Associate Director/Development Officer

Details at a Glance:

The BIG FIX, a visionary One Health program, offers an exciting opportunity to directly and significantly impact the lives of animals and people devastated by a 20 year-long war in Northern Uganda. Since 2012, The BIG FIX Uganda has successfully created life-saving animal welfare programs and introduced the first canine-assisted trauma therapy program in Africa. These humane and humanitarian efforts are overseen by our awe-inspiring team of professionals on the ground and supported by our committed and talented Board of Directors.

The BIG FIX is seeking a talented, enterprising, early-or mid-career individual, with passion for our mission, to take on the role of Associate Director/Development Officer for this ground-breaking enterprise to alleviate human and animal suffering. The Associate Director/Development Officer will assume the management and development duties of The BIG FIX and enhance our trajectory of growth and professionalism. The key responsibilities will be developing and implementing the fundraising strategy for The BIG FIX Uganda/Comfort Dog Project, cultivating and maintaining partnerships, developing an endowment fund for long-term sustainability, and increasing the organization’s profile in East Africa and internationally. Over time, the Associate Director/Development Officer will also ideally work toward assuming responsibilities as Executive Director (currently being carried out by the Founder).

This is a part time (remote) position (24-36 hours/week)

Salary: $45,650, commensurate with experience. Possibility of additional bonus with achievement, based on pre-determined fiscal and organizational goals.

About The BIG FIX and The BIG FIX Uganda

Mission: To alleviate suffering and improve the well-being of animals and people in Northern Uganda, by providing veterinary care, humane education, and the healing power of the human-dog bond through our ground-breaking canine-assisted trauma therapy program.

History: The BIG FIX is a charity which has been in existence since 2002. Our original mandate was to promote humane care for the dog population in Central California with a focus on spay-neuter programs. Over time, the organization expanded to provide these much needed services in developing countries.

In 2012 the organization’s Founder learned of the dire need for animal welfare in Northern Uganda. We began by waging a multi-pronged offensive focused on animal welfare and against rabies —a very real and deadly killer in this region. Our campaign included education through school outreach, production of radio talk shows, and veterinary clinics in remote villages. Our veterinarians treated thousands of dogs and provided spay/neuter surgeries, deworming, and wound treatment services. Due to the overwhelming demand for services, The BIG FIX Uganda established a full time presence in Gulu in 2013.

In 2014, The BIG FIX Uganda introduced our Comfort Dog Project—the first canine-assisted trauma therapy program in Africa. This program pairs dogs rescued and rehabilitated by The BIG FIX with war trauma survivors coping with severe PTSD symptoms.The program has been managed since inception by Francis Okello Oloya-a psychologist and disabled war survivor. Over 110 guardian and Comfort Dog teams have graduated this revolutionary program and are now vital members of their community. Many are now indispensable members of the BIF FIX staff.

The BIG FIX Uganda’s Animal Hospital – is the only veterinary hospital in the 33,000 sq. mile region of Northern Uganda. Since opening its doors in October 2016, it has been providing essential veterinary care 365 days a year. It was constructed with a grant from Dogs Trust Worldwide.

The BIG FIX’s Comfort Dog Project is the first—and possibly the only--canine-assisted trauma program in Africa. It is estimated that 70% of people in Northern Uganda suffer from PTSD. The Comfort Dog Project provides life-saving mental health support in country with one mental health worker per million.

To date, The BIG FIX Uganda has provided more than 120,000 free rabies vaccinations, visited hundreds of schools with its education team, distributed tens of thousands of copies of its Great Dog Guardian Book, and graduated more than 110 Comfort Dog Project teams from the 20-week long dog training and trauma counselling program.

The programs and activities of the organization are carried out by a permanent full and part-time staff of 33 people, nearly half of whom are graduates of The Comfort Dog Project. Other CDP graduates work as Field Educators and in other roles on a day rate basis.

The BIG FIX Uganda’s facilities are housed on 4 acres of land owned by the organization in Gulu City, Eastern Division. The facility includes our hospital, a guesthouse (which includes staff housing, our administrative offices, and volunteer housing), a parvo isolation treatment unit, two kennel buildings, the Comfort Dog Project Roundhouse, and the dog training yard.

The BIG FIX Uganda is registered in Uganda as an International NGO and the parent/controlling organization is The BIG FIX (the U.S.-based NGO formed in 2002). The activities of The BIG FIX Uganda are supervised by a Management Committee comprised of staff leaders and the Executive Committee President. The Management Committee is overseen by an Executive Committee. The BIG FIX is governed by our active and devoted Board of Directors. (When referring to “the organization” in this Request for Proposals, both The BIG FIX and The BIG FIX Uganda are included in this reference.)

Philosophy: We believe that people and animals can save each other’s lives. We also recognize that local problems need local solutions and we recognize the expertise of community leaders. When local leaders are given the chance to lead, they create innovative solutions that outsiders may miss, they earn community buy-in, leading to meaningful relationships and support with surrounding stakeholders, and they prove to themselves and others that everyone can be an agent of change.

The BIG FIX Uganda presently has an exceptional leadership team which has proven its competence in carrying out the programs and activities of the organization.The role of The BIG FIX Board and the Executive Director is to support and mentor these leaders and to work toward financial long term sustainability for the critical services they provide to the community.

Achievements: The work of The BIG FIX Uganda and our Comfort Dog Project has been featured in countless media articles/stories, many of which are linked on our website. Services 1 — THE BIG FIX UGANDA

The Comfort Dog Project has been featured on NPR and in several BBC stories, including a 3-minute video in the BBC “100 Women” series with more than 200,000 views. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-49409125

The BIG FIX programs will be the subject of two international documentaries being released in 2025.

Five years of PTSD symptom measures, complied by the Comfort Dog team, were published by our Scientific Advisor, Meg Daley Olmert, in the peer-reviewed journal Intervention (2021). viewcontent.cgi

The BIG FIX Uganda is recognized by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control and the Communities Against Rabies Alliance as one of 18 Rabies Centers of Excellence in the world.

Our Education Program Manager has been named Education Champion as part of the World Rabies Day Awards and The BIG FIX Uganda has been named Organization Winner of the World Rabies Day Award for Sub-Sahara Africa

The BIG FIX maintains a Platinum Seal of Transparency with Candid and is listed as a Top Rated Nonprofit with Great Nonprofits.

About the Associate Director/Development Officer Role

The Associate Director/Development Officer will initially focus on development and transition into management duties of The BIG FIX and enhance our trajectory of growth and professionalism. The key initial responsibilities will be developing and implementing the fundraising strategy for The BIG FIX and The BIG FIX Uganda/Comfort Dog Project, expanding our social media following, cultivating and maintaining partnerships, developing an endowment fund for long-term sustainability, and increasing the organization’s profile in East Africa and internationally.

Over time, the Associate Director/Development Officer will also ideally work toward assuming responsibilities as Executive Director (currently being carried out by the Founder).

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Development (65%)

• Donor Prospecting, Cultivation, and Stewardship: seek out and manage relationships with high net-worth individuals, foundations, corporations, and maintain relationships with current donors and partners.
• Grant writing: research funding sources, oversee the development strategy, supervise the organization’s fundraising campaigns and events, and write funding proposals to increase the organization’s financial resources.
• Events: plan and implement fundraising events including donor/volunteer visits to The BIG FIX Uganda.
• Campaigns: plan and oversee all fundraising campaigns including a Giving Tuesday campaign, the Comfort Dog Project Sponsorship Program, and other targeted fundraising opportunities to cultivate relationships with donors, external audiences, and key media both in Uganda and elsewhere in the world.
• Fundraising Strategy: work with the Board of Directors to develop an annual fundraising strategy to secure adequate funding for the operation of the organization.

Communication and Public Relations (25%)

• Marketing and Communications Strategy: develop and implement a marketing and communications strategy that will allow The BIG FIX to cultivate relationships with donors, external audiences, visitors to The BIG FIX Uganda, and key media in Uganda and elsewhere in the world.
• Online and social media: manage and lead content creation for all social media, for the organization website, Facebook, Instagram, and other outlets.
• E-Mail marketing: write and design all marketing emails including a monthly story campaign and regular newsletters.
• Brand management: maintain the organization’s image and identity.

Assist Executive Director in Leadership and Management (10%)

The Associate Director will also assist the Founder and acting Executive Director in leadership and management responsibilities including 1) liaising with The BIG FIX Board of Directors, The BIG FIX Uganda Executive Committee, and the management of The BIG FIX Uganda, 2) Board relations, 3) accounting and financial management of the organization, and 4) program monitoring and impact assessment.