Director of Development and Agency Relations

Director of Development and Agency Relations

Location: TBD

Status: Exempt

Position Overview

The Director of Development and Agency Relations will provide leadership, strategic direction, and external relationship development for the areas of Development and Agency Relations. This position will manage a portfolio of select donors and prospects and work closely with the CEO to cultivate and close major and principal gifts. The Director of Development and Agency Relations requires significant external relationship management as well as Team Member supervision, mentoring and leadership.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Development

• Establishes annual goals and objectives for Development and Agency Relations team members which are compliant with and ensure the accomplishment of HHFB’s strategic plan.
• Manages a mixed portfolio by proactively cultivating, stewarding, and soliciting individual, corporate and/or foundation donors.
• Establishes and maintains effective working relationships with current donors, potential new donors, and community leaders to foster new opportunities.
• Coordinates and implements internal and external fundraising events and campaigns.
• Attends, represents, and speaks on behalf of Harvest Hope at public events.
• Ensures each donor experience with Harvest Hope is consistent and of high quality.
• Identifies and qualifies potential donors and ensures successful proposal development and submission for current donors and prospective donors.
• Strategizes on portfolio assignments and fundraising goals to maximize gifts to Harvest Hope and contributes to goal setting and the refinement of processes and procedures.
• Creates, supports, and leads activities within Harvest Hope’s Annual Development Plan.
• Plays an active role in executing and supporting Harvest Hope’s fundraising and strategic plans.
• Works effectively with team to build strategies for moving donors to higher giving levels.
• Writes or updates standard operating procedures, work instructions, guidelines, or policies.
• Confers with other departments as needed to coordinate Development and Agency Relations activities.
• Manages and maintains the integrity, quality and accuracy of the donor database including managing gift processing and stewardship processes, data input, policies, and procedures; manages confidential information.
• Submits monthly updates that accurately reflect donor engagement activities.
• Analyzes data or information and creates reporting function based on data.
• Provides oversights and develops tracking systems to ensure compliance with HHFB approved budget, grants, policies, reports, and documents.

Agency Relations

• Surveys, evaluates, and compiles capabilities of local and community agencies to achieve distribution or service coverage goals and actively assesses and considers factors such as program administration and finances, service hours and days, agency facilities and staffing, and changing community needs.
• Creates and utilizes standard department documents such as program descriptions, project plans, logic models and evaluation plans.
• Leads and supports a team of professionals in the strategic planning process and implements and measures Harvest Hope’s partner agency service and efforts.
• Oversees all aspects of the partner agency network to ensure compliance with Harvest Hope and Feeding America standards.
• Establishes and tracks measures of service to member agencies, including agency surveys.
• Leads Harvest Hope agency network, capacity building, and nutrition services program efforts and outreach by developing and implementing a strategic vision.
• Plans, implements, and evaluates Harvest Hope’s agency strategies including agency compliance, agency capacity growth, agency group structure, mobile food pantries, agency recruitment, agency training, and all nutrition services initiatives.
• Oversees the agency application, evaluation, onboarding, and agreement processes for agency partners.
• Coordinates with other departments in the ongoing development and maintenance of our tiered agency network system.
• Builds positive relationships with coworkers, partner organization representatives and agency stakeholders.
• Empowers and trains staff to work effectively and respectfully with partner agencies and to handle complaints professionally, working to find mutually beneficial solutions to problems and challenges.
• Positions staff to increase partner capacity and services for clients through active problem solving, innovation and communication.
• Ensures agencies are always in compliance with key non-negotiable standards as determined by HHFB and/or Feeding America and that HHFB has an effective compliance, monitoring, and documentation system.
• Develops and maintains relationships with current and potential agency partners to market product and services to expand network capacity, capability ad reach.
• Develops and maintains an effective training program, including online and in-person training and Harvest Hope agency conference.
• Oversees database development and accuracy related to agency records.
• Analyzes program operational data to identify, plan and implement process changes to increase agency distribution and capacity.
• Partners with Operations to ensure that product quality and availability meet program needs and priorities.
• Other duties as assigned.

HHFB Team Member Accountabilities

• Demonstrates a commitment to the HHFB mission and to fighting to end hunger in South Carolina.
• Displays a desire to work with culturally diverse populations using a compassionate, collaborative, and respectful approach.
• Supports a culture of continuous improvement by identifying and communicating process and safety improvements.
• Follows all safety policies and procedures, including reporting all unsafe acts and behaviors, safety hazards, incidents, or accidents immediately.
• Acknowledges that HHFB team members are considered emergency responders and may be called in to perform regular or emergent duties in instances of a federal, state or locally declared emergency.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, or related study.
• Master’s degree or Certified Fundraising Executive Certificate (CFRE) preferred.
• Seven or more years of experience in professional experience in a development role for a non-profit organization with at least three years in a management capacity.
• Demonstrated experience in event planning, database systems, donor research, and donor recognition programs.
• Proven experience in strategic/tactical planning and annual budget development.
• Self-starter, strong organizational skills, and attention to detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Excellent communications, interpersonal and customer service skills; comfortable with public speaking.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Must be able to clearly articulate HHFB’s mission.
• Ability to relate effectively and professionally with other staff, volunteers, agency representatives and the public.
• Valid driver’s license.

Physical Requirements and Working Conditions

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the tasks outlined in this job description.


This position operates primarily in an office setting within the branch. The position requires sitting at a desk and in meetings for long periods of time and involves extensive computer work with frequent interruptions. Vision abilities required include close vision and the ability to adjust focus. This position will regularly be in a warehouse environment with varying temperatures, including freezers and outdoor weather conditions. With forklift traffic in the facility and product stacked and stored throughout, this position requires someone who is mobile and who can hear and watch for traffic and normal hazards of a warehouse environment. This position may require traveling during the day and responding to organizational needs outside of normal working hours.

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Harvest Hope Food Bank is an equal opportunity employer and embraces a philosophy that recognizes and values diversity. Our goal is to attract, develop, retain and promote a talented diverse workforce in a culture where all employees will contribute to their fullest potential. This description provides information regarding the essential functions of the designated job and the general nature and level of work associated with the position. It should not be interpreted to describe all the duties whose performance may be required of such employees or be used to limit the nature and extent of assignments the individual may be given. This position description does not constitute an employment agreement or contract.