Position Profile
Best Friends Animal Society
Director of Development
Kanab, UT
The Organization
Best Friends is working with humane groups all across the country to bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets.
The sanctuary, at the heart of Southern Utah's Golden Circle of national parks, is home, on any given day, to about 1,500 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds and other animals. In addition to administering the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the United States, Best Friends manages a model No More Homeless Pets campaign with shelters and humane groups statewide to ensure that every healthy dog or cat that's ever born can be guaranteed a loving home. Across the nation, Best Friends helps humane groups, individual people, and entire communities to set up spay/neuter, shelter, foster, and adoption programs in their own neighborhoods, cities, and states. Best Friends supports international animal rescue efforts, as well.
The mission of Best Friends is driven by the simple philosophy that kindness to animals helps build a better world for all of us. One tour of the extensive, well-managed campus and you’ll know this is someplace special. Best Friends employees about 400 individuals, approximately 10% of Kanab’s population. In addition to offering excellent benefits, Best Friends hosts social events and activities on a regular basis for its staff and their families. This caring organization encourages collaboration and ingenuity through strong leadership and solid teamwork.
Best Friends—A better world through kindness to animals.
The Area
Known as "Utah's Little Hollywood" for its western movie history, Kanab is Kane County's largest area of population, as well as the county seat. With a population just over 4,000, Kanab has the comfortable feel of a hometown, with thriving small businesses, myriad activities and services, well-equipped schools, a 40-bed hospital, and a new library.
This area boasts some of the most gorgeous views in the world and hosts a variety of outdoor activities. With over 300 days of sunshine each year, there is no off-season. In addition to golf and hiking close to town, Kanab is located right in the middle of 10 of America’s most scenic wonders. Within a short drive, you can reach Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the Colorado River. Other peak attractions include the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell. The North Rim receives less than 15% of the visitors annually to the Grand Canyon, making this a beautiful view missed by most tourists. Lake Powell is the second-largest manmade lake in the nation, at 186 miles long with nearly 2,000 miles of shoreline—more than the west coast of the United States. There is plenty of room to find your own sense of solitude or join in the fun houseboating.
If you have a craving for a dose of big city lights and you seek a getaway with slot machines rather than slot canyons, Las Vegas is only a few hours away.
Looking for a beautiful location to call home—with clear blue skies, red and white cliffs, deep gorges with hardy Cottonwood trees? This is the place for you.
For more information, please visit the Kanab web site http://kanab.utah.gov/, and the Kane County web site http://kane.utah.gov/ and visitor’s guide http://www.kaneutah.com/guide/KaneCountyVisitorGuide2006.pdf
The Candidate
The Director of Development is responsible for building and leading a world class Development Division to advance the Best Friends’ mission and to build the support base for new and expanding programs. The successful candidate will oversee all aspects of fundraising, including developing strategies and initiatives for increasing and diversifying Best Friends Animal Society funding sources.
The successful candidate will be a self-starter who thrives in a hard-working environment. This person must have excellent written communication and oral presentation skills, and understand the dynamics involved in successful fundraising. He or she must be a strategic thinker with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
The work environment at Best Friends is cultivated by the flexible, democratic leadership of individuals passionate about the mission. The Director of Development plays a key role in the organization which requires that the individual have a confident, polished professional approach. The successful candidate will be smart and entrepreneurial, with a strong sense of integrity.
The close-knit staff at Best Friends are sociable and friendly. The successful candidate must be approachable, personable and genuine. He or she must be energetic, enthusiastic and have a good sense of humor.
The Position
Essential duties and responsibilities of the position include the following.
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Develop and implement comprehensive annual and long term development plan.
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Identify, develop, direct, manage and oversee Development staff and activities including but not limited to individual giving, major gifts, web based, direct mail, planned giving, and grants.
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Identify and cultivate new relationships with donor community, including corporate, foundation and individual donors.
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Develop and implement metrics to analyze the donor base and project/program fundability and to provide success measures for Development activities.
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Supervise the management of the donor database, including tracking and acknowledging of all financial and in kind contributions.
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Identify, develop and implement fundraising campaigns, events, and publicity to build revenue and membership base.
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Create and manage correspondence, donor benefits roster, acknowledgement letters and other relevant materials.
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Supervise Development staff, which includes work allocation, training, and problem resolution; evaluate performance and make recommendations for personnel actions; motivate employees to achieve peak productivity and performance.
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Coordinate and produce financial, budget, and other special reports, proposals, and analyses for management including tax information requested by donors and ensure compliance with tax regulations.
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Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.
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Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or other related field.
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5+ years’ development leadership experience in a $40 million+ nonprofit organization.
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Extensive major donor, capital campaign, prospect research techniques, and donor tracking systems experience and an excellent fundraising record.
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Knowledge and expertise in principles of philanthropy and fundraising.
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Ability to professionally advocate Best Friends’ positions on issues.
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Strong interpersonal skills to handle sensitive and confidential situations. The ideal person for this job would be a team player, personable, professional, upbeat, and energetic, takes initiative, uses tact and diplomacy.
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Able to maintain clear communication with internal staff on all levels. Proven written and oral presentation skills
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Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects in various stages of development, each with a unique timeline.
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Work requires continual attention to detail. Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple competing tasks and demands.
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Employee development and performance management skills.
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Working knowledge of Microsoft Office including Word, Excel, and Power Point.
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Willing and able to travel.
Physical Requirements:
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Extended periods of time working on the computer.
To apply
Submit cover letter, resume, salary requirements and at least three references to:
Sherry Heuser, Senior Consultant
Capability Company
Telephone: (919) 926-0746
Submission of resumes by e-mail is preferred; include only your last name in the subject line.
