Chief Development Officer

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) envisions and pursues an authentic and dynamic Judaism that allows Jews to seek meaning, find connection, and experience wholeness (shleymut) in a world that is complex and ever evolving. Supporting over 550 synagogues and USY youth groups within the Conservative movement, USCJ ensures there are thriving centers of Jewish practice across North America, Israel, and globally.

USCJ is now hiring a Chief Development Officer (CDO) to lead the overall creation and execution of the organization's development strategy for increasing revenue, meeting annual operating and revenue goals, and actively growing and diversifying funding streams to include individuals, foundations, legacy and planned giving. As a member of the leadership team and reporting to the CEO, the CDO will serve as a key public face of the USCJ, projecting an inspiring fundraising narrative to draw stakeholders closer to its vision, impact, and future direction. Successful candidates will be proactive and strategic thinkers with significant experience in people management, major gift solicitation, prospect identification, donor stewardship and grants management. Ideal candidates care deeply about the development of the Conservative Jewish movement and have been successful in an evolving, innovative environment. Must be willing to travel up to 25% of the time.

Key Responsibilities:

• Create and implement both annual and multi-year fundraising plans
• Spearhead strategies and activities to drive a culture of philanthropy
• Participate in major institutional decision-making
• Build a development team, including hiring, onboarding, managing, and mentoring new team members
• Work with CEO to identify potential funding for programs; organize a schedule of city visits and parlor meetings
• Achieve revenue targets of $2M through annual campaign/individual giving, major gifts/legacy giving, grants, board giving and direct mail campaigns
• Develop and implement personalized cultivation and solicitation strategies and engagement events based on donor passions in alignment with USCJ’s priorities and vision
• Establish, develop, and cultivate relationships with key stakeholders
• Actively solicit a robust personal donor portfolio, including 5 and 6 figure gifts
• Partner with lay leaders to identify, cultivate and steward relationships with current and prospective major donors and volunteers
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications team to develop messaging to appeal to various constituencies
• Share the USCJ story with confidence, communicating its unique value proposition to team members, participants, funders, and key stakeholders
• Manage the grant process including initial grant research, writing, and reporting in the short term
• Oversee donor acknowledgement process
• Oversee process to ensure the Civi CRM database and donor records are current and accurate; leverage the CRM database for exemplary donor stewardship

Qualifications & Skills:

• 8+ years of development experience within the organized Jewish community
• Ability to lead and thrive in an evolving and innovating organization
• Experience in developing and implementing fundraising strategy
• Demonstrated success soliciting major gifts of 5 and 6 figures
• Previous success building and developing a successful fundraising team
• Demonstrated knowledge of grant writing, tracking, reporting and grant funding sources
• Passion for the mission of USCJ; ability to compellingly articulate it
• Substantial knowledge of and ability to impart development best practices
• Capacity to inform, motivate and inspire colleagues, lay leaders and supporters
• Clear and persuasive verbal and written communication skills; sophisticated interpersonal skills
• Adept at analyzing and utilizing data to optimize efforts and results
• Proficiency with Google Suite, Excel, CRM systems and related tools
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly and work some nights and weekends as needed