Background: 

Lumos, an international NGO founded by J.K.Rowling, helps the 8 million children currently in orphanages regain their right to a family life. At least 80% of these children are not orphans but are separated from their families primarily by poverty and disability. Orphanages deprive children of loving families and put them at risk of impaired physical, intellectual and emotional development. Lumos supports countries in reforming child care and protection systems, focusing on the health, education, and social care services that keep families together.

Lumos works with the UN, the EU, the US Government, and the World Bank, focusing particularly on international aid as a driver of reform. It supports governments with expertise and skills, ranging from interventions to save the lives of children facing premature death to technical support on how to use complex financial mechanisms to ensure limited resources are used to achieve reform. Lumos has teams in Moldova, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Haiti, and Colombia, as well as offices in Brussels and New York. Lumos has demonstrated successfully that deinstitutionalization is achievable for every child.

The Position: 

Based in New York City, the Director of Fund Development will report to the Executive Director of Lumos USA and work closely with Lumos’ UK-based Director of Global Fundraising to set and meet fundraising targets for North America. As a key member of the global fundraising team, this role will raise funds for Lumos’ important work to end the institutionalization of children globally by 2050. The Director will plan, organize, and lead Lumos’ fundraising in the United States, ensuring that targets are met or exceeded and that Lumos USA’s fundraising is carefully coordinated with Lumos’ global strategy and structure.  

Specific Responsibilities:

• Develop a donor/advisory board
• Create personalized donor engagement pathways
• Plan fundraising activity, setting annual and longer-term targets
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of prospective grant funders
• Project and monitor annual revenue and feed into the global budgeting process
• Expand the donor base and increase giving among existing supporters
• Build and lead the US fundraising team
• Work with colleagues to formulate and submit high-quality applications and reports to a broad range of funders
• Coordinate fundraising activity with local and global colleagues; develop and maintain excellent relationships with colleagues in the US and at the London head office
• Lead an annual fundraising gala
• Work with colleagues, boards and/or external agencies to manage fundraising and cultivation events
• Engage and deploy senior staff and board members in fundraising

Qualifications:

The successful candidate must be committed to Lumos’ mission. Additional attributes include:

Required:

• Demonstrated experience working successfully with a range of high-value donors; including individuals, foundations, governments, and corporates
• Strong educational background and a minimum of 10 years’ relevant experience
• Proven track record of raising funds of more than $5 million annually, including identifying new donors, putting in place excellent donor management and cultivation strategies, and asking for major and principal gifts
• Experience working with boards to raise major gifts
• Proven ability to plan and execute major gift activities; creative and strategic thinker who can create tailored approaches to donors
• Skilled and enthusiastic relationship- and network-builder who can build partnerships to achieve ambitious income targets
• Ability to work independently, with mature judgment and a strong work ethic, while maintaining collaborative relationships with global colleagues
• Strong planning and organizational skills with exceptional follow-through
• Excellent leader and motivator of staff, volunteers, and board members
• Proactive, self-motivated, results-driven professional who thrives in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to prioritize and manage complex situations and deliver to tight deadlines
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal skills; able to communicate and negotiate with a wide range of people
• Positive attitude, well-informed individual able to represent Lumos in any situation
• Ability to organize and present data to create meaningful messages for a variety of audiences
• Strong budgetary and financial acumen; ability to source and cost bids/projects, as well as to forecast, analyze, and monitor financial performance
• Understanding of US funding landscape
• Diplomatic, analytical, trustworthy, and of the highest personal and professional integrity

This role will require domestic and international travel. Salary is commensurate with experience. Lumos USA is an equal opportunity employer.  For more information about Lumos, please visit the website at https://wearelumos.org/.

To Apply:
Lumos USA has retained the services of Harris Rand Lusk to conduct this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications may be directed in confidence to:

Debbie Farrell/Senior Director of Leadership and Development

Harris Rand Lusk
122 East 42th Street, Suite 3605

New York, NY 10168

[email protected]

Please include a cover letter and resume, and put the words “Lumos Director of Fund Development” in the subject line of your e-mailed application.