Officer, Principal Gifts

The International Rescue Committee's (IRC) External Relations (ER) department enables the IRC to respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Within ER, the USA Philanthropy team leads on the organization’s work with USA-based High-Net-Worth Individuals. We're seeking an exceptional Principal Giving Officer to join our team!

Positioned within USA Philanthropy, the Principal Giving team has a goal of improving private individual support for the IRC. The Principal Giving team engages, cultivates, solicits, and stewards significant, multi-year commitments from ultra-high net worth individual supporters of the IRC, often in partnership with the IRC's CEO and Board leadership.

The ideal candidate is a dynamic and entrepreneurial professional who excels at building relationships with donors, devising prospecting strategies and qualifying new leads and prospects. They will craft and implement strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects with the capacity to give seven and eight figure leadership gifts, and grow the Principal Gifts portfolio through outreach and qualification. As a collaborative and strategic problem-solver, the Officer will work closely with the team's Director and IRC leadership to handle high-level partnerships and opportunities. The Officer will have experience understanding the motivations of philanthropists and be able to assess a prospect’s willingness to make a principal (seven to eight-figure) gift to the IRC over a number of years.

Major Responsibilities:

• Manage a dynamic portfolio of 50+ ultra-high net worth individuals by moving the IRC's relationship with each through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

• Conduct in person meetings (often with travel) with donors and prospects in order to advance the relationship.

• Qualify a portfolio of prospects using research and discovery to unearth new donor relationships and be willing to be entrepreneurial in their approach.

• Create strategic correspondence, including solicitations, cultivation pieces, reports, and other stewardship materials, to engage donors and prospects.

• Design tactics and creative, long term engagement strategies to deepen donor dedication and increase giving.

• Choreograph, and prepare strategy, as well as briefing and debriefing materials for donor meetings with IRC leadership.

• Undertake special projects as requested.

Candidate Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent 4-6 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

• Comfortable in managing a portfolio of mainly unqualified or lapsed donors, which may require cold outreach.

• Knowledge of East Coast philanthropic community a plus.

Preferred Experience & Skills:

• Proven track record of soliciting and closing multiple figure gifts, including qualifying prospects and upgrading donors and/or clients;

• Outstanding communication skills, including writing, listening, verbal presentation and speaking;

• Ability to develop creative and nuanced donor strategy often carried out in partnership with program staff or senior leadership;

• Adaptable 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 implement initiatives effectively;

• Ability to identify, build, and implement processes vital to supporting effective donor relationships;

• Ability to navigate CRM systems;

• Dedication to fundraising for international development, humanitarian, human rights, gender and racial equality, social justice, and US immigrant communities.

Working Environment: This role requires working in a hybrid work environment, with at least two times a week working from IRC Headquarters in NYC, and the remainder of the time working remotely. Applicants must have a home or alternate workspace they can effectively complete their work from during regularly scheduled hours. Successful candidates must be available to travel domestically as required.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement:

In accordance with IRC’s duty to provide and maintain a workplace that is free of known hazards and our commitment to safeguard the health of our employees, clients, and communities, IRC requires new hires to furnish proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be considered for any in-office or hybrid positions. All IRC US offices require full vaccination to attend any in-office functions (e.g., meetings, trainings).

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity:

IRC is committed to building a diverse organization and a climate of inclusivity. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who can demonstrate that they can contribute to this goal.

Equal Opportunity Employer:

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

US Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. In the US, these include: 10 sick days, 10 US holidays, 20-25 paid time off days (depending on role and tenure), medical insurance starting at $145 per month, dental starting at $7 per month, and vision starting at $5 per month, FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs, a 403b retirement savings plans with up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus a 3-7% base IRC contribution (3 year vesting), disability & life insurance, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support counseling and care in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

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Qualifications