The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster.

Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 50 countries and more than 25 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities.

A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Job Overview/ Summary:

The External Relations (ER) department is comprised of three main but complementary functional areas: Private fundraising, Communications, and Advocacy.

The main objective of the department is to enable this organization of more than 15,000 staff to have the resources needed to continue serving 18 million people worldwide in places affected by war and disaster.

The Philanthropy unit, part of the ER department, leads on the organization’s work with High-Net-Worth Individuals. Positioned within USA Philanthropy, the Principal Giving East team has a goal of improving private individual support for the IRC by engaging, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding significant, multi-year commitments from ultra-high net worth individual supporters that are based in the eastern region of the United States.

The Director, Principal Giving East will provide strategic leadership, direction, and management to a team of fundraisers responsible for securing philanthropic support from high-net-worth individuals.

They will be an entrepreneurial professional who enjoys leading and mentoring teams, building donor relationships, and has a track record of closing 7 and 8+ figure gifts.

The Director, Principal Giving East is accountable for the achievement of team revenue targets as well as overseeing their own portfolio of prospects and donors.

The Director will supervise and collaborate with officers to renew and upgrade gifts of $1M+ as well as to build a strong pipeline of principal gift donor prospects and identify new partnerships.

They will also have a portfolio and will craft and implement strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects with the capacity to give principal gifts in partnership with the Senior Director, IRC Leadership, and the IRC’s Board of Directors.

Reporting to the Senior Director, USA Philanthropy East, the Director serves a critical role in helping to develop and implement strategies that are informed by bold revenue targets.

They will be expected to understand the needs and performance of donors and prospects, communicate and collaborate superbly with colleagues, think strategically, make recommendations, and offer creative solutions to continually grow and improve the IRC’s donor relationships.

Major Responsibilities:

• Supervise a team of front-line fundraisers, inspiring, motivating and challenging them through active mentorship and fostering an environment that supports new ideas and innovative approaches to donor relationship management.

• Provide dynamic and effective thought leadership for the Principal Giving East team’s efforts towards increased financial revenue and other modes of private sector engagement that support impactful delivery of the IRC’s mission.

• Develop and support the Principal Giving East team’s efforts to cultivate, solicit, and steward a large and ever-growing portfolio of major donors and prospects.

This includes ensuring a steady pace of personalized communications and face-to-face visits, tracking progress in Salesforce and other software applications, and plugging these efforts into the larger Philanthropy team’s strategic goals.

• Build a strong fundraising structure including a prospect pipeline and donor giving tracks to support IRC as a whole.

• Work with IRC’s senior leadership, program staff, and relevant colleagues across IRC to create compelling cases for philanthropic investment and engagement opportunities for donors and prospects.

• Partner with the Senior Director, USA Philanthropy East to develop a bold strategic plan, including setting annual goals and key outcomes for the team and developing standards, tools, and procedures for a best-in-class approach to donor engagement and fundraising.

• Undertake special projects as requested.

Candidate Requirements:

• 10+ years of non-profit fundraising experience and demonstrated expertise in ultra-high net worth individual fundraising.

• Demonstrated history of being an empowering and supportive manager to front line fundraisers

Preferred Experience & Skills:

• Consistent record of securing 7 and 8+ figure gifts from a multifaceted portfolio of donors and prospects, including qualifying prospects and upgrading donors.

• Experience leading and directly supervising frontline fundraisers.

• Ability to lead, motivate, and develop a strong and complex team.

• Consistent record of developing blended and multi-year funding opportunities.

• Outstanding communication skills, including writing, listening, verbal presentation, and speaking.

• Ability to develop creative and nuanced donor strategy often carried out in partnership with program staff or senior leadership.

• Adaptable to change in a fast-paced work environment while keeping donor priorities at the center of strategy and relationship building.

• Ability to respectfully and sensitively collaborate across teams internally, regardless of distance, and garner support for and implement initiatives effectively.

• Ability to identify, build, and implement processes vital to supporting effective donor relationships;

• Ability to analyze and interpret financial data.

• Ability to navigate CRM systems.

• Dedication to fundraising for international development, humanitarian, human rights, gender and racial equality, social justice, and US immigrant communities.

Working Environment: Requires remote/flex-time work.

Compensation:

Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates.

Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget.

Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.

US Benefits:

The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.

In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs.

Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off.

These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.

Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.

Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect.

The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting.

We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.