizational values

Demonstrates Youth Guidance Leadership Competencies

External representation and relationship building:
An ability to form and maintain strong, trusting relationships with diverse stakeholders.

Leads with vision

Has an inspiring vision for the future of the organization, beyond the status quo, and communicates it effectively; leads with courage and willingness to take risks in service of impact.

Develops and motivates others

Motivates others and supports their development through strong coaching and mentoring. Effectively stewards self and others through both small- and large-scale change.

Manages with data

Understands data; analyzes data and identifies insights and implications

Strategic thinking and resource management:
Considers the future of the organization proactively and responsively; weighs diverse inputs to inform strategies; identifies innovative opportunities when rel