Senior Institutional Relations Officer
Cambridge, MA
Full Time
Development
Experienced
Job Title: Senior Institutional Relations Officer
Department: Development
Reports To: Vice President, Development
Position Grade/Level: Union position: Grade 7
FLSA Status: Exempt, Full-Time (35 hours/week)
Salary Range: $85,000-119,000
Work Model: Hybrid
Organization Overview
Guided by Unitarian Universalist principles and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UUSC is a human rights organization that strives to advance human rights, dismantle systems of oppression, and uplift the inherent dignity and power of all people. We focus our work in three intersectional areas of justice: Migrant Justice, Climate and Disaster Justice, and International Justice and Accountability. We center the voices and experiences of those most affected and strengthen those grassroots groups and movements who are organizing themselves to advance these goals. UUSC believes that those facing injustice are best equipped to define and dismantle systems of oppression and protect their rights to self-determination, equity, and justice; they are the champions for progressive movements for change.
Position Overview
The Senior Institutional Relations Officer will be responsible for creating, cultivating, and stewarding relationships with the goal to secure and sustain grants from foundation, government and other institutional supporters. Working closely with the Vice Presidents of Development and Programs, the Senior Officer will work to ensure that UUSC meets established fundraising objectives for institutional support, creating and implementing a strategic plan for foundations and other institutional funders, track outreach and support, and build relationships. In addition, the Senior Officer will serve as an external representative of UUSC and as a knowledge resource for UUSC staff and leadership.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
Strategic and Administrative Operations:
- Develop strategy for securing and maintaining institutional support.
- Manage the function of UUSC’s grant-writing and general outreach.
- Maintain an overview of all funder submissions and awards and monitor opportunity pipeline data and key performance indicators, including the creation of a portfolio of potential supporters as activity pipeline.
- Craft proposal and report submissions, including the provision of quality assurance on funding proposals developed by program teams.
- Establish annual solicitation schedule, which incorporates foundation proposal deadlines.
- Proactively update donor information in Salesforce or similar CRM to properly maintain tracking of activities, progress toward goals, and grant awards.
External Relationship Building:
- Serve as an external representative of UUSC, participating in meetings, conferences, and events in order to acquire new, and maintain existing, funder relationships.
- Create an effective plan to ensure that UUSC builds and sustains relationships with foundation and institutional funders and prospects, through coordinating personal visits, events, phone contacts and correspondence, aiming to generate 6 and 7-figure grants.
- Manage and conduct activities related to prospecting, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
- Write and edit proposals, reports, budgets, budget narratives, cover letters, contact reports, briefings, talking points and related material as appropriate to support fundraising strategies.
- Coordinate and participate in funder-related travel as appropriate for meetings, site visits, and conferences.
- Identify areas of mutual strategic interest between institutional funders and partner groups.
- Continually build enhanced knowledge of UUSC program portfolios and the evolving trends in the philanthropic marketplace to develop successful strategies.
- As the primary point of contact for foundation philanthropy, stay current on professional standards, trends and issues affecting this set of responsibilities.
Collaboration with Cross Team Colleagues:
- Collaborate with Development colleagues on creation of proposals and materials for donors, congregations and institutional funders, and other writing projects.
- Establish process to systematically collaborate with the Programs, Advocacy and Action (PAA) Department to gain up-to-date information relevant for solicitation, reporting and stewardship.
- Partner with PAA colleagues to identify ways to maximize revenue and support for UUSC partners, coalitions, and funding collaboratives.
- Consult with the Senior Team and PAA leadership in pursuit of institutional partnerships through which UUSC could receive grants and for partnership opportunities.
- Support writing needs for individual donor correspondence, UUSC newsletters, annual reports and website.
- Stay abreast on trends in foundation and institutional giving and serve as a knowledge resource for staff across teams.
Required and Desired Qualifications
- Advance degree in a field related to writing, communications, political science or international development, or equivalent combination of education, training, and/or experience
- Minimum of 8 years related progressive experience with at least 5 years of successful fundraising from large US foundation and/or institutional funders
- A demonstrated track record of success in generating significant grant revenue (6-figures and above) from foundations, institutional, and/or government funders
- Demonstrated experience in working across teams, leading projects, preferably in a union environment, and working with external partners
- Experience in launching new projects, developing strategies, and creating portfolios
- Excellent writing, oral communication, and interpersonal skills
- Proven ability to cultivate positive relationships with foundation and institutional funders, staff, board members and volunteers; excellent listening and motivational skills
- Strong time management, problem-solving, organizational, planning and administrative skills, including comfort with various information systems, such as with Microsoft Suite and databases
- Ability to manage ambiguity, work independently, set priorities and meet deadlines
- Knowledge of fundraising principles and practices relative to U.S. foundations and other institutional funders, including government funding programs
- Must be willing to accept flexible working schedule in case of need with some required evening or weekend hours due to periodically urgent workload or special projects
- Desired knowledge of and connections within the Unitarian Universalist world
- Desired ability to communicate in languages other than English
- Experience in an issue-oriented non-profit or international development organization
Physical Requirements
Physical requirements include the ability to operate a laptop and cellular phone, and other work supplies as related to the position, with or without reasonable accommodations. Some domestic and international travel will also be required
Other Work Conditions
The organization requires all UUSC community members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. UUSC follows standard safety protocols in accordance with public health authorities to prevent the spread of infectious disease. Remote employees can be based in any state where UUSC is registered as a business, including MA, ME, CT, NY, MD, Washington D.C., VA, NC, FL, GA, MN, WA. Hybrid employees must be based in MA and within commuting distance to the Cambridge, MA office. This job description does not serve as an employment contract.
Employment Benefits
UUSC offers an excellent benefits package including health, dental, vision, life, and short-term and long-term disability insurance. We offer retirement plans with 9% of salary contribution after one-year, flexible spending plans for medical and dependent care, commuter benefits, industry-leading paid leave, and generous paid time off. We have tailored our elective benefits to better include the diverse needs of our employees and applicants.
Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity
UUSC’s mission affirms and celebrates the inherent dignity and power of every person. We are committed to leading with inclusion and creating a diverse and talented team to achieve our mission. UUSC is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is deeply committed to ensuring that our organizational culture, policies, and practices embody equity and justice and follow all applicable employment laws.
UUSC provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.
If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, or you require a religious accommodation, and you wish to discuss potential accommodations related to employment at our company, please contact the Human Resources Director, John Howard, at [email protected].
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