Role Overview 

The Senior Development Officer for Foundations works under the general direction of the Director of Foundations and Corporate Partnerships, and is a member of the Foundations and Corporate Partnerships leadership team.  As such, they play a leading role in the creation, oversight, and execution of the overall strategy to raise funds from US-based professional foundations. This is a key position that supports the team in meeting or exceeding its ambitious fundraising targets in a highly competitive environment.  

In carrying out their role, the Senior Development Officer works closely with the Foundations and Corporate Partnerships team as well as with other stakeholders across the organization including other senior development managers/officers, prospect researchers, channel leads, communications, program, legal and finance staff.

The Sr. Development Officer manages a personal portfolio of professional foundations. In this capacity, they identify, develop, manage, and grow strategic relationships with high value foundation donors. This includes developing proposals and funding relationships around priority MSF activities and initiatives and coordinating closely with appropriate MSF personnel (within MSF-USA, and occasionally with MSF offices in Europe and the field) to identify and secure new or renewed funding.  

In addition, the Sr. Development Officer for Foundations directly supervises the Sr. Associate, Foundations and the Development Officer for Foundations.  

Department Accountabilities

Prospecting

Pursue strategic opportunities in coherence with MSF-USA´s strategy, that create long-term value for the movement by identifying and developing new audience segments or donors for its mission.

Donor Cultivation, Engagement and Management 

Build trust and loyalty with potential and existing donors. At the simplest level, update donors on activities. At a more complex level, build long-term relationships with key donors and key donor segments. Take overall responsibility for designing, developing, and delivering the donor engagement strategy. May be through channels or through personal relationships.

Fundraising 

Secure reliable, sustainable and efficient resources in alignment with MSF-US commitments.

Brand Positioning

Drive awareness and consideration through brand positioning based on the brand strategy and implement brand plans.

Best-in-Class Fundraising Systems and Capabilities

Deploy and champion the latest technological systems and capabilities that push the boundaries of what Development can produce for its donors.  

Roles Specific Outcomes

Leadership and Direction  

Communicate the actions needed to implement the function's strategy and business plan within the team; explain the relationship to the broader organization's mission, vision and values; motivate people to commit to these and to doing extraordinary things to achieve local business goals.

Improvement and Innovation  

Identify shortcomings in existing business practices, then suggest and implement improvements while developing and delivering projects or a work stream within the organization's change management program. Involves working with guidance from senior colleagues. 

Donor Relationship Development (Prospecting)  

Develop and implement a relationship management plan for strategic, complex potential accounts to build key relationships at local and national levels. Coordinate the engagement of own organization with the donor