Vice President, Individual Giving

Autism Speaks is seeking a Vice President, Individual Giving, who will develop and implement a strategic revenue expansion plan to support a bold growth vision for Autism Speaks – focused on major, intermediate, and planned giving. The individual in this role will be a dynamic, entrepreneurial fundraising leader with the proven experience, success and abilities to guide the Individual Giving team’s revenue expansion and mission impact. The individual serving in this role will have a strong array of experience and skills as a senior-level strategist, fundraiser and leader. VP will be responsible for key aspects of Autism Speaks fundraising capabilities with the potential to hire major gift officers and other revenue generating team members as institutional budgets allow as part of the organization’s growth strategy.

Autism Speaks has invested in an operations team that will provide data management & analytics, prospect research, and donor communication / stewardship expertise and support. This fundraising operations team works in close coordination with all institutional fundraising departments including the VP, Individual Giving and their team. The Vice President, Individual Giving will provide the strategic direction required to successfully generate revenue in excess of $6-$8 million annually and lead the entire program toward long-term significant growth.

Individual will work from home but can be located anywhere in the United States, ideally in close proximity to an airport.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Serving as a member of Autism Speaks’ senior leadership team, individual will work closely with the CDO, CEO, other executives, the board of directors and volunteer leadership to carry out a strategic fundraising plan engaging business and community leaders, philanthropic individuals, families and family foundations across North America.

• Design, develop, and implement a comprehensive strategy to innovate and expand giving for all areas of intermediate, major, planned, and board giving.
• Personally, lead the major gift development team to guide their maturation and maximize their potential to realize the many donor opportunities that exist for Autism Speaks.
• Build a reporting and support structure with matrixed field leadership to grow their major and intermediate giving portfolios.
• Build Autism Speaks moves management process into a sophisticated stewardship system that engages and grows donor relationships at the local, regional, and national levels.
• Provide strategic counsel and actively manage a core portfolio of top individual/family relationships held by the CDO and CEO.
• Work across the organization to help build pipeline/ portfolio and maximize individual, family, and board relationships, partnerships and philanthropy.
• Utilize the fundraising operations team to leverage data analytics, donor communications, stewardship, and prospect research to support the fundraising growth plan.  
• Identify opportunities to leverage consultants and/or outside expertise as needed to help achieve robust portfolio development and revenue growth.
• Recruit, motivate, organize, manage, train, and lead the individual giving staff in a manner which promotes professional development and career enhancement while meeting and exceeding revenue and institutional goals.
• Work with VP peers across other fundraising departments to deepen an effective fundraising collaborative culture across Autism Speaks resulting in increased revenue and new donor cohorts for the organization.
• Work with Autism Speaks CDO and CEO to identify future board members.
• Manage revenue / expense budget and financial reporting for all relationship development activities.

(The responsibilities listed above are representative and not all inclusive.  Other duties may be assigned by supervisor/s.  As outlined in your performance goal setting forms, you will be responsible for achieving the goals provided by and agreed upon with your manager.)

POSITION REQUIREMENTS
Education / Experience

• BA degree, Advanced degree and/or CFRE certification a plus
• 15+ years of major and leadership gift experience
• 10+ years of experience in a fundraising management/leadership role

Specialized Skills and Knowledge:

• Proven track record in leading successful growth expansions in major, planned, and board fundraising
• Strong skills and a proven ability to recruit, hire, and or retain talented, high-performing, and energetic fundraising staff and leaders
• Strong leadership skills conducive to complex matrixed team management
• Understanding of major/principal gift relationship building and strategic solicitation
• Strong background in directing an innovative fund development within a complex and rapidly changing environment
• Experience in building programs, not just leading thriving ones
• Extensive experience working with c-suite executives volunteer boards and other high-level staff and volunteer leadership
• A keen eye for operational efficiency and optimal use of resources
• Successful track record for translating strategic thinking into action plans and results
• Exceptional interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to influence and inspire, with an understanding and respect for Autism Speaks culture
• Ability to collaborate, coordinate, and work effectively with the organization’s senior volunteer and staff leaders across North America
• Understanding of working in a field based, non-profit corporate structure
• Ability to work some evenings and weekends, and ability to travel in/out of NYC, Dallas, LA and throughout the US and Canada
• Self-starter who takes initiative and is pro-active in identifying opportunities
• Ability to work with all levels of management
• Strong organizational, interpersonal and customer relations skills and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously; troubleshooting and problem-solving capability; detail-oriented
• Superior oral and written communication skills, including presentation skills
• Advanced proficiency in MS Office including Word, Excel, and Outlook

CORE COMPENTENCIES:

• Building Collaborative Relationships
• Customer Orientation
• Professional Behavior
• Results Driven
• Flexibility

You are responsible for protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of all Autism Speaks data and information to which you have access.

Autism Speaks is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to fostering a diverse, multicultural, and inclusive workplace. We recruit, evaluate, employ, and promote candidates without regard to race, color, religion, age, gender identity or expression, protected veteran or military status, disability or other legally protected status. Qualified individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply for job openings. Reasonable accommodations will be provided. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply.

About Autism Speaks:
At Autism Speaks, our mission is to promote solutions, across the spectrum and throughout the life span, for the needs of people with autism and their families. We do this through advocacy and support; increasing understanding and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disorder; and advancing research into causes and better interventions for autism spectrum disorder and related conditions. Together with our broad and diverse community, we strive every day to achieve our vision of a world where all people with autism can reach their full potential. This mission and vision drive every member of our staff; our employees are inspired, energized and motivated by the impact we can collectively have on behalf of the autism community.

Autism Speaks celebrates every success achieved to create a kinder, more inclusive world for people with autism, and we work collaboratively across departments to find solutions that will do the most good for the most people. 

Just as we strive to enhance lives today and accelerate a spectrum of solutions for tomorrow for people on the spectrum, we also aim to enhance the lives of our dedicated employees, through thick and thin.

Salary & Benefits:
Autism Speaks offers a competitive compensation, benefit and vacation package. We also provide flex work hours, weekly training sessions, tuition reimbursement and summer bonus Fridays in addition to a creative, innovative, collaborative, inclusive, kind and fun work environment.

Autism Speaks is an employer that participates in E-Verify

Salary range is $180k-$185k, depending on candidate's relevant years of experience.