Development Officer, Government Funding
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan transatlantic public policy and grantmaking institution dedicated to promoting a better understanding between North America and Europe on transatlantic and global issues. It is a bridge, community, and ideal committed to promoting democracy for all. GMF’s growing Development team serves this mission by securing funding primarily from government, multilateral, corporate, and foundation sectors. To accomplish its goals, the Development team:
Manages a caseload of assigned prospective and current donors, ensuring that as many as possible become new donors, and that these donors are retained on an upgraded basis in their giving.
Coordinates with programs and offices across the organization to design and implement donor-focused strategies to generate funding for GMF policy, leadership, civil society, and convening work.
Strengthens the organization’s culture of fundraising by training programmatic colleagues and modeling best practices regarding fundraising research, donor engagement, and systems development.
Builds upon GMF’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by bringing a multiplicity of perspectives.
Position Summary:
The full-time Development Officer, Government Funding will have responsibility for working closely with the Head, Government Funding to seek, stimulate, and secure funding for GMF programs from local, regional, and national government agencies in the United States and overseas.
This position is primarily donor-facing, providing fundraising strategy, coordination, and direct engagement for an assigned portfolio of government funders. The Development Officer, Government Funding will additionally provide fundraising strategic input on a secondary basis for donor relationships that are primarily managed by programs. The Development Officer, Government Funding will be additionally responsible for obtaining and sharing sectoral business intelligence that our programmatic colleagues can leverage. The ideal candidate will also shape, draft, design, coordinate and/or advise on proposal processes and applications to government funders.
Working closely working closely with the Senior Advisor to the President for Ukraine and Civil Society Initiatives, the Development Officer will play a significant role in the team’s ability to deliver on its goals. The Development Officer, Government Funding will work in close coordination with the other members of the Government and Multilateral funding teams within Development, and with members of the programmatic teams who also work on fundraising. Other close collaborators will be the Strategic Engagement and Finance teams as well as other gift officers and the donor relations staff on the rapidly growing Development team.
The Development Officer, Government Funding will have direct supervisory responsibility for the Development Assistant, Government Funding.
GMF’s Washington, DC office, where this position will be based, offers up to two days of remote work each week.
Essential Duties/Responsibilities:
Resource Mobilization (65%)
Coordinate fundraising strategies for a portfolio of government funder prospects, many of whom have multiple interests at GMF. With some funders, that requires serving as the lead in the relationship, and with others, that will mean coordinating behind the scenes with program and institutional leadership, other development officers, and volunteers.
Establish revenue goals for each funder based on public information on their giving and on colleagues’ knowledge. Focus on identifying, qualifying, cultivating, and soliciting contributions largely at level $100,000 and above.
Create plans that will serve as a unique cultivation and solicitation plan for each funder on caseload, taking into account each prospect’s priorities, motivations, giving patterns and ask preferences. Execute this plan in a timely and cost-effective manner which results in the retention and upgrading of funders.
Attain specific fundraising goals, including all major elements of the solicitation process from identification to cultivation to solicitation to gift closure. Once the portfolio is sufficiently established, close seven figures overall each fiscal year in new gift commitments.
Shape, draft, coordinate and/or advise on proposal processes and applications to governments across seniority levels and multiple hubs, programs, and offices.
Work with Development Assistant, Government Funding on technical submission of proposals.
Use professional knowledge to provide a positive and enriching experience for all funder and colleague interactions.
Coordination and Communication (15%)
Coordinate and follow-up on internal meetings and external meetings and events with funders. Disseminate correspondence, input donor intel into CRM and share with relevant colleagues.
Identify and disseminate funding opportunities to programs, performing regular searches for funding opportunities.
Identify absences among GMF’s government funders, and proactively coordinate with development teammates, organization-wide collaborative partners, and volunteers to create and implement engagement strategies.
Understand the evolving research, convening, training, and grantmaking outputs of GMF’s priority fields and match these with a wide variety of government funding sources.
Support the development of a compelling story that resonates with donors in government sector.
Foster a culture of philanthropy within the organization, working with teammates and programs to elucidate culture of fundraising.
Gather business intelligence from government funding sector for dissemination across GMF and leverage into actionable funder strategy.
Coordinate with the donor relations assistant and other colleagues as appropriate on recognition of and stewardship of donors following successful solicitation.
Analytics and Admin (10%)
Pull reports from CRM and retrieve data for reports and analysis.
Create monthly and quarterly reports that accurately reflect government funder activity and fundraising outcomes at GMF.
Management of Assigned Projects (10%)
Managing project progress and adapt work as required
Optimizing and improving processes and the overall approach where necessary
Knowledge and Skills:
Minimum five years of professional fundraising, government contracting, or closely affiliated experience: understanding of prospect management systems, donor databases, prospect pipeline development
Personal solicitation experience
Proven grant writing experience is essential
Proven project management skills, including planning and analysis
Understanding of and experience working with international cultures
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Ability to work in integrated databases
Strong work ethic, good judgment, ability to manage own time and collaborate effectively with others
Success in coaching leadership level staff to achieve fundraising success
Adept at putting creative ideas forward; taking initiative and solving problems with creative approaches
Dynamic, self-motivated and focused with proactive approach
Willingness to travel internationally
Desire to participate in the mission of GMF
Education:
Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred; preferably in Business, Marketing, Public Relations, Public Policy, International Relations, Communications, Journalism, or related field.