Are you a cause-orientated individual who enjoys working on behalf of children, helping them realize their potential and equipping them to succeed? Do you want a job that is meaningful, challenging, gratifying, and allows you the opportunity to impact the futures of more than 150,000 primarily low-income kids each year? Do you believe that through education we can break cycles of poverty and help children to own their future?
Come join an amazing team of passionate people! For over 65 years, Junior Achievement of Arizona has been shaping the future by giving youth the skills needed to succeed in work and life. We care about the work we do and the people we do it with. As a team, we go the extra mile and are committed to preparing students to succeed!
Job Summary
Junior Achievement is looking for an innovative, resilient, self-starting leader responsible for the execution of a robust development function to sustain the organization’s annual operations and programmatic goals. You will have highly developed negotiation skills, be articulate and socially poised, have a proven track record of personally and directly generating significant new sources of revenue through business partnerships, and produce results of $7MM+ through your own efforts and with the cooperation of a team. Reporting to the President, you’ll have a natural ability to manage projects and teams, problem-solve, think strategically and critically, and work collaboratively while dealing with interruptions. You are motivated to help us change the lives of Arizona’s youth and passionate about the mission of our organization. You’ll listen first and understand how we can best fit the donors’ desires while supporting our programs.
Your attitude toward work, youth, your co-workers and the people you come in contact with through our programs are first class.
You have an insatiable desire to grow/improve and are excited at the prospect of leading and motivating a team to work toward stretch goals.
You are game to jump in and help whenever and however needed. When fires break out, everybody grabs a bucket, even the dogs (yes, we are a dog-friendly office!).
You are a big thinker and are invigorated by the idea of what might be possible if resources are made available.
You are a great juggler with fantastic follow-through. No detail is too small or too big, each part is important to the full picture/experience.
You are comfortable accepting and incorporating feedback from all directions. You can adapt, problem-solve and adjust.
Job Responsibilities
In partnership with JAAZ leadership, provide strategic direction for immediate and long-term revenue strategies, as well as staffing and budget necessary to sustain programmatic goals.
Deliver and manage oversight of revenue goals from the organization’s various philanthropic streams.
Lead by example and work with staff to secure new donor accounts: from point of networking/identification of prospects (see next bullet), to cultivating relationships, to stewardship, recognition and renewal of donors.
Work with staff in the identification and cultivation of potential partners; identify industries, demographic and geographic areas with high potential for corporate and individual contributions and create strategies to cultivate potential partners.
Supervise Development Officers statewide, and lead the team in renewing donor contributions, preparing grant proposals, and managing unpaid pledges.
Direct the special events team to encourage community participation in events and to sell sponsorships for special event fundraisers.
Oversee the expansion of the overall funding base from individual contributions including the successful implementation of planned giving strategies and expanded major donor strategies.
Speak at prospective donor organizations and events.
Collaborate with communications staff to implement integrated development communications across organizational channels.
Proven ability to raise $6MM+ annually.
Bachelor’s degree or 10+ years’ experience in the nonprofit field including a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role.
Proven commitment to organizational values: respect, diversity, equity and inclusion.
Demonstrated ability to lead a team, and to organize, direct, plan and coordinate operations.
Experience working with nonprofit boards.
Grant proposal writing experience.
Outstanding oral, written and presentation communications skills.
Computer literacy with Microsoft office suite, Zoom, etc. is a must. Many staff work in a hybrid environment, and we must maintain excellent communication via technology.
Proficiency in CRM software (JA uses BCRM from Blackbaud)
Light traveling across the Valley and the state is required.
Spanish bilingual desired.
Certified Fundraising Professional (CFRE) a plus.
Must be able to attend events and meetings outside of typical business hours.
Benefits Include: Employer contribution to healthcare coverage. Vision, and dental insurance, 403b, company paid life insurance and retirement fund, competitive paid time off, cellular phone stipend, mileage reimbursement, and flexible work arrangements.
In 1957, Junior Achievement came west to Arizona, launching its first office in Tucson. Many of Arizona’s top executives and leaders today experienced the JA Company Program as students.
In 1975, Junior Achievement entered the classroom and gradually began offering programs at all grade levels, Kindergarten through high school, expanding the curriculum to encompass financial literacy and work readiness education, in addition to the entrepreneurship training.
In 2001, Junior Achievement launched the experiential program, JA BizTown®, at its current headquarters in Tempe, and then JA Finance Park® in 2009.
In the following years, the organization added additional experiential and in-classroom programs that now reach more than 100,000 primarily low-income students in Arizona each year. Thanks to the support of local individuals, foundations and businesses, Junior Achievement of Arizona has served more than 3 million students in its 65+ year history.
It’s our responsibility to empower future generations — to equip them with the skills and knowledge to be successful and pursue their dreams. These are our kids, grandchildren, our future colleagues and community leaders. The success o...f our economy depends on their preparedness.
With the support of thousands of education, business and volunteer partners, we are giving kids the tools to succeed. Our volunteer mentors from the community teach students about the importance of money management, workforce readiness and entrepreneurial thinking. Arming today’s youth with this critical education will result in less financial instability and debt, a better-trained workforce, a more robust economy and healthier families.
