Facing History and Ourselves
Chief Development Officer

NATIONAL SEARCH
Brookline, MA
October 2008

About Facing History and Ourselves

Facing History and Ourselves is a non-profit education organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. Since 1976, Facing History has raised over $150 million and evolved into an international organization with 160 employees working in nine national and international office locations, including offices in New York and London.  Its network of over 50,000 educators in 120 countries reaches over 1.8 million students annually.

Facing History and Ourselves has done a remarkable job infusing young people with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective civic engagement. By teaching them to think critically about the relationship between history and individual responsibility, Facing History and Ourselves produces young adults who are better able to understand their roles and responsibilities in a democracy and are equipped to make more informed, compassionate, and moral choices. To accomplish this important initiative, Facing History and Ourselves has focused on four key areas of growth:

1. Civic Education: To Develop Informed, Compassionate, Active Global Citizens - Facing History and Ourselves will deepen its existing programs, while expanding to reach additional teachers, students, and community members throughout the world; thereby promoting the development of a humane and informed citizenry educated through knowledge of history and contemporary events to make informed, compassionate and moral choices.
2. Content: Creating Timely and Relevant Content to Enhance Education with a Conscience - Facing History and Ourselves will continue to rely on its international network of scholars and practitioners to develop state-of-the-art, timely and relevant content with its unique form of pedagogy and to deliver new resources to more classrooms worldwide in an effort to promote wider understanding among peoples of different cultural and religious traditions.
3. New Media and Publishing: Engaging more people in more places, faster - Facing History and Ourselves will utilize media in all forms - print, video, and digital – to reach economically, ethnically, religiously and racially diverse individuals to encourage their reflection on history and its meaning for today.
4. Public Policy: Promote Public Policies and Practices that recognize the role of education in sustaining civil society - Facing History will capture and disseminate its successful approach as a model education practice, worthy of replication, and create public awareness of the role that education can play in creating knowledgeable and ethical citizens.

About The Opportunity

Over the past 30 years, Facing History and Ourselves has been a model of timely, measured, and consistent growth. The organization is now at a crossroads in their history and seek to make a transformative leap by extending their programs and reach across North America and globally. In preparing to attain the next level of program development and outreach, Facing History and Ourselves has created and adheres to nine fundamental initiatives:

1. Core Knowledge
2. Research and Development
3. Global Professional Development
4. Evaluation
5. Publishing and New Media
6. Higher Education
7. Global Fundraising
8. External Affairs
9. Management Services

Specifically, Facing History and Ourselves aims to sustain a significant growth rate over the next 5 years, essentially doubling the capacity of the organization, with a resulting increase in global impact. Guided by an ambitious 5-year $130 million Global Growth Plan to expand their development priorities and direct their fundraising goals, the Chief Development Officer (CDO) will play a critical role in the discussion, development, and implementation of the plan in the areas of Civic Education, Content, New Media and Publishing, and Public Policy.

Responsibilities

Reporting to and partnering with the Executive Director/President, Margot Strom , the CDO will work with the Senior Director of Development and senior development staff to set strategy and oversee all Development functions for Facing History and Ourselves, including individual solicitation, corporate and foundation support, annual campaign, endowment, alumni outreach, and special campaigns. The CDO will have four direct reports and oversee a development office of 35 fundraising professionals to ensure that the organization's fundraising goals are being met.

As a member of the senior management team, the CDO will take on a leadership role in addressing issues including, but not limited to, program development, organizational change, and governance.

Outstanding candidates will demonstrate:

• Understanding, affinity, and commitment to the mission of Facing History
• Ability to link strategy with implementation and vision with outcomes
• Demonstrated success in raising six and seven figure gifts from individuals, foundations, and government sources (with particular emphasis on one of the first two criteria)
• Strong grasp of complex, successful organizations seeking transformational growth
• Career success in increasingly responsible fundraising roles including:
  • Management of professional staff;
  • Ability to implement multi-faceted fundraising campaigns; and
  • Management of boards.
• A talent for managing successfully in a collaborative culture while dealing with multiple stakeholders
• Outstanding organizational and communication skills

Special Considerations

• Compensation compares favorably to senior advancement positions in higher education
• Modest national and international travel is required for this position
• Facing History proudly values diversity and is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

Please email cover letter and resume in confidence to:

facinghistory@developmentguild.com
William M. Weber, Ed.D
President
Development Guild/DDI
233 Harvard Street, Suite 107
Brookline, MA 02446-5017

For more information about the Facing History and Ourselves, please visit facinghistory.org