Director of Development (Chief Development Officer)

Job Description

Job Summary:

The Director of Development serves as chief fundraiser for the diocese, overseeing all fund development and stewardship activities. These include the process for a successful Annual Appeal, the progress of the pledge fulfillment program, major gifts, and the completion of donor service needs. The director also serves as grants officer and fundraising liaison between the bishop, priests, donors, staff, and organizations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Growing philanthropic giving in the diocese
• Designing and guiding the stewardship and development annual plan
• Overseeing a $2.5 million Annual Appeal
• Overseeing and managing daily functions for a $15 million capital campaign redemption program
• Overseeing grant seeking including research, proposal writing, and reporting requirements
• Overseeing the creation of publications and other media to support fundraising activities
• Conducting pastor/parish training services including communicating diocesan needs
• Forming strong working relationship with pastors, parish leaders, volunteers, chancery staff, and current and potential donors
• Forming relationships with major donors to fund projects and initiatives in the diocese
• Managing the stewardship and development budget
• Managing and being responsible for the performance of all stewardship and development staff
• Reporting weekly fundraising activity and projections
• Completing special projects as needed

Qualifications and Requirements:

• Practicing Catholic in good standing
• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, or related field
• Conversational ability or fluency in Spanish is a plus
• Minimum of five years of working experience in fundraising or development, including leadership responsibilities
• Able to genuinely connect with priests, donors, and staff
• Ability to collaborate effectively with clergy, parish leaders, and diocesan staff.
• Possess initiative to constantly seek ways to improve fundraising results within budget parameters
• Raiser's Edge database proficiency
• Experience working with printing, mailing, and processing vendors

Standards of Performance:

• Achieve 85-90% of pledge redemption
• Facilitate fundraising activities across all major campaigns
• Ensure all parishes and missions are equipped with fundraising tools to meet their goals
• Create and produce reports on KPIs for department activity
• Ensure the timely completion and accuracy of all projects, including mailings, gift processing, redemption, acknowledgements, and database management
• Ability to work well with priests, senior management, parish contacts, and volunteers

To Apply:

A resume, letter of interest, and a list of three professional references is required in order to apply. These should be sent as a single PDF file to jobs@dioceseoftyler.org.

About the Employer

Founded in 1987, the Diocese of Tyler is located in Northeast Texas. The territory is divided into 53 parishes and 14 missions. The total population of the diocese is 1.4 million, of which approx. 120,000 are Catholic. Bishop Greg Kelly serves as Bishop of Tyler. For more information, visit dioceseoftyler.org.