We're hiring a Director of Development

Lead fundraising for a growing, nationally recognized, Latino media and civic engagement nonprofit

Position: Full-time exempt

Salary: $100,000-$120,000 depending on skills and experience

Deadline to apply: Priority consideration given to applications received by February 5, 2023

El Tímpano is seeking a Director of Development to join the small but growing team of our award-winning journalism and civic engagement organization. 

El Tímpano—whose mission is to inform, engage, and amplify the voices of the Bay Area’s Latino and Mayan immigrants—is at an exciting moment of expansion. In the past year our staff grew from one full-time employee to six, and our revenue tripled for the third consecutive year. Having won local and national recognition for our innovative model of journalism and civic engagement that centers Latino immigrants, El Tímpano is poised for significant growth in 2023 and beyond. As we hire our first dedicated development position, we are seeking someone who can dream big, quickly turn ideas into clear and compelling proposals, develop and manage long-term strategies and plans, and is not afraid to roll up their sleeves and make a difference in a non-profit startup that peers have described as “an outstanding innovation model.” 

You’re an ideal candidate if you are an excellent communicator with a strong track record in fundraising, are a project manager with an abundance mindset, are comfortable building systems and processes from the ground up, believe strongly in our mission of equitable and engaged civic media, and are eager to learn, iterate, and grow with the organization.  

The Director of Development will guide the organization in achieving its financial priorities. They will bring skills and expertise to develop and implement a fundraising strategy in support of a $2 million budget funded with the support of foundations, government grants, and corporate and individual donors. They will work closely with stakeholders including our Founding Director, Managing Editor, Civic Partnerships Manager, foundation partners, donors, and future board. They will be the first fundraising hire, expected to eventually grow and lead a development team. 

This position will be based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We will not consider long-term remote candidates. 

Duties & Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute a comprehensive, multi-year fundraising plan that supports El Tímpano’s strategic goals and includes foundations, government grants, and major gifts

  • Significantly increase El Tímpano’s portfolio of institutional and major donors through research and donor cultivation to triple our operating budget over the next 3 years  

  • Manage the organization’s impact tracking and develop and/or oversee production of communications material and reports, including an annual impact report, a monthly email newsletter, quarterly funder updates, pitch decks, and other collateral 

  • Strategize and manage individual giving campaigns 

  • Generate and experiment with new ideas and approaches to achieve El Tímpano’s fundraising goals

  • Develop and maintain systems and process for tracking donor cultivation and stewardship, grant applications and reporting, and donor acknowledgements

  • As El Tímpano builds a governing board, work with board and leadership to identify fundraising roles and engage board members to support goals 

  • Foster an organization-wide culture of fundraising that engages staff in fundraising campaigns 

  • Plan and manage special events, including managing event contractors, as well as identify and leverage opportunities to garner awareness of and support for El Tímpano 

  • Work closely with the founding director and collaboratively across teams in designing and implementing fundraising and communications strategies

  • As a member of El Tímpano’s leadership team, work with colleagues to support the growth and strategy of a young nonprofit organization

  • Leverage opportunities to build skills and expand El Tímpano’s fundraising capacity through workshops, conferences, and trainings with industry associations and peers

You are a great fit if you…  

  • Have a minimum of 5+ years of related development and communications experience, including responsibility for grant-writing and funder research and relations for organizations with a $1.5 million or larger annual budget

  • Have experience writing successful grant proposals, including securing grants of at least $200,000 

  • Have strong people and project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple projects and competing deadlines while maintaining rigorous attention to detail

  • Are a strategic thinker and problem-solver. For you, a challenge is an opportunity. You are unafraid to try new approaches, and will learn and grow from what others might consider a failure.  

  • Are a creative and compelling storyteller who can weave research and data with strong narratives to communicate organizational impact and objectives

  • Have excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication, including the ability to communicate in diverse environments with colleagues, community members, and external peers through active listening, empathy, and respect 

  • Demonstrate initiative and a spirit of learning and innovation. This is the first dedicated fundraising position for the organization, which means you will be building some materials and systems from scratch, learning and iterating as you go, collaborating with a team, and adapting as the organization grows and evolves.

  • While not required, we prefer candidates who have experience fundraising for either journalism/civic engagement or immigrant communities, and who are familiar with the Bay Area’s philanthropic ecosystem. 

Some great candidates may not check all the boxes above, and may have valuable skills not included here. If that’s you, please don’t hesitate to apply and tell us why you would thrive in this role. If you have any questions in advance of applying for this position, we encourage you to reach out to Madeleine Bair, mbair[at]eltimpano[dot]org to address your questions via email or a brief call.

Compensation & Values

The salary is $100,000-$120,000, depending on experience. El Tímpano, as a fiscally sponsored project of Independent Arts & Media, offers generous benefits, including 13 paid holidays, a one-week paid office closure, and 13 additional days PTO in the first year, 100% paid medical insurance premiums as well as vision and dental care, a Roth IRA, flexible work hours, and professional development opportunities. We are committed to supporting the personal and professional development of staff and caring for the holistic wellbeing of our team. 

El Tímpano is committed to addressing inequities and dismantling the various ways white supremacy shows up in journalism as well as organizational culture. While we’re imperfect, we are actively building a team that reflects the diverse life experiences of the communities we serve and that fosters equity, belonging, trust, and respect. The majority of our team is first- or second-generation Latino immigrants, and we strongly encourage applications from immigrants, Latinos, and Indigenous candidates, people of color, women, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated people, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. 

To Apply

Click here to submit your application.

About El Tímpano

El Tímpano is an award-winning civic media organization that informs, engages, and amplifies the voices of Latino and Mayan immigrants of Oakland and the wider Bay Area. Through innovative approaches to local journalism and civic engagement, El Tímpano surfaces community members’ stories and questions on local and national issues, provides news and information relevant to their needs, and investigates the concerns they bring to our attention. Our model for building journalism from the ground up, in collaboration with Latino immigrants, has been awarded, emulated, and recognized by peers nationwide. 

Madeleine Bair