About the Organization:

Junior Achievement’s mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in global economy. Our corporate and community volunteers deliver relevant, hands-on experiences that teach students in kindergarten through high school the basics of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. JA programs empower students to make a connection between what they learn in school and how that can be applied in the real world to own their economic success. Junior Achievement of Southwest New England serves seven Connecticut counties (excluding only Fairfield County).

In response to the pandemic, JA virtualized all programming and special events for the 2020-22 school years and met students, educators and volunteers where they were – serving more than 14,000 and 29,000 students virtually with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers. This year, JA of Southwest New England plans to serve 35,000 students through virtual, hybrid, and in-person programs. JA of Southwest New England, with an office based in Hartford, has been recognized by JA USA for six consecutive years for financial stability, student growth, and overall management efficiency.

Position Description:

Junior Achievement of Southwest New England (JA) is looking for a Development Manager who is passionate about JA’s mission to prepare and empower youth to succeed and able to effectively communicate and collaborate with stakeholders to amplify JA’s impact in the community.

Reporting the Director of Philanthropy, the Development Manager will play a pivotal role in advancing Junior Achievement’s mission through strategic relationship management, annual giving campaigns, and grant writing initiatives. The ideal candidate will cultivate and maintain long-term relationships with individual and corporate donors using moves management strategies, with a focus on the New Haven and Shoreline regions. Collaborating closely with the development team, they will contribute to the growth of the Major Gifts program and support the creation and execution of annual fund campaigns. Additionally, the Development Manager will create compelling donor communications and grants, and coordinate multi-channel solicitation plans to enhance donor engagement and stewardship efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Relationship Management (50%)

• Utilizing moves management, manage and maintain long-term relationships with assigned portfolio of individual and corporate donors.
• Collaborate with the development team on pipeline development, identification of prospective individual, corporate, and private foundation leaders, and preparations for donor visits and major gift asks, especially in the New Haven and Shoreline regions.
• Contribute to the development of a Major Gifts program.

Annual Giving (35%)

• Collaborate with senior leadership to create and execute annual fund campaigns for donor acquisition, cultivation, and stewardship opportunities.
• Manage and coordinate a multi-channel solicitation plan including direct mail, email, social media, and individual outreach, including drafting appeals, creating mailing lists, and working with vendors.
• Support Development Assistant in donor retention and stewardship projects, including but not limited to reviewing donor pledges and gift acknowledgements.
• Actively participate in special events, peer-to-peer fundraising events and other collaborative department projects.
• Provide relevant reports as necessary for senior leadership to inform and recommend solicitation and engagement strategies.
• Co-manage the Hartford and New Haven Partners in Achievement Breakfast individual giving events.

Donor Communications (15%)

• Support Grants Coordinator and expanding grant portfolio through written content, data collection, relevant research and stewardship of foundation leadership.
• Write and edit content for a wide variety of donor communications, including proposals, emails, mailings, and reports.

Our Ideal Candidate:

You are a resourceful, strategic, and creative thinker, a confident and comfortable relationship-builder, and a strong communicator. You’ll also have familiarity with development operations, processes and platforms, as well as core skillsets suited to donor stewardship, retention, and moves management. You’re a collaborative team player who is committed to excellence, takes initiative and demonstrates a growth mindset, thinks creatively to solve problems, and works with a sense of humor and humility. You are highly organized, attentive to detail, and process-oriented. You can prioritize and execute multiple time-sensitive priorities with precision and integrity. You are comfortable using spreadsheets, CRMs, online giving sites, with the ability to add more technical skills to your toolkit.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field, preferred.
• 3-5 years’ experience in non-profit development
• Demonstrable experience and grasp of all core components of development including corporate partnerships/funding, individual contributions and stewardship, annual and online giving campaigns, grant writing and special events including a record of successfully soliciting and closing donor gifts.
• Experience building meaningful relationships with people from diverse backgrounds, including individual donors as well as corporate and foundation partners
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to prioritize and execute multiple time-sensitive priorities with precision and integrity
• Ability to work occasional nights and/or weekends for donor engagement and supporting events
• Computer literacy, including Microsoft Office and experience with CRM databases and other fundraising tools (i.e. Blackbaud, QGiv, and First Giving)
• Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation; willingness to travel within the organization’s territory

We actively seek people who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to join us in our work. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone feels welcomed, valued and included. We believe we are stronger as an organization when we embrace the unique attributes, characteristics, abilities, and perspectives of all individuals.

Junior Achievement of Southwest New England offers competitive benefits for part-time employees including a 401k plan with a match as well as generous Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays in a supportive hybrid work schedule of 3 days per week in the office and remaining days remote.

Resumes will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Please be sure to include a cover letter along with your resume.

How to Apply: Please email a cover letter and resume to William Stapell,