Director of Development- Chicago and Waukegan, Illinois

About Our Organization

Youth Guidance creates and implements school-based programs that enable children to overcome obstacles, focus on their education, and ultimately, to succeed in school and in life. We believe that no matter what challenges a young person faces, they are more likely to succeed when they have caring adults in their lives. Our highly trained staff guides kids to overcome the life and academic challenges facing the youth. We meet kids where they are - physically and emotionally - to help them focus on their education, make positive choices, and remain on the right path toward life success.

Founded in 1924 and celebrating 100 years of impact this year, Youth Guidance is a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs serving more than 18,000 youth around the country. For more information, visit www.youth-guidance.org. This is a hybrid remote position in Chicago, Illinois.

Position Summary: A compelling ambassador for Youth Guidance, the Director of Development will lead a comprehensive development program, supporting a high-performing team of professionals to meet goals and celebrate successes, for the organization's Illinois programs. The Director will leverage national recognition of the organization's impactful programs for youth to build relationships with current and potential donors and develop and implement strategies to increase philanthropic support from individual, corporate and foundation donors. The role represents an opportunity to refine strategies, processes and plans to accelerate the organization's existing positive fundraising trends in support of continued and sustainable growth for programs.

Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

• Lead a high-performing team of development professionals who have direct responsibility for securing individual, foundation, and corporate gifts in support of programs in Chicago and Waukegan. Ensure effective professional development, goal setting and evaluation.
• Develop, oversee and direct the implementation of the IL annual development plan and annual fundraising goals and targets that achieve funding sustainability and growth; Monitor fundraising results and report progress to the CEAO on a monthly and quarterly basis.
• 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 and manage the Chicago foundation grants cycle by enhancing processes and procedures to ensure a collaborative and timely approach for proposal and budget creation, prospecting, grant submission, ongoing engagement, and reporting.
• Oversee and strengthen systems and procedures to ensure accurate and efficient gift processing, stewardship, and recognition. Ensure organizational practice continues to align with established ethical standards, policies and guidelines.
• Engage with key champions, including Board, Becoming a Man (BAM) Advisory and Working on Womanhood (WOW) Advisory Council members, to leverage networks for connections to prospective corporate, foundation and individual donors.
• Lead the management of the WOW Advisory Council, including supporting the Council Co-Chairs in organizing quarterly meetings and developing meeting agendas, organizing member engagement opportunities and optimizing member fundraising activities.
• Lead Chicago donor engagement and cultivation activities and support the CEO and CEAO in strategic engagement with funders.
• Collaborate with team in planning and executing a successful annual gala and other events as needed.
• 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 our IL programming in a compelling way.
• Develop effective partnerships with the Senior Leadership Team and staff across programmatic and administrative departments to design and fulfill annual fundraising and communications strategy and goals.
• Support the team leading the strategy and execution for annual fundraising campaigns and events.
• Maximize use of Salesforce database with a focus on moves management and annual giving processes.
• Participate in agency trainings and staff development.
• Participate in board External Affairs Committee meetings, team meetings and all staff meetings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience/Training

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 5-7 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.
• At least three years of experience effectively managing high-performing people/teams.
• Experience engaging and partnering with Chicago-area funders and community-based organizations preferred.
• Possess a proven history of closing five and six figure major gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals.
• 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 CRM to drive moves management tactics and strategy. Salesforce experience a plus.
• Superior writing skills with ability to write effectively to produce written material, including grant proposals, organizational reports, briefs, fact sheets, and PPT 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 relevant; makes and communicates decisions that effectively balance tradeoffs.
• Team-building: Builds strong relationships with teams and colleagues; fosters effective teams and collaborative efforts.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Work Environment

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

• This is a hybrid role with minimum 1 day required or as needed in the Chicago office
• This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.
• This position requires the ability to communicate effectively in person, virtually, and via written materials. The role may involve periods of movement, including walking or standing, and the use of hands for typical office tasks such as typing, writing, or handling materials.
• Regular local travel is required to support local teams, attend events, and engage with external partners.
• Must be able to travel between multiple worksites/locations that may not be accessible via public transportation such as Lake County, IL.

Benefits:

Youth Guidance offers a competitive benefit package for eligible full-time employees including the option to participate in medical, dental, and vision plans as well as short-term disability, life insurance, flex spending accounts, pet insurance, 401k, a wellness program and more. You may also quality for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Compensation:

$90,000 -$110,000

Pay is determined by your educational background and relevant professional experience.

Our Values

At Youth Guidance, we believe that creating a welcoming and supportive environment where everyone feels valued and respected is fundamental to realizing our vision of bright and successful futures for all young people. We acknowledge that many systems and institutions intended to support youth do not provide fair treatment or access for everyone. We strive to celebrate the unique qualities of youth and recognize them as empowered leaders, problem-solvers, and experts of their own experiences.

Youth Guidance is an equal opportunity employer. Youth Guidance does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law and is committed to fostering a welcoming and supportive environment where everyone feels valued and respected. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.