Development Manager

Breathe Project; Melcroft (PA); On-site; USD 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Paid Time Off

IRA Matching

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Job summary

Mountain Watershed Association is seeking a Development Manager to lead grant writing, fundraising, and donor relations from our Melcroft, PA office. You will manage the Outreach Department and coordinate with leadership to advance conservation programs.

With 5–7 years in nonprofit fundraising, you will craft compelling narratives to secure support, track grants, and engage donors through events and communications. This is full-time exempt work offering benefits.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Nonprofit Management, or related equivalent experience.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in the nonprofit sector or related sales background.
• Experience with grant writing, donor management software, and donor engagement.
• Strong storytelling skills and ability to translate scientific concepts into accessible narratives.
• Attention to detail and strong project management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience keeping leadership on track with tasks and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Write, compile, and submit grant proposals to foundations, governments, and corporations.
• Research new grant opportunities and prospect foundations, corporations, and individuals.
• Maintain grant tracking and reporting system to support financial development.
• Coordinate with leadership on deadlines and information sharing.
• Develop annual fundraising plans and donor materials.
• Lead the Fundraising Committee and monthly meetings.
• Engage donors through email, mail, and in-person outreach.
• Collaborate with departments to ensure grant development and compliance.

Skills

Grant writing

Storytelling

Communication

Project management

Fundraising

Donor engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Nonprofit Management, or related equivalent experience

Tools

Donor management software

Job description

Development Manager

Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization with the mission to protect, preserve and restore the Youghiogheny River watershed and its broader communities through conservation, recreation, education, and advocacy. We are seeking an engaging and creative individual to manage our current development portfolio and to cultivate new funder relationships. The Development Manager will use strong communication and storytelling skills, working to identify alignments between funder charitable focuses and MWA’s mission and programs. This person will also play an important leadership role managing our Outreach Department team.

Essential Functions

Grant Management (35%):

• Write, compile, and submit grant proposals to foundations, government agencies, and corporations.
• Research new grant opportunities and conduct prospect research on foundations, corporations, government agencies, and individuals.
• Create and maintain an efficient and effective grant tracking and reporting system that aids the financial development efforts of MWA.
• Collect required documentation and financials for grant submissions.
• Coordinate with team members and executive leadership on deadlines, the timing of submissions and requests, and information-sharing.

Fundraising (25%):

• Create and update annual fundraising plans in coordination with MWA leadership.
• Input donations and grant awards, generate thank you letters, and update contact information within MWA’s donor database.
• Develop and send out materials for MWA’s annual membership drive.
• Create monthly donation reports for board members and compile an end-of-year donation/membership report.
• Assist in the identification of corporations to engage with the volunteer efforts and prospect pipeline for potential grants and sponsorships in partnership with the MWA staff.
• Lead the MWA Fundraising Committee and facilitate monthly meetings.
• Engage and retain donors through email, mail, and in-person communications.

Donor Relations (20%)

• Manage strategies for individual donor growth through events, mailings, marketing, and volunteer engagement.
• Coordinate events and other outreach activities for supporter engagement.
• Create powerful content for engaging individual donors, including appeal mailings, year-end reports, impact updates, and acknowledgements.
• Communicate with leadership and staff to ensure regular, ongoing, and coordinated stewardship of donors and partners.
• Lead personalized outreach to thank and reflect donors’ impact of their support.

Team Leadership (20%)

• Manage MWA’s Outreach Department team, composed of the Communications Specialist and the Education & Outreach Coordinator.
• Participate in regular meetings with MWA staff across departments to discuss projects, tasks, needs, and support.
• Assist with MWA outreach events, such as tabling and community initiatives.
• Partner with departments as they relate to grant development for successful funding and reporting compliance.
• Other duties to support the work of our organization as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Nonprofit Management, or related equivalent experience.
• 5 to 7 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector or other comparable experience such as a sales background.
• Experience with grant writing, donor management software, and donor engagement.
• Strong storytelling skills, ability to understand and translate complicated science and environmental concepts and jargon into accessible and compelling narratives.
• Attention to detail and strong project management skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience keeping others, including leadership, on track with tasks and deadlines.

Top 3 Competencies

• Interpersonal skills
• Ability to prioritize and delegate effectively
• Ability to create compelling content

Work environment & physical demands

• Indoor - 90%,
• Outdoor - 10%, in person meetings, events
• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Ability to lift a minimum of 15lbs.
• Ability to work a minimum of three days a week at MWA’s office in Melcroft,PA.

Compensation

This position is full-time exempt salary. The starting annual salary range is $50,000-$65,000 annually. Additional qualifications, advanced degrees, and/or work experience will be considered.MWA offers a competitive benefits package, including generous paid time off, fully paid health, vision, and dental insurance coverage, and a matching IRA program.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We maintain a strong policy of equal employment opportunity. We seek to achieve equal opportunity for all employees as articulated by federal, state, and local laws. Mountain Watershed Association actively seeks to recruit individuals without regard to race, creed, color, religion, gender, national origin, ancestry, age, or physical or mental non-position related handicap or disability. Our equal employment opportunity philosophy applies to all aspects of employment with MWA.