Development Officer, Church Engagement

We are seeking a Development Officer, Church Engagement to join our team committed to creating outstanding partnerships with our community. As a Development Officer, Church Engagement you will play an important role in developing, maintaining, and expanding strategic relationships between Buckner International and assigned churches, nonprofit organizations, and individuals. Join our team and shine hope in the lives of others! 

What you'll do:

• Manage an assigned portfolio of churches and entities primarily for the purposes of fundraising as well as partnering in the various aspects of Buckner. These entities include but are not limited to colleges/universities, religious associations and denominations, and other Christian non-profits.
• Develop, track, and implement engagement strategies for churches and non-profits in an assigned portfolio. This includes identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding relationships (including performing moves management) with churches, pastors, and key ministry leaders.
• Prepare and present appropriate written Funding Proposals that assist Buckner Development in reaching its annual fundraising goals.
• Connect with churches and non-profits in a consistent and strategic manner and deepen relationships.
• Promote and encourage churches and non-profits to participate in Buckner Volunteer Engagement and Buckner Missions opportunities both domestically and internationally.
• Identify individuals within churches and non-profits who have an affinity for Buckner and the estimated ability to support Buckner philanthropically and introduce them to the appropriate Development Gift Officer.
• Consistently increase in understanding of Buckner Children and Family Services (BCFS) and Buckner Retirement Services (BRS) service offerings in detail to effectively communicate the value added for churches, denominations, non-profits and networks.
• Collaborate across departmental lines and Regions to effectively engage churches and non-profits.
• Report and record all engagement activity with churches and non-profits in Buckner’s CRM. This includes telephone calls, emails, correspondence, and personal visits.
• Speak to groups, churches, organizations, networks, non-profits, and other related groups both domestically and internationally about the ministries of Buckner.
• Cultivate and monitor relationships with outside service providers, consultants, agencies, non-profits and organizations to develop relationships domestically and internationally to enhance the delivery of services to clients.
• Travel domestically and internationally as needed to monitor, assess, and help develop relationships with donors, churches, and ministry organizations.

 What you’ll bring:

• The ability to successfully identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and donor prospects in the assigned area for all Buckner ministries and programs.
• A bachelor’s degree in a related field is required.
• A minimum of 1 years of prior related experience is required in building and sustaining relationships with constituents engaged with an organization.
• Requires 1 or more years of demonstrable experience in major gift work or church engagement work where relationships and/or individual efforts resulted in more than $500,000 of funds consistently on an annual basis.
• Prior experience preparing and presenting project proposals and prefers candidates that have worked in collaborative environments or initiatives thereby demonstrating they are able to communicate, coordinate, and collaborate within various stakeholders to meet fundraising goals.
• Strong sense of diplomacy and demonstrated success in developing strong collaborative relationships with organizational peers and outside colleagues.
• Poven successful experience in identifying, cultivating, and sustaining relationships that lead to financial or other contributions to an organization.
• Strong communication skills including but not limited to negotiation, influence and consensus building in order to interface with employees at all levels within the organization as well as external vendors and agencies. This includes proficient ability to speak, read and write English.
• Experience in developing, directing, and managing multiple projects, as well as implementing strategic program goals.
• Recognition that the organization is a faith-based organization operating with a commitment to Christian principles.

 The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the essential functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job.