Director of Foundations

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) is the global organization’s presence in the United States. We engage people in the U.S. to fight injustice all around the world, while we also work to protect people’s human rights here in the U.S. Amnesty International USA has more than one million members and activists in all 50 states, who are part of a larger global movement of 10 million people in 150 countries. We are a democratically governed, grassroots membership organization, which means that our members vote on key policy issues and elect our Board of Directors. Some of our members are experts on specific human rights issues, parts of the world, or advocacy areas, and they serve as volunteer leaders. Others are volunteer leaders of local or student groups in towns, universities, states, or regions of the country. Amnesty International USA’s elected Board members, staff, and members work together to lead the organization.

Job Summary

The Director of Foundations will work in close collaboration with a high-functioning major gifts team. The Foundation Director will be responsible for investigating new funding opportunities, working strategically and creatively to match funder interest with organization priorities, developing fundraising proposals and budgets, and negotiating complex gifts. This position requires the ability to distill complicated programmatic strategies into comprehensive proposals and navigate complex application and reporting processes.

The successful candidate will possess strong leadership and communication skills, a track record of building relationships across a spectrum of foundations with diverse constituents, , excellent attention to detail, exceptional writing and oral communication skills, able to work independently, and the ability to close large-scale donations and/or grants. This role will report to the National Director of Major Gifts and Foundations.

Essential Responsibilities

• Communicate and collaborate with the Chief Development Officer, National Director of Major Gifts and Foundations, and Chief Financial Officer to develop a foundation fundraising strategy specific to AIUSA in addition to supporting and driving greater collaboration with Amnesty’s International Secretariat around U.S. foundations currently supporting global work
• Works with the National Director of Major Gifts and Foundations to create and implement ambitious and realistic fundraising goals over a 5-year period
• Manage a portfolio of up to 10 active institutional funders and 30+ prospective funders
• Leads collaboration with teams across the organization (MEL, in particular) to ensure that fundable opportunities, budgets, and funder engagement opportunities are developed and prioritized as a fundamental part of organizational planning efforts
• Cultivates networks of staff, board members, members and other key stakeholders and qualify prospective foundation donors on a regular basis, including routinely submitting letters of inquiry to develop a robust pipeline of prospective foundation donors
• Research foundation giving trends and provides advice and guidance to senior leadership, programmatic staff, and fellow fundraisers on how to present AIUSA programmatic activities to key funders
• Provide guidance to senior leadership on how to expand the universe of foundations that fund Amnesty, nationally and internationally
• Monitor and track all foundation revenue and progress towards fundraising goals, providing accurate reports as necessary
• Develop tracking systems for all foundation accounts, including agreements to guarantee fulfillment of grants, ensuring reporting requirements are met and records are organized and up to date in our database
• Ensure current and prospective foundations are regularly updated on AIUSA’s activities and achievements
• Manage proposal writing process for all foundations, including tracking deadlines, gathering information and coordinating with appropriate staff
• In partnership with key staff, coordinate site visits and in-person funder briefings for prospective and current foundation officers
• Brief and prepare CEO, Chief Development Officer, and key programmatic staff for foundation meetings and/or calls
• Develop briefs and talking points to assist senior leadership and programmatic staff to engage with funders in securing five, six and seven figure gifts
• Perform other job-related duties as requested by the National Director of Major Gifts and Foundations and the Chief Development Officer
• Frequent domestic travel is required to meet in person with funders. Occasional international travel may be required to participate in international forums
• This position will sometimes require working outside the traditional professional workday, including occasional evenings and weekends
• Close proximity to NY metro area and San Francisco Bay Area highly preferred

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• The ability to manage multiple funder accounts at once and communicate across a wide variety of stakeholders with often uncoordinated expectations
• Demonstrated track record of obtaining and managing a grant portfolio budget of over $1 million annually
• Demonstrates strategic, engaging interpersonal skillsets through ability to secure in-person visits and make meaningful connections with Foundations funders and staff
• Ability to clearly articulate—verbally and in writing—the case for Amnesty, and insightfully connect our work and relevance with existing, new and diverse audiences
• Ability to articulate complex specific programmatic work at a level conducive to securing six and seven figure grants
• Demonstrates and in-depth knowledge of philanthropic terminology to describe multi-faceted programs, including: theory of change, goals, objectives, inputs, outputs, outcomes, and indicators of success
• Manages conflicting priorities to ensure objectives are achieved and deadlines are met and systematically plans work in ways that maximize performance and cost effectiveness
• Uses in depth knowledge of funders, the market and current giving trends to predict future trends, and enable and inspire innovative thinking
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills, in particular the ability to listen and communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders
• Strong commitment to making the workplace inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible for all
• Commits to work collaboratively with all constituent groups, including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, program participants, and other supporters

Education and Experience

• BA/BS and at least 10 years relevant experience or MA/MS and 8 years relevant experience and/or sufficient relevant work experience. Knowledge of non-profit fundraising principles and environment, and C-3 permissible funding opportunities required.
• At least 5+ years of proven success in foundation fundraising, preferably for advocacy related issues, with personal experience soliciting and obtaining large-scale donations
• Experience (or equivalent experience) in personally soliciting and obtaining six and seven figure donations and working with senior leadership and staff to do so
• Must demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the terminology used by foundations to describe multi-faceted programs
• Strong organizational and project management skills, and familiarity with relational database required

We recognize the valuable skills that can be gained through internships, fellowships, volunteer work, and non-traditional work experience. This experience helps build competencies and knowledge that may translate to our job openings. We seek a diversity of experience and skills for our workplace and encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our openings.

HOW TO APPLY AND OUR EEO STATEMENT

All applications must be completed online, and we do not accept paper submissions. Please visit the AIUSA Careers Page to review all current job postings. You must complete the entire online application, and electronically sign, for an application to be considered “complete.” We send emails via Paycom so please check your spam folders for any updates. Please email talentacquisition@aiusa.org for technical difficulties ONLY.

Amnesty International USA is an equal opportunity employer. AIUSA encourages applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Black people, Indigenous people, people of color; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex people; women; people with disabilities, protected veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals are all strongly encouraged to apply.

OUR COMMITMENT AS AN ANTI-RACIST ORGANIZATION AND TO INCLUSION, DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND ACCESSIBILITY (IDEA)

Dismantling white supremacy is central to the fight for human rights in the United States and around the world. As we mobilize staff and activists and work with partners to help transform the multiple systems where oppression operates in the world around us as part of our human rights mandate, anti-racism must be integral to our work. What does that mean for Amnesty International in the United States? It means using our people power to fight injustice and centering the voices and experiences of those most impacted by racist structures, beliefs, and laws. Fundamentally, it means doing our human rights work differently than it has been done before, because we know that who we work with, how we work, the work we do, and ultimately who we are, are all interconnected.

As an international, intercultural, intergenerational and intersectional movement of activists committed to protecting and advancing human rights for all, Amnesty is deeply committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA). To learn more about how we integrate IDEA into our programs and workplace, visit: https://www.amnestyusa.org/idea/

Remote and Hybrid Workplace Policy

Because the health and safety of our employees and candidates are a top priority, we are currently conducting our hiring process virtually.

Staff, office visitors, and event attendees to be up to date with COVID vaccines before entering AIUSA offices or attending AIUSA events or in-person meetings. If anyone wishing to enter the office or attend our events is not vaccinated, they will need to have tested negative for COVID within 24 hours of entry. We expect that all staff and visitors entering the office or attending AIUSA events will, by accessing our facilities, be attesting that they are vaccinated or that they have tested negative within 24 hours of entry.

Please review the job description, which will state whether a role is hybrid and remote. Some roles may require travel domestically and/or internationally.