Senior Director of Development

Natural Lands

Natural Lands, a vibrant, regional, nonprofit organization and leader in land conservation, natural resource stewardship, and public engagement, seeks a Senior Director of Development to join our team at our headquarters on the Hildacy Preserve in Media, Pennsylvania.

Since the early 1950s, Natural Lands has saved open space, cared for nature, and connected people to the outdoors in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. Today, the organization is one of the nation’s largest regional land conservancies and is widely respected for its record of success, technical expertise, respectful and creative approach to partnerships, fiscal strength, and integrity.

Over the course of its nearly 70-year history, Natural Lands has helped preserve more than 135,000 acres including a network of over 40 nature preserves and one public garden across two states and 13 counties. These properties total 23,000 acres and include many of the most spectacular and diverse properties in the region, which are enjoyed by more than 300,000 visitors annually.

Natural Lands seeks to hire great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our organization stronger. We aim to build a workplace where employees feel empowered to be their full, authentic selves. We welcome you to explore a career at Natural Lands.

Job Summary

The Senior Director of Development oversees Natural Lands’ frontline fundraising team—membership, individual, institutional, and planned gift fundraisers—with the goal of growing philanthropic revenue and deepening donor relationships to advance organizational priorities.

In addition to day-to-day team supervision, the Senior Director of Development has primary and direct fundraising and relationship management responsibility for major donors and prospects, corporate partners, and other individual and institutional sponsors. A leadership member of a, highly motivated, fast-paced, and successful department, the position is also tasked with strategic and work planning, budgeting, and other department oversight.

Overview

  • Provide strategic and operational direction for the frontline fundraising team—building on Natural Lands’ decades long development success and strengthening even further the department’s capacity to grow philanthropic revenue and advance donor relationships across a spectrum of individual and private institutional giving.
  • Function as primary relationship manager for $10,000-$24,999 major donors and prospects, as well as for corporate partners and event sponsors at a range of gift levels.
  • Collaborate with the Vice President of Development on Natural Lands’ fundraising case making, branding, marketing, and communications; ensure consistent application throughout the frontline fundraising team.
  • Partner with the Senior Director of Donor Relations and the Senior Director of Development Services to support the Vice President of Development at a high level—driving departmental strategy, cohesion, and success.

Team Management

  • Provide daily supervision and guidance for the frontline fundraising team—the Director of Individual Giving, to whom the Membership and Annual Giving Manager reports, the Director of Institutional Giving, and the Director of Planned Giving.
  • Maintain a frontline fundraising unit that meets and exceeds annual goals and excels at donor relationship management.
  • Drive—in partnership with the Senior Director of Development Services and the Senior Director of Donor Relations—the department’s donor pipeline management to support gift upgrading and fundraising coordination.
  • Help shape all fundraising cases (including associated marketing and communications)—ensuring consistency throughout the frontline fundraising team and coordination with the Communications and Engagement Department.
  • Oversee the frontline fundraising team’s annual budget production as well as work plan tracking and advancement.

Major Donor Fundraising

  • Serve as primary relationship manager for a portfolio of approximately 75 individual donors and prospects who give—or have the capacity to give—between $10,000 and $24,999 each year.
  • Attend to the full life cycle of Natural Lands’ CONSERVATIONISTS members whose gifts range from $10,000 to $24,999—including relationship advancement and solicitation; stewardship; gift acknowledgement; proposal and gift report production; and donor record management.
  • Function as a key member of the staff leadership team for all fundraising campaigns—with responsibility for assisting the Vice President of Development with proposal coordination and impact reports in leadership and principal gift phases and directly managing a portfolio of major gift prospects in public phases.
  • With the Senior Director of Donor Relations and in partnership with the Vice President of Development, oversee the Board of Trustees’ engagement and involvement in all development initiatives.

Institutional Fundraising

  • Manage the Corporate Partner Program—including membership renewals, solicitations, gift acknowledgements, and relationship management—and develop a strategy for the program’s next phase.
  • Organize and participate in preserve-based corporate volunteer workdays—a signature benefit of the Corporate Partner Program and meaningful prospecting opportunity.
  • Coordinate with colleagues in the Communications an Engagement Department to celebrate corporate relationships as required via expressed benefits.

Sponsorship Fundraising

  • Organize sponsorship solicitations and steward relationships—both individual and institutional—for Stardust, Natural Lands’ annual fundraising event.
  • Support the Vice President of Development as needed with Stardust Event Committee fundraising.

Other

  • Participate in Board of Trustees Development and Campaign Committees and other leadership meetings as well as special project-based task forces as requested.
  • Read, network, and attend professional meetings to stay informed about best practices and trends in individual, institutional, and planned gift fundraising.
  • Perform duties and responsibilities as directed by the Vice President of Development.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree.
  • Minimum 15 years of fundraising experience, including in a sophisticated development department with broad exposure to individual, institutional, and planned gift fundraising.
  • Hands-on major gift and campaign fundraising experience with a demonstrated track record of solicitation and relationship advancement success.
  • Minimum of eight years of department leadership—including a history of direct supervisory experience of three or more employees.
  • Experience creating an effective and supportive workplace in a hybrid environment where collegiality and communication are key to success.
  • Devotion to relationship-based fundraising.
  • Solid understanding of moves management as a framework for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors.
  • Passion for the mission of Natural Lands—with knowledge of and frequent exposure to nature preferred.
  • Exceptional and practiced written and verbal communication skills.
  • Easy ability to understand and articulate Natural Lands’ case for support and organizational priorities; experience serving as a spokesperson for organizational priorities.
  • Skill at establishing and cultivating strong relationships with peers, organizational leadership, and colleagues across different levels of the organization.
  • A talent for managing up, including evidence of successful relationship management partnerships.
  • Capacity to balance multiple and sometimes competing deadlines and to work productively and amicably in an extremely fast-paced and highly motivated environment.
  • Proficiency in word processing and Excel. Experience working with donor databases – Blackbaud/Raiser’s Edge preferred – as well as donor research and screening tools.
  • Unwavering commitment to discretion in dealing with donor information.
  • Commitment to take CPR and basic first aid training if not certified.

Physical Requirements/Working Conditions

This position is primarily an office-based position, requiring frequent sitting for long periods, with occasional periods of walking, standing, bending, and reaching. The position is hybrid with a minimum of two days a week in the office. However, during training more in-office time may be necessary. The position requires use of the computer and the telephone. The position also requires hiking hills and walking uneven terrain in addition to reaching, lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling for placement and setup of event support items up to 20-35 pounds (tables, chairs, signs, displays, etc.). The candidate must be prepared to work outdoors under all conditions, including heat, cold, and with occasional exposure to poison ivy, biting and stinging insects, etc. The ability to travel throughout the region (eastern PA and southern NJ), reliable vehicle, and valid driver’s license are required for travel as needed.

Salary

$115,000-130,000

Natural Lands is committed to creating an inclusive environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status. We aim to build a workplace where employees feel empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to work.

Our [Natural Lands] mission is simple: land for life, nature for all. We work to preserve and nurture nature’s wonders while creating opportunities for joy and discovery in nature for everyone in our region.

How we advance our mission:

saving open space
Protecting open space from development by growing publicly accessible nature areas, working with private landowners to create permanent conservation plans for their properties, and helping communities preserve more of their land.

caring for nature
Stewarding natural resources on our properties and sharing what we learn with others.

connecting people to the outdoors… and each other
Creating opportunities for people to connect with and learn from nature.

How to Apply

Please visit our careers page and complete the online application process; address all applications to Tiffany D. Sowers, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Vice President of Human Resources.