Director of Development & Communications (EBCLC)

Director of Development & Communications (EBCLC)

Posted on September 02, 2020

Who We Are:

The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) is one of the Bay Area’s largest and most effective systems disrupters. We are committed to providing impactful, holistic legal services, policy work, and litigation strategies across five program areas: Housing, Economic Security & Opportunity, Immigration, Health & Welfare, and Education Defense & Justice for Youth. We partner with Berkeley Law School to reject the legal status quo and to reimagine justice for our clients. To learn more about EBCLC, please visit our website.

EBCLC recognizes that the explicit racialized language being used by those at the highest levels of the U.S. government has a direct impact on people at the intersection of multiple oppressions. Thus, we have deepened our commitment to advance real security, equity, and belonging through schools that allow children to feel safe and thrive, meaningful work opportunities, and relief from displacement, deportation, poverty, and debt. EBCLC strives to create a workplace that values dignity and equity for staff, students, and community partners.

It is an exciting time to join EBCLC. We recently celebrated 30 years of movement building, policy advocacy, and legal education. We see cities and communities across the country adopt policies launched by EBCLC. These policies include the elimination of criminal fees and fines, the protection of constitutional rights of unhoused people, and the implementation of ordinances providing tenants the first offer and right of refusal of property they live in before it goes on the market. And now, with the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the communities EBCLC serves and the momentum created by the Movement for Black Lives, EBCLC is uniquely positioned to lead critically important systems change work. With the leadership of our new Executive Director, Zoë Polk, we are energized to embrace this moment as a Black-woman-led organization under the vision and leadership of an all-women-of-color executive team. Along with our talented staff, dedicated Board of Directors, and highly-engaged community partners, we have launched a strategy for holistic recovery that will create real justice and are seizing this opportunity to build new structures, launch new approaches, and find new investments in this work.

We are seeking a Director of Development & Communications who is invested in systems change and would be energized to serve as a thought partner to the Executive Director and our EBCLC team as we work together to create the organizational vision and planning for EBCLC’s next chapter during a time of such tremendous possibility and potential.

What Will You Do?

EBCLC seeks a Director of Development & Communications with skills and expertise to lead the development and implementation of a multi-faceted resource development plan. They will oversee a comprehensive fund development program in support of a $9 million annual budget, which is funded by government contracts, foundations, legal fees, individual donors, and an affiliation with the UC Berkeley Law School. To better understand EBCLC and how it’s supported by generous philanthropists and other critical partners in our work, please see our most recent annual report.

The Director of Development & Communications is a relationship- and capacity-builder with staff and funders and provides strategic advice to the organization’s leadership.

As Director of Development & Communications, you will:

• Serve as a member of EBCLC’s Executive Management Team, working collectively with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, Director of Finance and Administration, Clinical Director, and Human Resources Director to lead the organization in the following ways:
• With the support and enthusiasm of the executive leadership team and Board of Directors, build and foster an organization-wide culture of philanthropy. To include inspiring our community to align around a shared vision for justice and empowering the development team to engage in the ongoing engagement of program staff in fundraising, leading the identification of new sources to cultivating and stewarding relationships with funders to communicating relevance and impact.
• With the Executive Director, develop a multi-year strategic fundraising plan to significantly increase the portfolio of high-capacity individual donors and institutional funders, driving the planning and implementation of a $9 million annual fundraising plan and a strategy that increases the operating budget significantly over the next 3-5 years.
• Provide leadership and management for a talented team of direct reports—including a Senior Development Officer, Contracts Officer, Development and Communications Officer, Development and Communications Assistant, and Data Scientist—to meet fundraising goals, ensure meeting funder obligations, and communicate EBCLC’s impact to current and potential supporters.
• Foster professional development in a collaborative, team-based environment, thinking through staff development, roles, and team growth as needed to maximize the philanthropic potential of the region.
• Manage close coordination and ongoing interface among your team and finance staff, program staff, and executive leadership in designing and implementing sound fundraising and communications strategies.
• Support Board development activities and staff a Development Committee on the Board of Directors.

Who You Are:

• You are committed to racial justice and the mission and goals of EBCLC.
• You have a minimum of seven years of development experience in the non-profit sector, with experience in fundraising from foundations, high net worth individuals and major gifts; experience with lawyers and law firms is highly desirable.
• You are knowledgeable about development best practices. You have in-depth and expansive knowledge in many areas of development – institutional funders in the public and private sectors, major gifts, and more.
• You are both strategic and tactical. You’re able to create a high-level vision for resource development as well as design and direct the implementation of activities to achieve that vision.
• You are a leader. You lead by example, inspire others to act, and empower those around you to drive for shared goals.
• You are an effective communicator. You tailor communication to meet the needs of the various stakeholders and actively listen to those around you.
• You are an excellent project manager with the training and experience to design and oversee the implementation of complex projects involving multiple stakeholders, including managing up and across the organization.

Our Ideal Candidate Will Also Have:

• A sophisticated understanding of media dialogue, narrative, discourse, and rhetoric regarding issues and policies that face people at the intersection of multiple oppressions and up-to-date familiarity with news coverage on key issue areas affecting our clients.
• Ability to provide strategic input on communications, including effective messaging, especially on emergent, current events that affect marginalized communities.

Salary & Benefits:

This is a full-time exempt position. Starting salary for this exempt position is $99,000 to $115,000/year commensurate with experience and dictated by EBCLC’s salary scale. Benefits include 100%-paid health insurance (medical, dental, vision) for employees and dependents, life and disability insurance, and generous paid leave (vacation, sick, and holidays); EBCLC also offers flexible spending accounts for qualified health, dependent care, and commuter costs; retirement options; and professional development support.

Due to COVID-19, all EBCLC employees are working remotely. The Development Director and all EBCLC employees will continue to work remotely as long as California’s Shelter in Place remains in effect. The expectation is that the Development Director will work in our office in Berkeley, California when it is safe to do so. EBCLC will provide the necessary equipment to fulfill job responsibilities while working from home.

How to apply:

We have retained People Power as our search partner for this hire. To apply, please send a resume and a cover letter addressing your qualifications and interests in this position along with a writing sample of any kind or length. Please send these application materials to the attention of People Power’s Director, Kate Brumage, via email at apply@peoplepowerproject.org using the subject line: “EBCLC Director of Development, FULL NAME.”

We also welcome applicants to also include relevant, short samples of their previous work: written reports, links to web-based publications, grant proposals, LOIs, podcasts, ad copy, pitch letters, press releases, videos, and any other materials demonstrating fundraising or communication skills are welcome.

We are eager to fill this key position and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with the goal of having this position filled by December.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to kate@peoplepowerproject.org.

We strongly encourage individuals from traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. EBCLC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, gender, gender expression, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, prior contact with the criminal justice system, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Hiring process:

We appreciate your time and interest in contributing your talents to East Bay Community Law Center’s mission. You will receive an email auto-reply to your application. We wish we could respond personally to all applicants, but only those chosen to interview will be contacted. Please do not contact EBCLC directly to inquire about the status of your application.

Qualified applicants will be invited to an initial brief screening interview via phone or video. Selected candidates will then be invited to 2-3 longer-form interviews via video with the Executive Director and members of the Development & Communications team and may be asked for supplemental writing samples and/or to meet informally with additional team members.