Senior Development Manager, European Foundations

at  The German Marshall Fund of the United States

THE SENIOR DEVELOPMENT MANAGER EUROPEAN FOUNDATIONS POSITION CAN BE LOCATED IN ANY ONE OF GMF’S 7 EUROPE OFFICES, CONTINGENT ON CANDIDATE’S ELIGIBILITY TO WORK IN THAT COUNTRY.

The German Marshall Fund is a thought leader on issues critical to transatlantic interests in the 21st century, including the future of democracy, security and geopolitics, alliances and the rise of China, and technology and innovation. By drawing on and fostering a community of people with diverse life experiences and political perspectives, GMF pursues its mission by driving the policy debate through cutting-edge analysis and convening, fortifying civil society, and cultivating the next generation of leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.
At GMF, we acknowledge that diversity, equity, and inclusion touches on all aspects of our workplace. As such, employees at all levels of the organization are accountable for incorporating inclusive practices, equitable principles, and championing diversity in their work.

DEVELOPMENT WORKSTREAM SUMMARY:

In support of GMF’s mission, organizational strategies and priorities - and in concert with programs across the organization, the development team leads and executes GMF’s external fundraising activities that generate revenue, steward funding relationships, and meet accountability systems standards.

JOB SUMMARY:

The Senior Development Manager, European Foundations will work closely with the Managing Director, Development to identify and secure funding for GMF programs from European foundations.
This position is primarily donor-facing, providing fundraising strategy, coordination, and direct engagement for a portfolio of foundation funders. The Senior Development Manager, European Foundations will share sectoral intelligence with program colleagues and will provide strategic input for European foundation donor relationships managed by programs.
The Senior Development Manager, European Foundations will work in close coordination with the other members of the foundations funding team within Development, the Chief of Staff to the President of GMF, and with members of the programmatic teams who also work on fundraising. Other close collaborators will be the Strategic Engagement and Finance teams as well as other gift officers and the donor relations staff.
Essential Duties/Responsibilities:

Resource Mobilization (75%)

• Create and implement a comprehensive strategy for European Foundations that will support GMF efforts to secure externally raised revenue and align with GMF’s organizational priorities
• Identify gaps among GMF’s European foundation funders, and proactively coordinate with development teammates, organization-wide collaborative partners and our alumni network to create and implement engagement strategies
• Understand the evolving research, convening, training, and grantmaking outputs of GMF’s priority fields and match these with a wide variety of foundation funding sources
• Support the development of a compelling story that resonates with donors in the European foundation sector
• Coordinate fundraising strategies for a portfolio of foundation funder prospects, many of which will have multiple interests at GMF
• Establish revenue goals for each funder based on public information on their giving and on colleagues’ knowledge. Focus on identifying, cultivating, and soliciting contributions at level $250,000 and above
• Create tailored cultivation and solicitation plans for each funder in your portfolio based on each prospect’s priorities, motivations, giving patterns and ask preferences. Execute this plan in a timely and cost-effective manner which results in the retention and upgrading of funders
• Attain specific fundraising goals, including all major elements of the solicitation process from identification to cultivation to solicitation and stewardship after gift closure. Once the portfolio is established, close seven figures overall each fiscal year in new gift commitments

Coordination and Communication (15%)

• Identify and disseminate funding opportunities to programs, performing regular searches for funding opportunities
• Foster a culture of philanthropy within the organization, working with teammates and programs to elucidate culture of fundraising
• Gather business intelligence from the foundation funding sector for dissemination across GMF and leverage into actionable funder strategy
• Coordinate with the donor relations coordinator and other colleagues as appropriate on recognition of and stewardship of donors following successful solicitation

Analytics and Admin (10%)

• Pull reports from CRM and retrieve data for reports and analysis
• Create monthly and quarterly reports that accurately reflect foundation funder activity and fundraising outcomes at GMF
• Liaise with Managing Deputy Director, Development on a quarterly basis to monitor KPIs and revise strategy as necessary

Knowledge and Skills Needed:

• Minimum of 10 years of professional fundraising, government contracting, or closely affiliated experience: understanding of prospect management systems, donor databases, prospect pipeline development
• Personal solicitation experience
• Understanding of and experience working with international cultures
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Project management skills, including planning and analysis
• Ability to work in integrated databases
• Strong work ethic, good judgment, ability to manage own time and collaborate effectively with others
• Success in coaching leadership level staff to achieve fundraising success
• Adept at putting creative ideas forward; taking initiative and solving problems with creative approaches
• Dynamic, self-motivated and focused with proactive approach
• Willingness to travel internationally
• Commitment to the values and mission of GMF

Education:
Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred.
Salary: 51,855 - 127,095 Euros, dependent on office location and country currency.
We highly encourage individuals from underrepresented backgrounds to apply. Historically, underrepresented groups include (but are not limited to) Black, Latinx/o/a/e, Indigenous, Asian, Arab, Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, biracial, multiracial, female-identifying, the disability community, LGBTQIA+, and other marginalized identities.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At GMF we are dedicated to building a diverse and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role, but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply. You may just be the right candidate for this or other roles at GMF.

Please refer the Job description for details