Development and Communications Director (Caldera)

Caldera; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) retirement match

Paid time off

Job summary

Caldera is seeking a Development and Communications Director in Portland to lead fundraising and communications with a strategic, equity-focused approach. You will supervise a small team and work to build strong donor relationships, manage campaigns, and guide brand storytelling.

The role includes leadership in strategy, budget oversight, and collaboration with external partners to advance Caldera’s mission for underserved youth through arts and environmental programs.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years of demonstrated experience with the majority of job responsibilities
• Demonstrated passion for equity, inclusion, and mission-driven work
• Ability to lead a collaborative team and develop staff
• Willingness to travel within Portland Metro area and Central Oregon

Responsibilities

• Oversee fundraising strategy and donor cultivation
• Lead communications, brand development, media relations, and marketing
• Manage department budget and staff development
• Represent Caldera in community and at board meetings
• Support management of the Board Advancement Committee

Skills

Fundraising

Team leadership

Communications

Brand development

Public relations

Donor relations

Copywriting

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Raiser’s Edge

Job description

Development and Communications Director (Caldera)

At Caldera, we believe in the power of creativity. Caldera is a catalyst for the transformation of underserved youth through innovative, year-round art and environmental programs. Our Youth Program provides students from Portland and Central Oregon with long-term mentoring that nurtures individual creativity, beginning in sixth grade and continuing into young adulthood. Our Artists in Residence Program awards US-based and international artists the gift of time and space for their creative practice at our Arts Center near Sisters, OR.

Caldera has a $2.4 million dollar budget, a 15-member board, 13 full-time year-round employees, 3 part-time year-round employees, and a range of seasonally contracted artists and mentors (~70). Its administrative office is located in Portland, Oregon, and its Arts Center is located outside of Sisters in Central Oregon, between Suttle Lake and Blue Lake.

Equity & Inclusion

We recognize that Caldera communities face many societal inequities. We recognize the history and ongoing impacts of racism in our country, state, and institutions. We acknowledge that we will always have room to grow as an organization and as individuals in our understanding of racism and oppression.

We commit to continually examining our role in both perpetuating and combating institutional racism. We also commit to ongoing alignment of our policies and practices to advance racial equity, inclusion, and freedom of expression.

We commit to integrating equity and inclusion into all areas of our work to better serve our mission; when we do, we get closer to the world that we want for our youth. To ensure our own accountability, we will 1) seek deeper relationships with and feedback from our larger community; 2) use our Equity Plan to guide ongoing work; and 3) apply our Equity Lens to decision-making. We will also seek inspiration from artistic and cultural traditions.Caldera is an equal opportunity employer encouraging applicants of all backgrounds and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. We encourage people of color and Caldera community members to apply.

Position Description

The Development & Communications Director leads Caldera’s fundraising and communications efforts with a strategic and inclusive approach that advances racial equity and strengths-based narratives of Caldera youth. This position directs efforts to cultivate and sustain a community of donors and supporters, develop compelling organizational and programmatic communications, and advance Caldera’s mission.

This position supervises Caldera’s Development and Communications Team, comprised of a Development & Communications Associate, a Development & Events Manager, and a grant writer.

Compensation: $70,000 to $80,000 annual. Benefits include: generous paid time off, health, dental, and vision insurance, 403(b) retirement savings matching, long-term disability, short-term disability, and life insurance.

Specific Responsibilities

Development

• Oversee and lead comprehensive fundraising strategy, including building and sustaining supporter relationships, and identifying, cultivating, and soliciting donors
• Lead work to raise more than $1 million annually in individual, foundation, corporate, public, and event revenue
• Develop and implement major gift strategy, including development, solicitation, and stewardship work with existing and new relationships
• Oversee individual giving efforts and work collaboratively with Development and Events Manager on annual giving campaigns, pledges, solicitations, and other activities
• Oversee grant writing and reports
• Implement and maintain a data-driven development approach, including understanding and leveraging Raiser’s Edge database system

Communications

• Lead and manage strategic communications work, including brand development, organizational and program message development and implementation, marketing, media relations, copywriting, copy editing, and presentations, etc.
• Manage critical relationship with Wieden+Kennedy Studio for design services, as well as with other partners and vendors
• Lead and manage comprehensive marketing and communications strategy, including all online and print messaging and design, website and social media, public/press relations, internal communication, and employment outreach
• Represent Caldera in the community, effectively communicating organizational mission, policy, practices, and values to a wide range of constituencies and to the community at large
• Other duties as assigned

Staff and Department Management

• Develop and monitor department budget
• Supervise and support the professional development of department staff by setting and overseeing goals and growth opportunities, gathering resources, and providing ongoing feedback and coaching

Leadership

• Serve as a collaborative member of Caldera Leadership Team and attend board meetings
• Participate in ongoing organizational racial equity work
• Support management of the Board Advancement Committee

Required Qualifications

• 3-5 years of demonstrated experience with the majority of job responsibilities
• Passion for Caldera’s mission, social and environmental change, and racial equity
• A willingness to engage in ongoing racial equity work
• Ability to lead a collaborative team and support professional development of staff
• Ability to travel within the Portland Metro area weekly and to Central Oregon approximately 12 to 20 times annually
• The ability to pass a background and driving record check

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working with or in advertising, design, strategic communication, social marketing, or online communication
• Demonstrated experience with community fundraising models