Director, Donor and Board Communications

NRDC is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization. We use law, science, and the support of 3.1 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our people helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act and many of the implementing regulations. Today, our team of more than 700 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy advocates, communications experts, and others work across the United States and the globe from our offices in Beijing; Bozeman, Montana; Chicago; New Delhi; New York; San Francisco; Santa Monica; and Washington, D.C.

NRDC is seeking a Director, Donor and Board Communications to work with the Development team in our Washington D.C., New York City, Santa Monica, San Francisco office.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Donor Relations the Director of Donor and Board Communications will manage and mentor a team of writers responsible for developing content to cultivate, solicit, and engage donors to NRDC's highest organizational priorities. The Director is a donor-focused, forward-thinking, innovative and energetic professional with proven success in building an infrastructure for donor communication strategy as well as managing pertinent initiatives and deliverables. The incumbent will possess the skills to create and design narratives that engage NRDC's top philanthropic supporters and Board of Trustees and ensure that all materials produced by the Donor Communications team reflect NRDC's brand standards and meet the needs of the intended constituents. The Donor Communications Team's responsibilities include customized gift proposals, fundraising toolkits, slide decks, digital content, and board materials.

As a member of the Donor Relations leadership team, the Director collaborates regularly with the Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship and their teams while cultivating and maintaining relationships with fundraisers, program staff, and a wide range of partners in Development and Communications.

Strategically plan and implement full content strategy for board and major donor communication needs.
• Manage workflow, establish and meet deadlines, and provide guidance to team members.
• Oversee and manage Board communications including weekly leadership messages, board memos and meeting materials, and talking points/scripts.
• Support all Development events with necessary communication materials.
• Develop deeply nuanced sense of presidential communications needs for board and major donor audiences; serve as expert on presidential "voice".
• In close partnership with editorial colleagues, develop internal repository of information that informs institutional priorities and fundraising goals of development.
• Responsible for helping the organization meet fundraising goals by developing compelling donor proposals and major gift toolkits.
• In partnership with Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship manage the Donor Experience calendar for donor communications and major giving stewardship and engagement activities.
• Manage and mentor a team of 5 communications professionals including three direct reports.
• Other duties and special projects as assigned.

Required

• Commitment to NRDC's mission and values.
• Minimum of 7 to 10 years of donor communications experience, with at least 5 years of leading and managing a team.
• Strong written communication skills and the ability to write for impact and gratitude across a variety of channels.
• Exceptional grammar and editing skills.
• Inspiring team leader who can mentor and guide a team of an assistant director, 3 writers, and 1 coordinator.
• Experience setting team strategy and developing a suite of materials.
• Highly collaborative with an appreciation of the benefit of a multidisciplinary team approach.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

Preferred

• Graphic design experience a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a sense of humor.

NRDC is committed to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, both in our work and in our workplace. We believe that celebrating and actively welcoming diverse voices and perspectives is essential to solving the planet's most pressing environmental problems, and we encourage applications from candidates whose identities have been historically under-represented in the environmental movement.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and is commensurate with skills and experience. Internal equity will be reviewed and considered to determine a final offer. For this position, the salary range is $145,000 to $155,000.

Our offices are open and we are operating in a hybrid model. We offer NRDCers flexibility, and we ask them to come into the office and spend meaningful time there in collaboration with their colleagues. We call this purposeful presence.

As a science-based organization, NRDC aims to do our part to help contain the COVID-19 public health crisis. For the sake of health, safety, and equity, we ask that people be vaccinated unless they have an approved medical or religious accommodation or other exemption in accordance with state and local law. We consider a person to be vaccinated two weeks after receiving one full course of a CDC-approved vaccine. In accordance with state or local law, new hires will be asked to attest to vaccination, those wishing to do so may request medical or religious accommodations or other exemptions via NRDC Employee Relations. NRDC treats all vaccine-related data confidentially, in keeping with local, state, and federal laws.

To apply, visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter. Please mention where you saw this posting and upload any additional materials that showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications, we will contact only those candidates we would like to interview. Please no phone calls, emails, or in-person resume drop-offs.

If you experience technical problems while applying or if you are a person with a disability and need assistance applying online, please reach out to iCIMS Customer Care at 1-800-889-4422.

For more about NRDC, visit www.nrdc.org.