Director of Development and Communications

Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate employers to prevent human trafficking and create pathways to employment for survivors of trafficking. For more information about the organization’s history and impact, please visit our website at www.bestalliance.org.

BEST is seeking an entrepreneurial, strategic, relationship-builder to join our organization as the Director of Development and Communications. This position offers the opportunity to lead a terrific team in making a significant contribution to prevent one of the worst human rights abuses in the US today: human trafficking. The Director of Development and Communications will oversee and grow our philanthropic partnerships with foundations, corporations, and individuals as well as advance awareness about human trafficking and BEST’s work by leading BEST’s public relations and external communications strategies.

The ideal candidate enjoys building and maintaining relationships and is deeply committed to honoring the rights and dignity of all people. The person in this role will lead a team to develop comprehensive communications strategies that align with BEST’s broader goals to support our strategic plan, as well as overseeing BEST’s philanthropic efforts, which include driving BEST’s fundraising strategies, expanding the donor base, and leading the development team to achieve ambitious goals. The person in this position will also write grants and manage grant reports for the organization’s grant funding pipeline, which includes private foundations, corporate foundations, and government requests for proposals (RFPs).

Key Responsibilities

The Director of Development and Communications will have two direct reports: the Associate Director of Development and the Development and Communications Coordinator. Responsibilities of this role will include:

• Initiate and maintain positive relationships with grant makers, major donors, philanthropic advisors, reporters, editors, producers, and communications departments inside the businesses, associations, and government agencies that BEST partners with.
• Supervise the growth of a major gifts program including identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major donors.
• Plan and direct three annual fundraising campaigns, including direct mailings, eblasts, and developing social media campaigns.
• Prospect and research funding opportunities with foundation and government grants.
• Manage BEST’s grant applications and grant reporting by writing and submitting grant applications and reports.
• Monitor revenue goals on a quarterly basis to ensure goals are met; devise or revise strategies to ensure goals are achieved.
• Manage and supervise the organization’s external communications and public relations content, including blog posts, newsletters, eblasts, press releases, media fact sheets, and article submissions for business trade journals.
• Oversee the development of collateral materials, web content, marketing campaigns, and public awareness campaigns.

Required Experience, Capabilities, and Skills

The ideal candidate has an unequivocal commitment to BEST’s vision to help create a world in which no one is trafficked—a world in which every person has the right to be free from commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. They love managing people, cultivating relationships, and communicating persuasively with integrity. They enjoy the challenge of leading a team to meet revenue goals.

General Qualifications

• Proactive and able to work independently without a high level of management oversight, yet able to work collaboratively with others to reach common goals and objectives.
• Intelligent, learns quickly, and adapts easily within a growing organization.
• Excellent follow-through and attentive to details.
• Able to quickly earn trust through the timely delivery of high-quality work.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or equivalent experience is required.

Specific Qualifications

• A minimum of five years of experience in planning, leading, and/or managing development efforts, especially with organizations raising more than $1M annually.
• A minimum of three years of experience managing direct reports.
• A minimum of three years of experience writing and managing grants.
• Experience growing a nonprofit, with proven substantial increases in year-over-year revenue and expanded geographic visibility and support.
• Demonstrated track record of raising funds through relationship-building and requests for support from individuals, government agencies, corporations and/or foundations.
• Experience managing public relations and pitching reporters.
• Skilled in creating powerful, compelling written and oral communications.
• Ability to manage staff to convey complex ideas through brief, simple materials.
• Ability to build strong cross-team relationships and maintain efficient processes for communication and task completion within the development and communications team and in relation to other teams.
• Experience working with a CRM to manage donors.
• Experience collaborating via a project management platform.

Preferred Experience, Capabilities, and Skills

• CFRE, APR, or other professional credentials.
• Marketing experience.
• Experience with government grants.
• Skilled using Salesforce, Asana, SharePoint, Microsoft suite, and familiar with Adobe Creative Suite and Canva.

Position Details

• Position reports to the CEO & Executive Director
• 40 hours/week
• Starting salary range: $75K - $95K (DOE)
• Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, generous vacation and holiday time off, wellness pay, and 401(k) employer contributions
• Position is based in Seattle and may involve occasional travel within the US
• Position is hybrid, currently in the office one day a week, and allows for some flexibility in scheduling weekday work hours
• Participation in occasional evening and weekend events is required