Career Opportunities

Available Positions at Educational First Steps

Educational First Steps will accept applications for the following positions until May 30th. Please send all applications and related inquiries to contact@educationalfirststeps.org. Verifiable experience in nonprofit development required for consideration.

Positions

The Associate Development Director (Dallas) reports to the Development Director and works closely with the Director, Executive Director and Board across many aspects of the development function. In general, he/she will represent Educational First Steps with certain individual, foundation and corporate donors and prospects, while participating in or leading the creation and execution of programs that will extend EFS’ successful outreach to the donor and volunteer communities. Overall, the goal of the position is to generate broader, long term positive relationships with EFS in the giving community.

The Associate Development Director (Tarrant) assists the Tarrant County Program Director in all local development functions and is responsible for significantly broadening EFS’ portfolio of donors and prospective donors from that County. The Associate will represent EFS with external Tarrant County constituencies, significant donors and prospective donors. The Associate reports directly to the Tarrant County Director, but will coordinate Tarrant development standards, activities and priorities with the EFS Development Director in Dallas.

While activities will vary, this position offers significant opportunity for individual strategic initiative, ownership of important development programs and relationships, and growth in development expertise. The Associate Directors will:

Manage an assigned portfolio of individual, foundation and corporate donor and prospective donor categories
Create, refresh and execute programs and events that maximize the breadth and long term revenue derived from these pools of donors and prospective donors
Develop success goals and measures for these efforts
Participate in organization-wide communications strategies and social media initiatives

The successful candidate will be an energetic and cooperative individual eager to contribute fresh ideas and see them through to completion as part of a dynamic team. He/she will enthusiastically embrace EFS’ mission of quality early childhood education for those in poverty and work seamlessly with program partners where needed. At minimum, EFS requires:

A Bachelor’s degree
Five years experience as a successful development officer for a non-profit organization.
Outstanding interpersonal skills to interact positively and professionally in the North Texas donor and education communities.
Excellent written and verbal skills, demonstrated in part through a letter of interest addressing these position requirements and how they relate to the applicant.
Creativity in devising new approaches to long-standing organizational challenges
The ability to prioritize and supervise multiple projects to a successful completion with minimal guidance.
Quantitative acuity to measure and diagnose best practices of development initiatives
Skill in team-building and team participation where consensus building can be critical
Practical experience in successful grant writing, coordinating high-profile events, and managing volunteers.
Understanding outreach through social media strategies

The Development Coordinator plays an important role by providing comprehensive administrative support to the EFS Development Office and participating in a broad range of fundraising activities as required. The successful candidate will have the initiative to continually broaden the scope of their contribution to the development effort, a strong sense of quality and urgency regarding their work and the enthusiasm and cooperation to work as part of a dynamic team.

Principal Accountabilities

Process donations and prepare acknowledgement letters and other correspondence, including foundation and corporate proposals
Maintain foundation, corporation and individual donor files
Create monthly fundraising reports and other database reports
Continually update and correct database records
Conduct research on prospective corporate foundation and individual donors
Produce and mail seasonal appeals
Maintain guest lists, registration materials and other duties as assigned for fund-raising events
Handle administrative details associated with the Development Committee meetings
Prepare media materials for distribution (i.e. copying, filing, mailing, e-mailing)
Assemble media and donor kits for events and meetings
Prepare and execute standard grant requests
Assist in communications and social media programs
Answer phone and email inquiries

Preparation and Knowledge

A Bachelor's degree in a related field
A minimum of three years' verifiable experience in a not-for-profit development office
Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Database management experience – Raiser’s Edge or DonorPerfect preferred
Excellent interpersonal skills
Excellent verbal and written communications skills
Ability to assist in maintaining website and social media activities
Ability to present information concisely and effectively, both verbally and in writing
Ability to organize and prioritize work
Ability to work independently with little supervision

TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION: contact@educationalfirststeps.org

and note which position in the subject line