Director of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Grants

Company:	Chicago Zoological Society Brookfield Zoo Company Profile \| Current Opportunities (23)
Job Location(s):	Brookfield
Employment Term:	Regular
Employment Type	Full Time
Start Date:	As soon as possible
Starting Salary Range:	Not Provided
Required Experience:	Open
Related Categories:	Government - Policy/Legal, Management and Supervision

Position Description

Director of Corporate, Foundation, and Government Grants
Requisition ID# 750SD

Responsibilities:
Develops and executes an aggressive program of seeking funding from local, regional, and national foundations to support agreed-upon strategic initiatives, programs, and projects in alignment with institutional goals. Supervises and manages Assistant Director of Foundation, Corporate and Government Grants. Builds and maintain personal relationships with key foundation leadership and staff and assists other institutional senior staff in building and maintaining their own personal relationships with key foundation leadership and staff. Develops and executes a comprehensive government grants program seeking funding from local, state and federal competitive grant sources. Works closely with the Vice President of Government Relations to coordinate grant applications with government appropriations. Works closely with research staff, other development staff, and appropriate staff to aggressively and creatively identify new foundation and government grant funders. Maintains personal, regular communication with donors, including personalized acknowledgment letters, update reports, and meetings. Utilize Raiser’s Edge in developing and implementing tracking system for foundation and government proposals, grants, reports, site visits and stewardship. Assures that timely and accurate information is shared with appropriate staff and volunteers relative to foundation and government funding and prospects. Works closely with Finance staff to assure timely and accurate reporting on funding. Assist the V.P. of Development in monitoring and appropriate spending of donated funds. Maintains a thorough knowledge of issues and trends affecting foundation and government funding and communicate regularly to the V.P. of Development and other senior staff to facilitate awareness and discussion of strategic opportunities and challenges in building support for Society priorities. Works closely with the Director of Corporate Sponsorships, Outreach, and Events to assure close coordination on relationships with corporate foundations. Works closely with other development staff to assure close coordination on relationships with private foundations as they serve as giving vehicles for individual donors. Actively participates in and supports the annual employee survey and action planning process. Performs other related responsibilities as assigned.

Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of training and experience required. Masters degree in Marketing, Communications, or other relevant field or equivalent combination of training and experience preferred. Minimum 8 years directly relevant development, foundation or competitive government funding experience. Demonstrated experience developing and executing strategic funding plans and programs, developing and managing budgets, and producing quality deliverables within stated timeframes. Proven track record securing major foundation and government funding. Creative individual; ability to think strategically and deal with changing priorities, emergent issues, multiple projects, and clients simultaneously. Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including verbal, written, listening, and presentation skills. Must be articulate and able to represent the organization effectively both internally and externally. Strong writing skills essential. Computer proficiency required: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Raiser’s Edge and Outlook skills beneficial. Ability to maintain confidentiality of privileged information. Professional appearance and demeanor. Valid driver’s license required for Illinois residents within 90 days of hire; valid out-of-state license required for out-of-state residents. Spanish fluency a plus, but not required. This is a key member of the Chicago Zoological Society development team. It is a highly visible position, interacting with all internal departments, as well as the entire range of external constituencies. Incumbent is required to gain an intimate understanding of the organization, its mission, vision, values, and operating philosophies, and how development activities impact the operation and success of the organization. Must have a high level of energy, be self-motivated, results-oriented, confident, customer-oriented, and have strong presentation and people skills. He/she must be highly flexible and able to respond and adapt to changes. Must be able to establish and maintain a strong rapport and positive relationships with senior managers, staff, and external clients. Must be able to nurture new prospect relationships and have a proven track record in obtaining foundation and government funding. Must be strategic in orientation, proactive, persistent, and helpful. Must be able to handle multiple projects and clients simultaneously and work within a very fast-paced environment with rapidly shifting priorities. Incumbent must enjoy a challenge, be passionate about his/her work, embrace the organization’s mission and ethic of caring, and have a commitment to excellence. Normal work weeks of 50-55 hours+ are not unusual. Individual will be expected to be present and visible at development, marketing, and other events sponsored by the Society for its employees, Board members, and other professional participants and audiences, including evenings, early mornings, and weekends as needed. Some occasional local and domestic travel may be required. Thus, individual must be prepared to make a significant commitment to the organization.