Managing Director, Advancement

Sorrell is proud to partner with Good Reason Houston in its search for a new Managing Director, Advancement. Good Reason Houston exists to create a future where every child in every neighborhood of Houston has access to a world-class public education that prepares them to thrive in the Houston of tomorrow. Good Reason Houston believes that all Houston students deserve an excellent education and works to reshape the Houston education landscape by inspiring hope, possibility, and action as it works towards its mission of growing the number of students learning in great public schools. 

Good Reason Houston builds awareness of, advocates for, and advises school systems on measures aimed to improve the quality of education available to all. Today the organization partners with 25 public school systems that collectively serve 700,000 students across 900 public schools in the Houston region. The organization seeks to cultivate a shared regional vision for educational quality, to build the capacity for change required within districts and the greater Houston community, and to foster collective ownership to support student-level results for kids across our city. 

For more information, please visit www.goodreasonhouston.org.   

Position Overview
Good Reason Houston (“GRH”) seeks a dynamic and highly collaborative leader to develop, lead and grow a comprehensive fundraising program that advances the organization’s mission and strategic goals by generating sustainable philanthropic revenue to meet the organization’s fundraising requirement. The position will also support the fundraising requirement of GRH’s affiliated organization, Houstonians for Greater Public Schools (Houston GPS). 

The Managing Director, Advancement (“MDA”) will lead, plan and manage the day-to-day operations of the organization’s fundraising department and major gift support for the organization’s fundraising priorities. The ideal candidate has extensive skills leading a fundraising operation and proven experience in creating and leading fundraising strategies, campaigns and initiatives and facilitating leadership gift conversations with individual, corporate and/or foundation donors. 

The MDA will report directly to the Chief Financial Officer and work in close collaboration with the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director of Houston GPS, and the GRH Board of Directors to execute against the fundraising strategy of the organization. A results-oriented and strategic leader, this role will be responsible for managing and growing a high-performing advancement team and will serve as a member of the organization's management committee. 

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate has extensive skills leading a fundraising operation and proven experience in creating and leading fundraising strategies, campaigns and initiatives and facilitating leadership gift conversations with individual, corporate and/or foundation donors. An energetic self-starter, this individual is both visionary and execution-oriented, thriving on setting and achieving ambitious goals. He/she/they proactively builds strong relationships with the Board of Directors, leading the efforts to expand support from existing resource partners and cultivating and engaging new supporters. The ideal candidate will have deep connections throughout Houston and will have a keen understanding of the local philanthropic landscape. This key leader will be adept at building and effectively leading a team, personally "making the ask" and leveraging the Board, CEO, and fellow senior leaders when appropriate.

Primary Responsibilities

• Develop and execute fundraising strategy to secure $7.5M of private revenue annually from a diverse and expansive set of individual and institutional donors to meet the fundraising requirement of both  Good Reason Houston and Houston GPS.
• Build a high-functioning advancement team and infrastructure that balances fundraising strategy and execution appropriately across staff, senior leadership, and the Board of Directors.
• Lead, grow and inspire a high-performing advancement team while fostering a collaborative and results-driven work environment.
• Personally manage a portfolio of current and prospective donors at the highest levels of giving capacity, moving them through the stages of cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. 
• Oversee the management of  a robust donor pipeline of individual and institutional funders.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to identify and refine giving priorities and translate those priorities into compelling opportunities for philanthropy and persuasive proposals. 
• Set and implement multi-year and annual fundraising goals and manage revenue and expense budgets.
• Construct strategies and execute plans that will markedly increase support from major gifts, corporate and foundation support, fundraising events, institutional marketing campaigns, and grants. 
• Provide regular updates to senior leadership and Board of Directors on fundraising progress and individual team members in donor cultivation efforts as relevant. 
• Oversee the planning and execution of fundraising events and develop strategies to maximize event revenue, engage participants, and increase awareness of Good Reason Houston.
• Effectively manage the advancement team’s day-to-day operations, budget and income forecasts.
• Champion an overall data-driven approach to advancement strategy, including developing a mastery of any relevant technological tools and processes that support this approach. 
• Perform other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree and 10+ years of related professional experience preferred.
• Former experience as a Head of Development and/or leading a team of multiple fundraisers highly preferred.
• Record of successful grant awards from major local and/or national institutional donors preferred.
• Proven track record of leading people and processes within complex organizations, including coaching and motivating teams to successfully reach and/or exceed fundraising goals.
• Proficient with MS Office, CRM systems, and pipeline management/planning tools. 
• Exceptional judgment, strong initiative, and the ability to think strategically and analytically to move from vision to action and influence others towards outcomes.
• Personal drive and high motivation with the ability to manage a significant volume of diverse tasks, activities and projects efficiently and effectively. 
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to write and present fundraising materials to a diverse set of audiences. 
• A problem-solving orientation – can break down problems, define pathways forward, and invest others in a solution.

• We embrace and drive change.
• We are flexible and fierce.
• We operate with a bold bias toward action.
• We fess up when we mess up.
• We dare greatly and engage humbly.  
• We grow as we go.
• We turn up the love when we turn up the heat. 
• We root for each other.