Career Center

About the Role

Corlears School seeks a Director of Development to plan and implement a community based development and fundraising program to provide for the short- and long-term needs of the organization. The person in this role cultivates a culture of philanthropy and community support for the school’s vision by developing and maintaining relationships with trustees, current and alumni families, students, staff and friends of the school, to support annual and major giving, as well as organizing events and volunteer support. 

Reports To: Head of School

Working Hours: Full-Time, In Person, Monday - Friday, 8am-4p

Salary Range: $110,000-$130,000 

Strategic Priorities:

• Strengthen community participation and volunteering to support philanthropy at the school
• Solidify the school’s long term major giving strategy to support the tuition equity initiative
• Grow the spring Gala into a broader community event
• Diversify the fundraising streams to include a broader set of external prospects, including corporate and foundation donors

Primary Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Head of School to grow the culture of volunteering and philanthropy through fundraising initiatives that support the overall strength and growth of the school
• Develop and execute an annual development plan
• Collaborate with the community to successfully implement annual fundraising through the Annual Fund and Gala celebration 
• Work with the Head of School, Board of Trustees and other community members to implement Major Giving efforts 
• Cultivate a robust alumni relations program, including engagement events and fundraising opportunities
• Collaborate with the Engagement Team to implement special events
• Coordinate with the Development and Communication Associate for data entry and gift processing
• Work closely with the Communications Director to create school communications that support development efforts
• Support overall advancement of the school as a member of the Full Administrative and Engagement Teams
• Work with and provide monthly reports to the Board of Trustees and its Advancement Committee
• Coordinate and manage campaign cultivation and recognition events
• Prepare customized briefing, solicitation materials, and event documents for volunteers and staff to use for meetings
• Maintain an annotated table of gifts and prospective donor pipeline
• Manage and oversee all annual fund and major giving documentation - tracking payments, sending quarterly reminders, and coordinating with the Business office to ensure records are maintained in accordance with Auditing standards
• Coordinate prospect research to develop profiles of donors
• Support the volunteer committees to participate in campaign activities and donor asks
• Assist with timely donor acknowledgements and stewardship, including recognition opportunities and thank you letters
• Develop donor-facing correspondence including letters, invitations, and other mailings
• Produce reports, brochures, newsletters, and other communications materials, as needed, in coordination with the Development and Communications Associate and the Communications Director

The successful candidate will: 

• Be aligned in mission and values 
• Demonstrate a personal and professional commitment to equity & inclusion
• Have the ability to connect to and collaborate with a diverse community
• Demonstrate emotional intelligence to identify and manage emotions in positive ways
• Demonstrate a keen self-awareness and strong interpersonal communication skills that support positive relationships with various constituents in the school community
• Have the motivation, skill and a positive outlook to collaborate with colleagues
• Demonstrate depth of technical knowledge and skill as evidenced by previous experiences
• Be committed to reflection and professional growth

To Apply: Email jobs@corlearsschool.org with a cover letter and resume.

Qualifications:

• Bachelors (required) or Masters (a plus)
• 5+ years experience in development and alumni relations, including work for a non-profit school
• Experience working with database and CRM systems, such as Hubspot, Salesforce or Raiser’s Edge
• Demonstrated ability to build collaborative relationships and structures to support community engagement
• Ability to utilize project management tools to organize and execute fundraising plans, alumni programming and other related engagement efforts 
• Demonstrated excellence in organizational and managerial skills
• Results-driven; highly organized with proven ability to conceptualize and execute sustainable initiatives
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Skilled in building strong long term positive relationships with members of the community

Employment Requirements (upon hire):

• Fingerprinting/Background check
• Health Requirements: All employees are required to have received one COVID vaccine series (but not a booster). Should the DOH institute a mandate for any vaccination, including COVID vaccination, we will require staff to comply, with due time and notice from the school

About Corlears School

Corlears, a small, independent, progressive school located in the lively Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, is dedicated to the education of young children through the elementary grades. We seek to cultivate joy in learning through active investigation of integrated curricular themes. Daily practice at Corlears is based on the belief that educating students to be well informed, socially engaged, critical thinkers is essential in order to sustain a healthy democracy. We have intentionally created an intimate environment, well suited to the needs of children through the elementary years, where students can easily navigate both the physical space and social networks of the community. We seek to create an economically and culturally diverse community that reflects our immediate neighborhood and reaches into the city beyond.

Connections working at Corlears School