Position: Vice President
Team: Development
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
The Organization
Founded in 2006, The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN) is an international development organization that works to alleviate hunger through food banking. Its mission is to start food banks in communities where they are needed and to support those where they already exist. Its vision is a thriving network of food banks that nourish the world.
Food banking began in 1967 in the United States and has flourished as a community-based model to redistribute edible food that would otherwise go to waste to those facing hunger. This model is now being carried out at a national scale in the US and throughout Europe, and with GFN’s help, increasingly in emerging markets.
GFN directly serves food banks in more than 30 countries in Central and South America, Asia, Australia, and limitedly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, it achieves its mission through five primary offerings to the food banks it directly serves:
- It partners with local leaders to launch food banks in communities where they are both needed and feasible;
- It invests in food banking organizations through training, technical assistance, programming, and grants to support their effectiveness;
- It forges partnerships with leading multinational donors to increase investment, product donations, and employee engagement in both GFN and food banks around the world;
- It offers best practice sharing to food bank leaders; and
- It sets and enforces global standards for food bank operations to both strengthen organizations and enable multinational investment from donors of product and funds in a trusted network.
GFN has a FY19 operating budget of $6.6 million and is led by a team of twenty employees, based primarily out of Chicago. It benefits from the oversight and support of a globally diverse Board of Directors. The organizational culture is entrepreneurial, mission-oriented, culturally sensitive, and committed to serving and empowering its members.
Position Summary
GFN seeks a Vice President (VP) to lead its development team of four professionals who spearhead all fundraising and corporate partnership work for the organization. The VP will set short- and long-term strategic direction for the team and is responsible for achieving the revenue goals for a fast-growing organization. S/he works cross-functionally to ensure the right resources are brought to bear in identifying, recruiting, stewarding, and retaining organizational funders. The VP will serve on the executive management team, which is responsible for advancing the mission of hunger relief through the food banking model. This is a new position.
Responsibilities for the VP of Development are summarized as follows:
- Designing a successful revenue strategy – In partnership with the CEO, the VP is responsible for designing the organization’s revenue strategy to achieve its strategic vision. The VP will be charged with building a robust donor base that is diverse, stable, rich with multi-year giving opportunities, and engages long-term, generous partners that are eager to invest in GFN financially and through other means.
- Developing a Case for Support–The VP of Development will work with the CEO and VP of Programming to craft an effective case for support and strong value proposition to investors, especially corporate donors – the organization’s largest funding stream currently. It is essential the VP be able to effectively communicate the mission and impact of GFN through in-person meetings, proposal writing, solicitations, donor updates, and in other stewardship materials.
- Inspiring, cultivating, and soliciting major donors – In partnership with the CEO, the VP will be responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors. This is an externally facing position that will be directly engaged in inviting major donors – corporates, foundations, individuals, and others – to invest in the work of GFN. The CEO spends ~30% of her time engaged in direct fundraising, and it is estimated this position will spend upwards of 60% time doing frontline fundraising, with a focus on acquisition.
- Overseeing all aspects of the fundraising team – The VP oversees all aspects of revenue sourcing for GFN. This includes overseeing donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship and handling all aspects of gift acknowledgement and recordkeeping. It also includes creating budgets, work plans, and revenue pipelines and forecasts for the department. Budgets and revenue projections are reviewed monthly. The current fundraising team consists of two corporate fundraisers, and major gifts fundraiser, and a coordinator that handles the donor database and revenue stream tracking.
- Innovator and Change Leader – The VP is a partner in developing GFN strategy, shepherding the team towards impactful solutions, steers its efforts to the highest impact, and shares lessons learned. S/he pioneers big ideas and has the drive and vision to garner funders towards those goals.
- Strategic Vision – The VP joins the CFO, Vice President of Programs, and CEO on GFN’s management team, which collectively is charged with designing the strategic vision and planning for the organization, recruiting the partners and resources needed to advance this vision, and in ensuring that the mission of nourishing those facing hunger is achieved to its maximum potential.
Candidate Profile
The successful candidate will be a global thinker who has established themselves as a skilled fundraiser, who has a passion for making a difference in communities around the world. The ideal candidate will be interested in building and advancing a development organization committed to results and evidence-based programming. S/he must have a proven record of inspiring investments from major donors – corporate, individual, and foundations.
Below is a list of desired skills and qualifications:
- An interest for building an organization with a critical mission, a genuine desire to empower GFN’s partner in their mission to serve the hungry in communities around the world.
- Passionate about face-to-face fundraising and donor identification and acquisition.
- At least 10 years experience in fundraising, including proven experience in corporate fundraising. Certification as a fundraising executive preferred.
- A track record of success in building diverse and reliable support for a nonprofit organization.
- Willingness to and proven experience in fundraising for programming work including securing seven figure gifts from corporate, individual, or foundation sources. Familiarity with the food and agricultural industries is a plus.
- Excellent management skills with experience in recruiting, retaining, and inspiring a high-performing team of entrepreneurial and skilled professionals. Must be committed to coaching and supporting the growth of fundraising staff and fostering a results-based environment. Strong ability and willingness to direct GFN resources to the most impactful revenue streams and change course as needed. Must create an environment of proactive and responsive communication among and outside of the fundraising team.
- Strong communication skills. Proven ability to excite and inspire potential partners for a cause. Proposal writing skills essential.
- Familiarity with global development issues, including the challenges and opportunities of tackling social issues in middle- and low-income countries preferred.
- Fluency in English is required.
Location
The position will be based at GFN’s global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA. National and international travel will be expected (25-30% of the year).
To Apply
Please email a cover letter, CV and salary expectations to
hr@foodbanking.org. (Required)
The Global FoodBanking Network embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Its goal is to attract, develop, and retain a talented, diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential. EOE
