Employment Opportunities
DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
This position will be based in Atlanta, GA
The Southern Environmental Law Center is seeking an experienced fundraiser to build and manage a portfolio that includes both leadership gifts and $1,000+ annual fund donors. This is a rare opportunity to join one of the nation's most effective environmental advocacy organizations at an especially dynamic, exciting period in our history—the early stages of a $45 million campaign to implement an ambitious new 10-year strategic action plan.
About the Organization: 22 Years of Law and Policy Leadership
Founded in 1986, the Southern Environmental Law Center is respected as one of the most effective non-profit groups in the U.S. Through cutting-edge work in all three branches of government, SELC uses the power of law and policy to protect the environment and health of the Southeast--in Congress and state legislatures to help inform new environmental laws, with regulatory agencies to implement law and policy, and in the courts, when necessary, to enforce safeguards or set far-reaching precedents. SELC thinks regionally and acts locally, in partnership with 100+ local, state, and national groups. SELC highlights include giving added protection to 2 million acres of national forest; bringing 8 million acres of high-quality southern wetlands under federal protection for the first time; and winning a unanimous victory in the U.S. Supreme Court that will lead to the clean-up of this nation’s oldest, dirtiest power plants.
About the Position
We are seeking a bright, self-motivated development officer to join a successful, sophisticated regional fund-raising team that is in the family phase of a $45 million campaign. The development officer will work in close partnership with top-caliber Board of Trustees members, staff attorneys, and SELC friends to identify, gain entrée to, and build relationships with existing and prospective supporters. This position has strong backup from SELC’s on-staff writers, graphic designers, and donor relations experts. In addition to planning and executing effective, individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies (using a database moves management system), the development officer will be part of the creative team that plans small special events and produces high-quality, customized packages—handouts, proposals and reports, and presentations for use in face-to-face calls and group meetings.
The success of the development officer will depend on forming lasting personal relationships with donors through face-to-face visits, frequent contacts by mail and telephone, and planning and participating in special events. The development officer will be expected to set up and execute introductory, cultivation, and solicitation calls on a regular basis, and manage a prospect “pipeline” that includes peer review screening and other field research. This position involves travel in the Southeast with expectations for 100+ face-to-face calls a year.
Mastering and following the organization’s conservation work in three branches of government, in six states, and in five major programmatic areas is intellectually stimulating, challenging, and always varied.
The Southern Environmental Law Center is an organization that values employee growth and satisfaction. An impressive proportion of SELC’s staff has been with the organization for ten years or more, growing in responsibility and expertise with changing needs of the workplace. Mentoring is highly valued in the development department, and this position will have the opportunity to work in close collaboration with SELC’s highly accomplished development director, executive director, and other senior fund raisers.
Qualifications
We are looking for a bright, energetic self-starter with a college degree and three or more years of professional experience in successful one-on-one fund raising. Excellent written and communication skills are required. The successful candidate will be:
• highly organized and strategic
• able to balance multiple priorities and deadlines
• skilled at planning and implementing cultivation and solicitation strategies involving teams of staff and volunteers
• experienced in planning targeted cultivation events
Familiarity with the philanthropic community in the Southeast is a plus.
The development officer will be committed to the conservation mission of the Southern Environmental Law Center. He/she must be able to understand the many complex facets of SELC’s work, how they fit together, and what the organization is trying to accomplish—and to communicate this to outside audiences in a simple, powerful, inspiring manner. He/she should thrive in a fast-paced office environment with high expectations and standards of excellence.
To Apply
Please send your letter of interest and resume to:
Director of Development
Southern Environmental Law Center
201 W. Main St., Suite 14
Charlottesville, VA 22902-5065
Salary for this position is competitive and commensurate with experience.
SELC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is continually seeking to diversity our staff. We strongly encourage applications from persons of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.
