RURAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE



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Please send all cover letters and resumes to rdi@rdiland.org, attention Human Resources.

Currently open positions:

Director of Development
Senior Land and Other Property Resources Access and Rights Program Manager and Attorney (USAID contract delivery emphasis)

Job Title: Director of Development

Employment Status: Regular Fulltime

Status: Exempt

Starting Salary: Competitive salary – DOE.

Benefits: Benefits package includes Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability, retirement plan and flexible spending program.

Place of Performance: Seattle, Washington, USA

Travel Requirements: Up to 40 days per year

Supervisor: President & COO

Hours: Typically 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (with a one hour lunch). Occasional evenings and weekends for special events and meetings.

Basic Description of the Position

The RDI Director of Development (DD) undertakes a variety of responsibilities and duties that are related to and performed in support and furtherance of RDI's mission. The DD may also be asked to perform other appropriate tasks to support the mission.

The DD will lead and conduct private donor fundraising for RDI. S/he is responsible for building and managing relationships with individual and institutional prospects and donors. At least 80-85% of the Director's time is spent on direct revenue generation duties, approximately 10% on coordinating activities with the Director of Communication, and five to ten percent on management and general activities.

Core Duties

Together with the President and Board, develop and execute sustainable, multi-year strategic priorities for realizing RDI's development goals.
Create and execute an annual private-donor fundraising plan that includes quantitative goals, methods, and a corresponding budget.
Research, initiate, compose, and prepare all grant applications and reports to foundations.
Develop, implement and maintain a donor relations program including:
a) An effective donor management system to include the building and maintenance of a donor data base.
b) Solicitation strategies
c) Donor recognition and acknowledgements
d) Reports to donors and funders
Conduct prospect research and identification required to identify a viable pool of prospective funders to achieve major gift funding as well as to build the annual donor base required for long-term sustainability.
Create and conduct prospect cultivation plans maintaining relationships with donors across a wide variety of backgrounds, nationally and internationally.
Develop and manage cultivation and stewardship events.
Liaison, strategize, and coordinate fundraising efforts and prospect identification with RDI partner organizations.
Conduct ongoing communication and coordination with RDI's Program staff to ensure that development efforts are consistent with RDI programs currently underway and programs being developed.
Develop and manage the production of development related RDI collateral material including but not limited to: solicitation and fundraising materials (e.g. letters of inquiry, concept papers, proposals) annual reports and donor recognition materials.
Provide staff support to the board Resource Committee.
Supervise the Development Associate and development volunteers.

Required Qualifications

Education: BA required; advanced degree preferred.

Experience: Required experience includes demonstrated capacity to raise individual and institutional funds, excellent communication, teamwork, and management skills; 7 years of directly relevant experience.

Work Habits: Include but are not limited to accuracy, efficiency, regularity, timeliness, punctuality, and thoroughness.

Interpersonal Skills: Ability to work in support of and collaboratively with a range of people at all levels, including RDI management and lawyers, board members, donors, outside vendors and services suppliers, and administrative staff members.

Teamwork Skills: Ability to work as a member of teams, including communications skills.

Communications Skills: Ability to communicate well in writing, orally, and non-verbally. Includes an ability to make and use distinctions as to types, frequency, tenor, and levels of communications, depending upon the circumstances, audience, recipient, and content.

Software Skills: Ability to proficiently use Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and other software.

Date: 28 April 2008

Job Title: Senior Land and Other Property Resources Access and Rights Program Manager and Attorney (USAID contract delivery emphasis)

Employment Status: Full time, permanent.

Status: Exempt

Starting Salary: DOE. Final compensation will be based on the market value of the position, the individual's salary and work history, and experience and educational background.

Place of Performance: Seattle, Washington, with significant overseas travel.

Travel Requirements: Up to 110 days per year.

Supervisor: Management Team and Chief Operating Officer

Basic Description of the Position

An RDI senior program manager that focuses on USAID contract delivery provides administrative, management, programmatic, substantive quality control, and business development services and leadership on USAID IQC and stand-alone contract work, primarily within the RDI subcontractor landscape within which RDI operates. Within the substantive context, the senior RDI attorney provides legal, policy, and implementation expertise on rural land tenure security, access to land, land redistribution, land privatization, land market liberalization, and land administration (land titling and registration, land use planning and zoning, and dispute resolution). The senior attorney manages legal and social science research (both from the desk and in the field), and prepares and manages the creation of analytical reviews, research papers, draft legislation, regulations, surveys, policies, training programs, presentations, and other products. As a part of these activities, the senior manager and attorney manages the related assignments, programs, projects, and tasks, and also pursues private donor funding, fee-for-service opportunities, and public sector grants. The senior manager and attorney is familiar with fee-for-service contracting, subcontracting, and business development within the public client landscape (USAID, Federal, World Bank, UN, others), and is able to create or manage the creation of sophisticated work plans, statements of work, proposals, budgets, staffing plans, schedules, and other service products.

Core Duties:

Provide administrative, management, programmatic, substantive quality control, and business development services and leadership on USAID IQC and stand-alone contract work, as well as on fee-for-service work for other clients (World Bank, UN, other).

Perform and/or manage legal and social science research, analysis, and synthesis of topics and issues related to RDI’s work.

Create or manage the creation of work plans, statements of work, proposals, budgets, staffing plans, schedules, and other service products.

Undertake and/or manage fieldwork (rapid rural appraisal, key informant interviews, public meetings, workshops, surveys, and the like) in less developed countries to gather information about current land tenure conditions and the prospects for reform.

Make legal, policy, and other kinds of recommendations that are practical, useful, and realistic, given the country realities and resources.

Create plans for implementation of selected recommendations.

Collect progress and performance data, assess progress and results, carry out or monitor evaluations/assessments of activities as needed; identify problem areas, and take corrective steps as needed to achieve program and project objectives.

Manage programs or projects in conformance with RDI procedures on budgeting, work planning, cost monitoring and control, schedule monitoring and control, and product preparation and delivery.

Collaborate with foreign government officials, other counterpart country nationals, and international aid agencies in the work.

Contribute to the expansion and/or development of new RDI programs and projects.

Participate in internal substantive development activities by conducting research and analysis and making presentations to other RDI staff.

Prepare and present public education and awareness presentations consistent with RDI’s educational strategic objectives.

Provide input to the RDI communications and development function in preparing and presenting funding, business development, educational, and communication material.

Required Qualifications

Education: A J.D. degree from an accredited law school. An undergraduate degree in area studies, economics, geography, political science, sociology, or other field related to international development would be beneficial. Work experience may not be substituted for the degree requirement.

Experience: A minimum of 7 years of international development work, and at least 10 years of public or private sector professional legal work, preferably with experience in international development issues, institutions, laws, and policies. Must have regional work experience and specialization in Africa, Latin America, FSU, Eastern Europe, and/or Asia, as well as work experience on land related issues, work experience relating to economic development, and/or work experience related to women's access to justice would be beneficial.

Substantive Skills: Sophisticated and developed legal and socio-economic research, analysis, synthesis, reasoning, and writing abilities.

Substantive Knowledge: Sophisticated knowledge of legal, economic, sociological, political, institutional, geographic, and anthropological concepts and information.

Management Skills: Ability to manage tasks, teams, subcontractors, prime contractors, clients, donors, funds, products, and other elements in such a way that budgets, schedules, delivery requirements, and staff resources are used efficiently and according to work plans, while also ensuring that expectations and deliverables requirements are meet if not exceeded.

Administrative Skills: Ability to manage or administer contracts, subcontracts, teaming agreements, proposals, expense cost reporting and accounting, labor cost reporting and accounting, correspondence, and other administrative items so they are handled efficiently, routinely, and in conformance to RDI and other applicable standards and procedures.

Interpersonal Skills: Ability to work collaboratively with a range of people at all levels, including those from host country governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other counterparts, clients, donors, and grantors. Ability to demonstrate cross-cultural sensitivity, tact, and poise. Strong passion for issues relating to women’s access to land and land rights is necessary.

Teamwork Skills: Ability to lead and work as a member of teams, including management, consensus building, communications, and leadership skills.

Communications Skills: Exceptional ability to communicate in writing and orally in English. Needed communications skills include an ability to make and use distinctions as to types, frequency, tenor, and levels of communications, depending upon the circumstances, audience, recipient, and content.

Foreign Languages: A functional speaking and reading capability in one language other than English and preferably in French, Portuguese, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, or Hindi.

Technical Skills: A well-developed ability to use Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Licenses/Certifications: Admission to a U.S. state bar, although the current status may be inactive.