Development Manager

Mountain Watershed Association; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); On-site; USD 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous paid time off

Health, vision, and dental insurance

IRA matching

Job summary

The Mountain Watershed Association (MWA) is seeking an engaging Development Manager to lead grant writing, donor relations, and outreach. You will manage the outreach team, cultivate funder relationships, and align philanthropic supports with MWA’s mission to protect the Youghiogheny River watershed.

The ideal candidate has 5–7 years in nonprofit development or related sales, a bachelor’s degree in communications or nonprofit management, and proven storytelling and grant management skills.

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.
• Experience with grant writing, donor management software, and donor engagement.
• Strong storytelling skills and ability to translate science/environment concepts into accessible narratives.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and project management skills.

Responsibilities

• 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 grant tracking and reporting systems for fundraising efforts.
• Coordinate with leadership on deadlines, submissions, and information sharing.
• Create and update annual fundraising plans; manage donor database entries and acknowledgments.
• Lead the Outreach Department team and oversee events and partner coordination.

Skills

Storytelling

Project management

Verbal & written communication

Donor engagement

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Communications/PR/Nonprofit Management

Tools

Donor management software

Job description

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 ideal candidate will have excellent interpersonal skills and a development or sales background. 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.
• 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.