Operations / Administration Managing Director of Development and External Relations
Job Description
Role: Managing Director, Business Development and External Relations
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Collaborates with: Chief of Staff; Managing Directors, Specialists
Manages: Development and Communication Specialist
Location: Remote / National Scope (Extensive Travel)
THE COLLECTIVE OPPORTUNITY
Our Black (African) communities in America possess unending assets and have shown unmatched resilience and strength over the course of history steeped in racial injustice and systemic oppression. Given that this journey still presents challenges reflected in our social, physical, and economic status, we may overlook opportunities to draw upon this deep history of resilience and investing in ourselves for community building and empowerment. TandemEd seeks to draw upon the ingenuity of the past, reflection on the present, and courage for the future to scale a results-based accountability model that ensures our local communities develop leaders who will advocate for us and champion our causes and best interests. We also inspire our communities to reclaim the collective confidence to ensure healthy relationships with surrounding institutions. At TandemEd, we believe that our communal efforts are limited without a continual focus and strengthening of our own internally defined education, purpose, norms, and narratives. We believe that our education and action must work in tandem in order to uplift our communities.
BUSINESS SUMMARY
TandemEd LLC www.tandemed.com supports our national and local Black (African) communities in leading our own transformations by helping us to reclaim the leadership of our spaces through education and action, in preparation for a more prosperous collective future. We do this primarily through the lever of organizing, media, and strategic leadership. Our business streams include our signature “Own Your Story” community mobilization strategy and toollkit; organizational and institutional consulting, media and content production, and a variety of new and emerging products, services, and venues.
SCOPE OF POSITION
We seek a Managing Director, Business Development and External Relations who will lead under the guidance of the Chief Executive Officer the development, expansion and ongoing communication of TandemEd’s business services to propsective clients, partners, funders, and stakeholders across the country.
General Responsibilities
Business Development: Spearheads the strategies for revenue growth within, but not limited to, the three identified business streams
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- Leads in the development and implementation of strategies, systems and processes that enable TandemEd to more effectively and efficiently generate leads and accelerate sales
- Responsible for the development of TandemEd’s financial management strategy and contribute to the development of the organization’s strategic goals. Accountable for identifying and achieving annual revenue goals within each business stream to support the growth and expansion of TandemEd nationally
Partnership/Donor Development and Engagement: Drives partnership maximization
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- Lead the consulting model business stream by sourcing, attracting, cultivating and sustaining clients under the TandemEd model
- Cultivate key relationships, monitor delivery of support to meet potential and existing partner needs, expectations, and priorities (oversee all internal and external activities tied to meeting partner requirements)
- Communications: Keep potential and existing stakeholders inspired and informed. Leverage all forms of communications (print, digital/social, verbal, etc) to position TandemEd as a thought leader and “go-to” for helping communities lead our own transformation
Actual Job Responsibilities
Business Development
- Become well-versed in TandemEd’s positioning, differentiation, expertise, and history of achievements
- Explore and initiate efforts to identify, cultivate and grow high-value alliances with local communities, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, philanthropic foundations, to increase TandemEd’s ability to meet our strategic and revenue goals
- Research and identify funding opportunities with organizations interested in community building and media campaigns.
- Facilitate competitive responses to relevant RFPs (Requests for Proposals); provides leadership and builds efforts around competitive bidding.
- Oversee the creation effective client presentations – pitch decks, reels, links, budgets and other materials
- Establish clear individual and performance KPIs, objectives, goals and timelines across the three business streams; provide timely guidance to enable the team to achieve their goals
Partnership/Donor Development and Engagement
- Contact and arrange meetings with potential partners
- Acquire new clients, contracts, funders/donors, and strategic partnerships to engage with TandemEd’s business streams (i.e., signature “Own Your Story” community organizing toollkit and aligned coaching, organizational and institutional consulting, thought leadership, and media and content production, [in collaboration with Managing Directors])
- Prepare for negotiations with new partners, where appropriate, lead or participate in the negotiations, secure contracts, and agree on partnership expectations
- Establish and maintain good working relationships with citizens of the neighborhood, business and academic leaders in the community, local and state elected officials, local government staff, and planning/development consultants
- Effectively leverage virtual platforms for ongoing client engagement
- Proactively promote the TandemEd philosophy, including by creating the structure for an advisory board that will champion and advocate on behalf of TandemEd; develop advisory board by identifying potential board members and cultivating those relationships
- Prepare recommendations for CEO to engage the advisory board once established
- Represent Tandem Ed at national, local, and regional functions and events as a TandemEd senior leader and representative
Communications
- Creation, execution and continual revision of TandemEd’s communications strategy, inclusive of the target profile we want to reach across each business stream, and key messaging we want to leverage for brand consistency to potential clients.
- Oversees the documentation of all services and programs
- Support the writing and documentation of thought pieces directly associated with programs and services offered to clients and partners (e.g. OppNet articles under contract)
- Develop case studies to help strengthen TandemEd’s overall message and positioning; oversee the creation of communications (infographics, video, etc.) that report on TandemEd’s impact and outcomes
- Spearheads content, collateral and guidelines creation
- Ensure any elements of marketing and branding tied to programs is complementary to overarching communications strategy
- Oversees the creation of a social media strategy and ensures TandemEd maintains an engaging presence on social media and that channels are regularly updated
- Reputation management through media monitoring and reporting
- Oversees media inquiries and responses, writes press releases and media advisories
- Develops relationships with media contacts and maintains media contact list
- Researches and secures placements to promote the thought leadership of key TandemEd leadership (e.g., thought forums in community spaces and online to promote TandemEd programs and media)
- Assist with vendor procurement and management (e.g. identifying local photographers/videographers to document the work, etc.)
QUALIFICATIONS
- A minimum of 10 years of development, client development, and fundraising experience.
- Experience with developing and maintaining productive working relationships with clients and donors.
- Proven organizational, oral, and written communication skills.
- Proven track record of success in the direct solicitation of gifts and or new contracts, including prior capital campaign and/or documented track record of closing 7-figure gifts/contracts.
- Advanced skills in building prospect portfolios, knowledge of how to research, identify and cultivate prospective clients, new donors, including family foundations, corporate donors and individual organizations with the capacity to make larger gifts or long-term contracts.
- Expert in making persuasive and compelling presentations of organizational and project-based goals and objectives, and in securing gifts/contracts.
- Ability to successfully deal with confidential, complex situations involving coordination and consultation with high-level constituents.
- Demonstrated sound judgment, tact and a proven record of effective initiative.
- Must have superb analytical thinking, problem recognition/avoidance/resolution skills, and decision-making abilities.
- Must have excellent project management skills which, in partnership with TandemEd, will drive the development and implementation of a successful fundraising/business development strategy for TandemEd.
- Ability to work in a start-up environment – work within areas of ambiguity, be creative and innovative, problem solve, and work with both urgency and patience as the organization grows and develops.
- Must be available evenings and weekends for programs and agency-related activities.
- Ability to regularly travel out of state.
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university required.
- A graduate degree in business, nonprofit management, public administration, social services administration or a related field preferred.
The Managing Director, Development and External Relations will be thoroughly committed to TandemEd’s strategy and mission and is likely to see themselves in the following examples, these are not exclusive requirements.
You believe deeply in the agency, voice and collective power of the Black community
- You believe that our communities face real systemic barriers and that equipping residents, youth and families to recognize our own agency and power will strengthen us to own our unique path and help us to overcome those barriers.
- You know what drives community constituents and are deeply committed to understanding the culture of our communities.
You excitedly identify and confront challenges and opportunities.
- You see challenges as opportunities to take your critical thinking skills and impact to the next level. You operate with a strong sense of personal responsibility when it comes to solving challenges.
- You do not operate as a blind executor of pre-existing practices. You will come in and thoughtfully evaluate the model and ideate on ways to elevate our program’s effectiveness.
- You approach your work and challenges with a solutions-oriented mindset.
You value working collaboratively and innovatively.
- You constantly strive to learn from and share learnings with your teammates, no matter your current knowledge or experience.
The above examples are designed to help you determine if this opportunity aligns with your own passion and purpose.
