Director of Development

Position: Director of Development

Location: USA-based, remote, ideally Eastern seaboard

Reports to: Chief Development Officer

About myAgro

myAgro is an award-winning non-profit social enterprise based in West Africa. We have developed a mobile savings model that allows farmers to invest their own funds in high-quality seed, fertilizer, and agricultural training to increase their harvest and income by 50-100%. Our North Star is to help 1 million farmers lift themselves out of poverty. We recently received the prestigious Audacious Prize to accelerate myAgro’s reach in the next 5 years.

The main objective of the Development department is to raise funds to reach our north star of working with 1M farmers. The new Director of Development role will be a natural ‘hunter’, leading the organization’s work to secure new private donors in the US market. We have a highly successful fundraising program currently focused on three complementary functional areas: foundations, institutional strategic partnerships, and principal giving. We are looking for this director to complete our leadership team and be primarily focused on securing new relationships and opportunities while closely partnering with colleagues who support on stewardship, proposal design, and donor management.

Join a winning team that is changing the lives of hardworking farmers across West Africa.

About the Role:

Our ideal candidate is a dynamic leader and communicator, self-starter and strategic thinker who has advanced entrepreneurial skills and exceptional relationship-building skills. They will have a proven track record of securing high value, multi annual, funding commitments and will be someone who thrives on meeting ambitious targets.

They will have experience across a range of private donor contexts and will be adept at working in traditional funding environments as well as engaging with newly emerging philanthropist and impact investor communities.

We are a highly collaborative development team, so this candidate will also be an active thought partner, ally, and support to fundraising colleagues – sharing ideas, leads and resources.

This role will ideally be based in the East Coast of the US, but due to the nature of the role we expect the successful candidate to spend much of their time outside the office, networking, and meeting with donors/prospective donors.

Major Responsibilities

• Build, shape and lead a portfolio of new donors, focused on a wide range of private donor communities, both traditional, emerging & in the innovative space.
• Lead the strategic planning, vision, and goal setting for myAgro’s philanthropic funding in new markets.
• Ensure rigorous prospect identification, research, and networking planning: leveraging myAgro’s existing pool of donors and champions to secure new opportunities.
• Develop clear stewardship and solicitation plans for identified key funding prospects.
• Establish strong collaborative relationships across myAgro to ensure all the resources, support, and partnerships are in place to optimize success.
• Work with myAgro colleagues to support organizational understanding of how expansion into new donor communities will best work and how to creatively pitch our programs.

Candidate requirements

• 8+ years of progressive fundraising experience and demonstrated expertise in private sector, major gifts, or principal gifts fundraising; or sales, including direct solicitation of donors or clients and a familiarity with having a front-line portfolio of donors.
• Proven track record of closing multiple 7 and 8+ figure gifts from a dynamic portfolio of donors and prospects, including qualifying new prospects and upgrading donors.
• A strong understanding of the range of frameworks, contexts and motivators for private donor funding and impact investing. Able to speak persuasively and authentically across those frameworks and contexts.
• Outstanding communication skills: able to ‘own the room’ when needed, articulate technical detail compellingly and convey the remarkable and transformational nature of our mission.
• Ability to develop effective cross-departmental relationships across an organization to achieve mutual objectives.
• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data.
• Ability to navigate CRM systems; experience with The Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred.

Preferred Experience & Skills

• Exceptional networks within the high-value private sector, ideally within traditional HNWI & Foundations communities, but also with new and emerging donor communities.
• Experience of working within & fundraising for a large complex international INGO delivering programs in multiple countries.
• Proven record of positive energy, entrepreneurialism, and excitement to meet ambitious goals.
• Responsive to change in a fast paced work environment while keeping donor priorities at the center of strategy and relationship building.
• Ability to diplomatically and sensitively collaborate across teams internally, regardless of distance, and garner support for and execute initiatives effectively.
• Experience working in social enterprise, or with a revenue model that combines earned revenue with philanthropic revenue.
• Experience working with staff largely from the private sector and/or in a social enterprise.

Our Benefits:

• Health insurance (including dental, vision and health coverage)
• Approximately 4 weeks of paid time off each year
• Retirement plan contributions
• Professional development and laptop stipends
• The opportunity to make a difference for farmers everyday!

Application Process and Deadline

To apply, submit an application on our website. Include a cover letter and a resume (CV). You should also complete the Plum survey. You can find a link to the Plum survey on the application form for the role. Please submit your application and documents in English. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted by our team.

There is no fixed deadline as we hire on a rolling basis. If someone else is selected while you are interviewing, we will let you know and consider your application for future positions. The interview process includes the application form, the Plum assessment, short virtual interviews and typically a short written assignment or a visit to the field or one of our offices.

myAgro provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sexual orientation, marital/parental status, national origin, age, disability, political opinion, social status, veteran status, and genetics. myAgro complies with all applicable federal, provincial and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment.