Client Manager

Spark Point Fundraising is seeking a Client Manager to support our work with progressive nonprofit clients fighting to end poverty, healthcare inequity, systemic racism, and more. Client Managers lead client projects; provide strategic guidance to clients on foundation and corporate relations, donor cultivation, events, and other development strategies; manage the work of team members within project teams; and provide direct support to clients in funder meetings, as appropriate. The ideal candidate is someone who thrives in a fast-paced working environment and who embodies the values of kindness, compassion, and equity. Strong candidates will also have 3+ years of experience in a full-time development or agency position. We encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply for this role.

Job Responsibilities

The role of Client Manager has three core job responsibilities: grant writing, client management, and staff supervision.

1. Client Management (60%) - A Client Manager is expected to build and maintain strong, supportive, and responsive relationships with clients that make them feel like Spark Point is an indispensable part of their team. The person in this role will bring deep knowledge of fundraising, including grant writing, foundation and corporate relations, donor cultivation, and overall fundraising strategy. They will leverage this knowledge to support our work with clients. A Client Manager is expected to provide strategic guidance and education to clients AND to set high standards for quality, all while managing expectations within our scope of work. This includes:
   1. Managing project teams for their assigned clients
   2. Providing support to staff through editing and mentorship; empowering them to achieve project goals
   3. Preparing for and facilitating biweekly client meetings, in coordination with their client teams
   4. Conducting prospect research as-needed to support client revenue goals
   5. Supporting clients with ongoing project management to keep strategy moving, track deadlines, and advance fundraising efforts.
   6. Coaching clients and their board members to strengthen their fundraising acumen while serving as a thought and accountability partner.
   7. Coordinating with leadership to manage workflow across all client teams, ensuring that all team members have a reasonable amount of work on their plates.
   8. Coordinating with the Operations Team to support and improve client engagement and use of our systems, tools, and processes
2. Service Delivery (35%) - A Client Manager is a fundraising generalist, able to craft fundraising plans; provide strategic guidance for donor cultivation across a variety of sources; and produce well written, story-focused, compelling grant proposals and reports for various nonprofit clients with minimal supervision. A Client Manager should have a firm grasp of their abilities and the quality of their work, and should be able to manage up or across (to nonprofit clients) to proactively seek feedback where needed. This includes:
   1. The ability to assess a client's fundraising efforts and recommend the most effective tactics to maximize funding success.
   2. Leading the development of high-quality grant proposals and reports for complex clients and/or projects
   3. Leading the design of a comprehensive annual fundraising strategy and coordinating implementation plan.
   4. Crafting individual giving cultivation & stewardship plans and coaching the client through each step of the process.
   5. Outlining institutional funding strategies for clients including grants and corporate giving.
   6. Creating customized annual calendars and communications plans.
   7. Leading clients through a process that results in a compelling case for support.
   8. Developing audience-specific talking points in support of the fundraising strategy.
   9. Coordinating with multiple stakeholders to proactively seek input where needed
   10. Managing the editing/revision timeline for complex writing projects
   11. Providing editing support to junior writers
   12. Adhering to Spark Point's grant writing protocols and general writing standards, and supporting the development of new standards as needs arise

• Other duties as assigned (5%) As a small, dynamic, and growing team, our needs can often change quickly. Client Managers, as leaders within the team, are expected to contribute to internal company initiatives and projects as-needed.

Required Skills and Experience

A Spark Point Fundraising Client Manager is someone who: 1) is self-motivated and driven by a desire for excellence, 2) has the confidence and knowledge to ask the right questions and show up strong in client meetings, 3) has the skills and experience to manage up and across to internal and external stakeholders, 4) can set expectations and manage project timelines to meet and beat all deadlines, 5) is a highly organized and effective communicator, 6) is able to manage, support, and empower team members to do their best work, with a lens of compassion and kindness, and 7) is an excellent writer, keen editor, enthusiastic researcher, and skilled strategist. And, let's face it, you're going to need a sense of humor, too.

• Nonprofit Sector - The person in this position will ideally have 3+ years of experience with fundraising for nonprofits, including designing and implementing comprehensive fundraising strategies that include securing grants and corporate sponsorships, planning and executing events, major gifts, and annual giving.
• Grant Writing - Ideally, the person in this position has managed the development of at least 12 successful grant proposals in the past 12 months, or comparable previous experience. This position conducts, supervises, and supports a significant volume of grant proposal and report writing, so to be successful the person in this position has to both be good at and enjoy grant writing.
• Client Relations - The person in this position must understand and follow the basic tenets of client relationship management and professional services delivery. Experience coordinating with internal and external partners is a plus.
• Communication - The person in this position must be able to effectively (meaning without ambiguity or animosity) communicate with colleagues, clients, and others in a direct and respectful manner and must prioritize direct communication as the most effective means of conveying meaning. In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say.
• Creative Problem Solving - Being a client-facing service provider, the person in this position must be able to offer creative and helpful solutions to problems with the ultimate goal of achieving the highest possible level of client satisfaction.
• Ingenuity - The person in this position must have experience with creating, designing, or otherwise coming up with a new idea, creating a plan for executing on the idea, and completing the execution of said plan.
• A Commitment to Ending Racism - Our commitment to equity is not superficial. Spark Point Fundraising, like many organizations, is on a journey to eliminate racism and White supremacy from its operations. If this resonates with you then you are a good fit for this position.