Development Officer – Mid-level Giving

Starting salary, based on experience, will be $50-55K

***Cover Letter is preferred***

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team

The mission of the Resource Development (RD) department is to advance the organization’s strategic goals and support our worldwide team by raising flexible funds, profile and influence. The RD team encompasses several dozen dynamic professionals who possess a wide range of skills. We are gift officers, direct response fundraisers, web developers, marketers and media relations strategists. We are database managers, digital specialists, creative designers, storytellers and teachers. Most of all, we are passionate about Mercy Corps’ mission and believe a better world is possible.

The Position

The Development Officer will work within the Mass Market Fundraising team to develop, enhance and maintain relationships with a portfolio of assigned individuals across the U.S, including mid-level donors and peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraisers and influencers. They will execute activities to steward and cultivate relationships with these donors, heighten awareness and understanding of Mercy Corps, develop innovative ways to link target donors with the organization, and secure funds from these donors to support the work of Mercy Corps globally.

Essential Responsibilities

RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

• Cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of donors giving $1,000-$10,000, major gift prospects, and peer-to-peer and livestream fundraisers and influencers.
• Conduct ongoing, personalized outreach to assigned donors via phone, email, mail, texting, and in-person, with the goal of strengthening the donors’ engagement with and commitment to the organization.
• Build relationships with assigned donors to strengthen long-term financial support. Create a two-way dialogue with donors by soliciting feedback, serve as primary point of contact for inbound donor communications, resolve issues when they arise, and provide personalized content.
• Work toward securing a gift renewal and upgrade during giving campaigns.
• Attend and travel to local and regional events (Portland, Seattle and San Francisco) to meet with donors and cultivate relationships.
• Monitor and report-out on portfolio performance and effectiveness of strategies and tactics; recommend changes to course correct and improve metrics as needed.
• Maintain coding and tracking of all donor activity for assigned portfolio within donor database (Raiser’s Edge).
• Stay abreast of Mercy Corps programs and communications as well as key issues and trends in the international aid, development, P2P and livestreaming communities

CAMPAIGN SUPPORT

• Collaborate with High Impact Philanthropy (HIP) team, Brand Marketing team, etc., helping to maximize team and division resources.
• Contribute ideas and experience to help develop messaging, design, and processes for mid-level and P2P donor communications and engagement, including digital and mass marketing approaches
• With HIP team, identify donors with the capacity to increase their giving to higher levels ($10,000+ annually).
• Partner with the Planned Giving Manager to identify, cultivate, and steward planned giving prospects within the assigned portfolio with the goal of securing deferred legacy gifts.
• Partner with Digital Fundraising and Social Media team to engage audiences with personalized digital experiences according to donor behavior and interests.
• Recommend data-centric approaches and leverage business intelligence resources to identify and track mid-level donors based on past giving and engagement behaviors, demonstrated interests, and look-alike models.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• A minimum of 2 years’ experience in client/customer/donor, portfolio management and/or nonprofit development or fundraising or related experience; experience with community engagement, peer-to-peer, mid-level fundraising, and/or gaming and livestreaming a plus.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills – both written and oral.
• Proven track record of working in a forward-facing role and knowledge of customer service practices.
• Proven ability to effectively build interpersonal relationships with a wide range of constituents.
• Comfort in “cold calling” and soliciting donations.
• Experience with project management and providing administrative support.
• Strong organizational and time management skills, attention to detail and process, ability to record and track progress through Raiser’s Edge database or other CRM.
• Strong work ethic with ability to set and meet short- and long-term goals.
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently as well as coordinate across teams.
• Flexible approach and an ability to operate effectively amidst change.
• Sound knowledge of computer programs, Microsoft Office and database software (ideally Raiser’s Edge). Comfort with data and analytics
• Experience or interest in international development preferred

Success Factors

The successful candidate will have an ability to develop personal relationships with a variety of people in a variety of contexts. They will be able to secure and increase contributions from donors and retain donors through ongoing communications. It will be critical to represent both program content and the heart of Mercy Corps to external audiences as well as add constructively to a sense of team and shared goals. This individual will be passionate about delivering value to donors, while balancing those needs with the organization’s priorities, resources and objectives. They will be self-motivated, take initiative, and have a bias toward execution. Attention to detail, comfort with data and analytics, high integrity and a passion for the mission of Mercy Corps are a must.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is open to Portland, Oregon or Washington, DC.

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.