About Junior Achievement of Georgia
Junior Achievement of Georgia’s (JA) mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. By bridging the business and education communities with hands-on experiential programs focused on business, entrepreneurship, civic responsibility, career-readiness, and financial literacy, JA aims to achieve the following overarching goals:
To motivate, engage and inspire students to recognize the value and relevance of education, and to make informed decisions about their own personal education and career pathways.
To equip students with the key career-readiness skills that will drive success in any environment, and to invigorate innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial thinking among our youth.
To develop a financially literate generation who understands key business principles and makes responsible personal financial management decisions.
To increase student understanding and appreciation of their civic rights, roles, and responsibilities.
JA of Georgia is the local affiliate of JA USA, the nations’ oldest and largest economic education organization with over 100 years of experience. The organization has office and program locations in Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Cumming, Dalton, Savannah, and Augusta. More information can be found at our website www.georgia.ja.org.
Position Description
The Director of Development serves as a key leadership role in the CSRA market by making strategic decisions affecting Junior Achievement’s external relations. The role plays an active participant in managing the JA Discovery Center with the Site Director. The main responsibilities are managing the relationships of our external constituencies and serving as a resource to them in an effort to deepen the JA experience, strengthen the JA brand and build the organization’s volunteer and philanthropic engagement.
The successful candidate will forge new and maintain preexisting relationships to build JA’s brand, visibility, impact, and financial resources in the market. The Director of Development will assist in the design and implementation of a comprehensive plan for developing key external alliances by cultivating and stewarding corporate, individual, foundation, and community philanthropic support.
The Director of Development will have a well-rounded background in all aspects of development as s/he will have primary responsibility for assisting in establishing and implementing the core infrastructure required to grow a $800k+ JA market through the solicitation of major gifts, special events, corporate and foundation support, and annual appeals.
Primary Responsibilities
Fundraising & External Affairs
Forge new relationships to build JA’s brand, visibility, impact, financial resources, and volunteer sources, while maintaining existing relationships to ensure funder retention.
Orchestrate the design and implementation of comprehensive plans for developing key external alliances. Cultivate and solicit individuals, foundations, and corporate philanthropy.
Research funding sources and trends, with foresight, to help position JA ahead of major funding changes or trends.
Support and partner with the Senior Director of Development and members of the Development Team on all major fundraising activities.
Collaborate with the Development Team, and other internal teams and external corporate audiences to engage donors and prospects strategically in JA’s programming and events to enhance engagement and the value proposition.
New Business Development: Research and qualify prospects appropriately aligned with support of programs and initiatives.
Conduct prospect research and attend related events to grow networks and identify new
corporate prospects for key programs and initiatives.
Work collaboratively with the Volunteer Team to ensure that partners are engaged holistically with JA’s programmatic offerings.
JA Business Hall of Fame
In partnership with Vice President, Development & Vice President, Brand Strategies, support the JA Business Hall of Fame as JA’s signature event in the CSRA region.
In partnership with the Brand Strategies team, shape the vision for and oversee event program and activities, including messaging, speakers, run of show/script and entertainment, and other event details.
Solicit donors to secure new support through fundraising channels including sponsorships, table/ticket sales, auction, and outright donations.
In partnership with the Brand Strategies Team, prepare all collateral and brand strategies materials, including invitations, programs, solicitation materials, “ask” letters, other print and digital material as needed, and updates to the website.
In partnership with the Brand Strategies Team, implement communication/social media strategy to ensure the widespread promotion of and event participation.
Create and maintain documents to track progress of events, as well as all event revenue and budgets.
Ensure comprehensive and effective stewardship strategies are applied to all event supporters, sponsors, and vendors to help ensure long-term and repeated engagement.
Implement evaluation tools to assess post-event performance results and produce performance reports for follow up by the events management team and further consideration by senior executive leadership.
Local Advisory Board
Oversee the Local Advisory Board of Directors to guide JA of Georgia’s efforts in the CRSA region.
Serve as the primary facilitator and project manager for all Board activity, including the planning of quarterly meetings
Ensure that meetings are planned in a timely manner and run with efficiency.
Manage creation of all Board meeting materials including agendas, briefing memos, presentations, minutes, and board books.
Manage all logistics for full Board and committee meetings.
Ensure that the President & CEO and other attending leadership members have material and information needed for Board meetings and interaction with members.
Anticipate needs and proactively address any questions or concerns in a timely fashion.
Develop board giving strategies in partnership with both the President & CEO and the Senior Director of Development.
Qualifications: Education & Experience
An equivalent combination of education, training, and experience will be considered:
Bachelor's degree required
10+ years of professional experience
Successful record of sales, fundraising, and/or external relations
Experience working with a fundraising database; experience with BCRM is a plus
Ability to create strategies to balance short-term requirements with long-range business plans
Strong writing, verbal, and presentation skills
High comfort level working with people in executive leadership positions
Ability to work independently, but also collaboratively as a member of a team
Ability to think strategically and function successfully in a complex work environment
Core Competencies
Influences Others: Provides sound rationale for recommendations; Generates enthusiasm for ideas by tapping into shared values; promotes own positions and ideas with confidence and enthusiasm even in the face of resistance.
Builds Relationships: Adjusts interpersonal style to a variety of people and situations; cultivates networks with people across a variety of functions within and outside the organization.
Supports Business Strategy: Demonstrates an understanding of JA's mission, vision, and overall strategies; aligns own activities with organization's goals and strategies.
Drive for Results: Consistently achieves work objectives; Readily puts in time and effort required to achieve goals; works to resolve routine and unexpected problems.
Demonstrates Adaptability & Resourcefulness: Overcomes obstacles and constraints without becoming discouraged; maintains a positive outlook and sense of humor in difficult situations.
Makes Sound Decisions: Identifies novel solutions to old problems; comes up with new ways of looking at problems, processes, or solutions; defines reasonable alternatives; focuses on important information without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that individuals, namely women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At JA of Georgia, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and genuine workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the best candidate for this role or another within the organization.
Salary
Commensurate with experience. JA also offers a full benefits package.
This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an "at-will" relationship.