Director of Development at San Francisco Friends School

The San Francisco Friends School (SFFS), located in the heart of the Mission District in San Francisco, educates K-8 students in the tradition of Quaker learning. By example and commitment, we hope to inspire all connected with our school to work together toward a peaceful and caring society. For further information about San Francisco Friends School’s beginnings, mission and philosophy, please visit our
website at www.sffriendsschool.org.

The foundations of our mission are:
● Academic excellence
● Quaker values of simplicity, integrity, mutual respect, service to others, and peaceful problem-solving
● Community life, bringing together a diverse group of children, families, faculty, and staff through a sense of belonging
● Attention to the emotional and spiritual growth of the individual
● Social responsibility

Job Summary:
SFFS seeks a collaborative and enthusiastic Director of Development to lead the school’s fundraising program and play a key role in building community and helping to fortify ties between the school’s various constituencies. The SFFS Director of Development is responsible for strategic fundraising planning and developing, implementing and coordinating funding strategies for annual and capital campaigns. The Director works closely with the Head of School, senior leadership team, Board of Trustees and Parents Association to establish funding strategies, goals and objectives in accomplishment of its advancement goals.

Job Responsibilities:
The Director of Development is responsible for developing and overseeing a comprehensive fundraising program for Friends, including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, capital and/or endowment campaigns, constituent relations (parents, grandfriends, alumni, parents of alumni and friends), communications and events.

Primary Responsibilities include:
● Collaboratively design, implement, and oversee a comprehensive fundraising program designed to broadly support the mission and strategic goals of the school
● Oversee all development efforts and programs, including annual giving, major gifts, alumni relations, stewardship, events, capital, endowment, and planned giving goals
● Lead and coordinate the efforts of the development team and volunteers in the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors

● Support the Head of School in all advancement activities
● Oversee the school’s communication program, including internal, external, online, social media and print publications
● Partner with the Development Committee to develop and implement longer-term advancement initiatives and engage the Board of Trustees in fundraising goals and initiatives
● Partner with the Committee on Trustees to help identify potential Board members;
● Hire, train, motivate, manage, and evaluate advancement team
● Oversee the creation and management of the Development Office budget
● Work closely with the Parents Association to cultivate volunteer and community engagement
● Oversee Development Office operations, including donor files and database, gift accounting and acknowledgments, pledge collection, creation of financial records, alumni databases and other records, and compliance with school policy and philanthropic best practices
● Externally represent SFFS to current and prospective constituencies
● Collaborate with senior leadership on strategic school initiatives beyond fundraising (e.g. emergency planning, administrative review process, et al.)
● Promotes a culture of inclusion within the development program, communications, and school community at large.

Job Qualifications:
● A high level of integrity, warmth, confidence, a positive outlook, a strong work ethic and a good sense of humor;
● Ability to balance multiple priorities in a complex environment;
● Excellent judgement, discretion, attention to detail and commitment to excellence;
● Deep appreciation and understanding of the school’s Quaker values and mission;

Job Requirements:
● A Bachelor’s degree is required; a masters and/or CFRE is preferred;
● Two or more years of previous work experience successfully managing employees;
● Knowledge and significant, three or more years, of experience with the following: Annual Giving, Alumni Relations, Major Gifts, Strategic Communication, and Capital Campaigns;
● Ability to interact effectively with all the constituencies of the School community, including the Head of School, administration, staff, faculty, Board of Trustees, alumni, parents, and friends of the School; skilled at building and maintaining relationships across the school community;
● Familiarity of advancement best practices, preferably in an independent school;
● Excellent communication skills, both oral and written, and ability to listen deeply.

Desired Attributes:
● Operates with complete integrity and understands the role that trust plays in creating community and building a successful development program

● Respect for confidentiality
● Team player with ability to delegate, motivate and empower others
● Big-picture focused but with ability to see details that must support it
● Multi-tasker
● Sense of humor
● Flexible, able to adjust when needed
● Pro-active approach to problem solving

Physical requirements:
● Must be able to sit and stand for long periods of time and have good mobility skills.
● Must be able to stoop, kneel, and reach and extend arms in any direction.
● Must have close visual acuity to perform activities such as: viewing a computer terminal, ability
to take photographs, extensive reading, etc.
● Light lifting.

Compensation and Benefit summary
Salary will be based on qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits offered including medical, dental, vision and life insurance and an employer match 403 (b) retirement plan.

EEO Commitment
SFFS is an equal opportunity employer. Our community is diverse in many ways, inclusive of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender spectrum, age, ability, and more. We welcome and value the same in our faculty and staff.

Contact information
Please provide a thoughtful cover letter and resume, along with a list of three references to:
Director of Human Resources
sffs-jobs@sffriendsschool.org