Director of Strategic Partnerships Position Description

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Disability Rights Washington (DRW)

315 Fifth Avenue South Suite 850

Seattle, WA 98104

DRW is an equal opportunity employer.

Introduction

DRW Mission

The DRW mission is to advance the dignity, equality, and self-determination of people with disabilities.  We work to pursue justice on matters related to human and legal rights.

Equal Opportunity Employment

Disability Rights Washington (DRW) values diversity of culture, disability and other life experiences, and is an equal opportunity employer by choice.  We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, religion, race, color, citizenship, veteran status, or disability. DRW does not discriminate on the basis of disability in any employment decision. We endorse and support the intents of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and Washington Law Against Discrimination. 

Reasonable Accommodation Availability[1]

DRW is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are applicants or employees.  Applicants for DRW employment seeking reasonable accommodations for the application process should contacting the HR & IT Manager by calling (800) 562-2702 or (206) 324-1521 or by emailing info@dr-wa.org.  

Part 1: General Information

Position Title

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Position Overview

Director of Strategic Partnerships: a senior leader that strategically builds the capacity of DRW by overseeing all fundraising and working with staff and volunteers to build relationships with prospective donors to maximize and utilize its core competencies to increase the number of people served and to more effectively and efficiently impact change. 

Position Category

Director

Exempt/Nonexempt Status

A Director of Strategic Partnerships is an exempt employee with regard to the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Office Location

Seattle

Part 2: Essential Job Functions

Primary Responsibilities

Plan and oversee all fundraising efforts, build strong relationships, and deepen our culture of philanthropy.

  • Development Planning, Strategy and Implementation.
    • In collaboration with the Executive Director, Director of Operations and Director of Advocacy, identify strategic organizational priorities for fundraising, develop the case for support, and set annual fundraising targets. 
      • Participate in agency-wide budgeting and fiscal strategy development.
    • Create a sustainable fund development plan that will increase revenue each year to support the strategic direction of Disability Rights Washington, while also diversifying our donor base both demographically and geographically.
    • Develop and institute methods of evaluation to continuously improve development systems.
    • Responsible for timely, accurate and compelling reporting to donors
      • Maintain a calendar of reporting deadlines and manage the reporting process with relevant team members. 
      • Maintain process for tracking time, expenses, outcomes, activities and other data needed for reporting. 
    • Increase engagement across corporate, foundations, and individual giving channels
      • Leverage both grassroots and traditional fundraising methods to grow the annual giving program and a portfolio of major individual donors, upgrade existing donor base and lead efforts to research, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward new individual supporters.
      • Prospect for, establish, and maintain relationships with law firms and corporations, growing both partnerships and revenue.
      • Support the Director of Operations, Executive Director, Program Directors and grant consultant to develop, secure and grow institutional support from private foundations and grants.
      • Diversify the voices and experience of all our supporters
    • Lead staff and volunteer engagement in development activities
      • As needed, assist with recruitment of Board Members
      • Engage Board, Advisory and Development Committee Members and staff as Ambassadors and in development related activities
      • Recruit, train, and facilitate participation of volunteers on the Development Committee
    • Provide education around our mission and advocacy.
    • Design and execute a calendar of fundraising events and communications (digital/online, written, virtual and in-person) to advance public awareness of DRW’s mission and advocacy and steadily add to our community of stakeholders.
    • Maintain up to date and accurate database records including meeting notes, reconciliation with financial records.
  • Lead and model a healthy and collaborative culture of philanthropy within Disability Rights Washington and with our individual constituents and corporate and institutional partners.
    • Raise awareness of disability as an integral component of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals. 
    • Within our organization, support our diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.  As appropriate:
      • Ensure fundraising communications and efforts reflect the diversity of the disability community and actively engage stakeholders as equal partners in our advocacy work.
      • Support grassroots advocacy partners community members to obtain funding. 
      • Provide information about disability inclusion to corporate partners.
      • Partner with diverse vendors. 
      • Seek funding to support internal DEI efforts including movement lawyering and disability justice. 
  • Supervision, Collaboration and Education.
    • Supervise the Development Coordinator.
    • Provide management and collaborate with the contracted services that support development.
    • Collaborate with the Communications Director to advance awareness and marketing of DRW advocacy and development events/campaigns, increase our prospective donor pool, email subscribers and social media followers. 
    • Recruit, train and lead the Development Committee with a growing membership of up to 20 total. 
    • With the Development Committee Board Liaison, provide information, training and support to Board members as they act as stewards, ambassadors, and fundraisers for the organization.

Confidentiality

An employee in this position is responsible for knowing and adhering to DRW confidentiality requirements as set forth in DRW Client Services Manual, donor confidentiality and other written policies.

Conflict Resolution

Effectively utilize conflict resolution and advocacy skills to resolve both internal and external conflicts.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Contributes substantively to the pursuit of DRW’s goals related to diversity, equity and inclusion including implementation and incorporation of disability justice principles and optional participation in race-based caucusing

Timely Paperwork and Reporting

Submits all required reports, timesheets, and other documentation in an accurate and timely manner.

Work Conditions                                                                           

  • Works remotely participating in zoom meetings and calls with a base in the Seattle office.  Includes some local and statewide work-related travel.
  • Works a standard work week of 35 hours, but must work evenings, weekends, or extended hours when necessary.
  • Maintains clear background check status as required by assigned Program (e.g, for AVID Program, maintains clear DOC background check status)

Workload Monitoring

Maintains a reasonably ambitious workload and keeps their immediate supervisor informed when there is insufficient work to perform and when there is a risk that work won’t be completed on a timely basis.

Part 3: Other Responsibilities

Collaborations, Committees, Outreach and Training

An employee in this position performs work related to external collaborations, internal committees, outreach and constituent training as assigned.

External Communication

An employee in this position performs communication assignments in a timely and high quality manner and follows protocol for granting or arranging interviews with mass media.

Staff Development

An employee in this position participates with their immediate supervisor in the creation and implementation of a plan to develop their work-related knowledge and/or skills. 

Part 4: Qualifications

Employee Commitment

All DRW employees are expected to have a commitment to the values expressed in DRW’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Philosophy Statement

Education and Experience

Five years of experience in nonprofit philanthropy or comparable experience.

Abilities Specific to the Position

  • Ideal candidates will have an understanding and willingness to engage in the transformative work of challenging systems of oppression and be excited to address the tensions that exist between philanthropy and disability justice.
  • Strategic alignment with mission, values, goals and priorities of Disability Rights Washington.
  • Knowledge of or willingness to learn the systems that impact people with disabilities and the advocacy models that Disability Rights Washington utilizes to address these systems. 
  • Demonstrated success in mobilizing individual donors through grassroots or traditional fundraising.    
  • Experience working with disabled communities, communities of color and marginalized communities in a fundraising context, and a demonstrated ability to build and maintain these relationships.
  • Lived experience that supports fundraising with our community members, preferably identifies as disabled or a person with disability.
  • Demonstrated experience with a variety of fundraising strategies including major gifts, special events, corporate giving, employee giving, online/social media giving, and grants; knowledge and experience with planned giving a plus. 
  • Excellent relationship building, interpersonal, oral and written communication skills. Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across programs, listen to and respect viewpoints of others and share recognition.
  • Effective organizational skills. Ability to develop long term plans, set objectives and track progress across goals.
  • Experience managing donor database, such as Little Green Light.
  • Experience with online fundraising platforms, such as QGiv.

General Abilities

An employee in this position is expected to have these general abilities:

  • Exercise initiative, ingenuity, and sound judgment
  • Take direction and coordinate work with others
  • Use Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, and Internet
  • Work under pressure in a fast-paced environment
  • Work independently

[1] DRW employees seeking reasonable accommodations are to do so by emailing DRW’s Executive Director and should refer to DRW’s reasonable accommodation policy for employees for further information