Development and Communications Senior Associate - Milwaukee, WI

Development and Communications Senior Associate (Grant Writer) · WISCONSIN COMMUNITY SERVICES INC. · Combine your leadership and research skills with your exceptional ability to write, edit, proofread, fundraise, and communicate. These skills will aid your contribution to a 114-y ...

Job description

Development and Communications Senior Associate (Grant Writer)

WISCONSIN COMMUNITY SERVICES INC.

Combine your leadership and research skills with your exceptional ability to write, edit, proofread, fundraise, and communicate. These skills will aid your contribution to a 114-year-old nonprofit, human service organization. As a senior member of an established development and communication team, join us in our collaboration with human service administrators to:

• Conceptualize and develop high level, complex proposals
• Develop and write agreed upon funding proposals and applications to government entities (federal, state, county and city), foundations, United Way and other funding sources.
• Perform needed research for funding proposals and applications
• Assist in donor identification, cultivation, and recognition
• Many special and varied writing assignments
• Solicit donations, advertising, and in-kind goods/services to promote WCS programs and special events.

As a Development and Communications Senior Associate, you will work closely with the Director of Development and Communication to implement our organization's development plan and fund-raising activities. You will work on special writing projects with senior level leaders, providing your creative input, product development, and clerical support. Your belief in our mission to "provide innovative opportunities for individuals to overcome adversity" will assist you in cultivating local media relationships to publicly "tell the WCS story".

Your Bachelor's – Master's level studies in communication, public policy, social welfare or related field, your five to ten years of expertise with proposal/grant writing and institutional donors, and your knowledge of fundraising and research techniques, fundraising strategies and informational sources will contribute to your success in this role. We also need your experience using computer programs such as Microsoft 365 (Word, Outlook, Excel etc.); databases; design/ presentation software; and event software.

Salary is commensurate with education and experience: $70,000 - $80,000

Position Summary: Provides leadership and support in the areas of grant writing, program planning, and program development; writing and timely submission of funding proposals and writing of other significant documents; provides key support of social media presence for agency; provides project leadership in all areas of development and communication including data collection, publications, marketing, and reporting to funders, as needed.

Essential Functions:

• Conceptualize and develop high level, complex proposals and submits them in a timely manner.
• Develop and write agreed upon funding proposals and applications to government entities (federal, state, county and city), foundations, United Way and other funding sources. Provides leadership to large grant proposals, as assigned.
• Use strong writing, proofreading, and editing skills to complete all assigned writing projects and to edit the work of others in the department and agency.
• Works in conjunction with the Director of Development and Communication in implementing the agency's development plan and fundraising activities including creative input, product development, and clerical support.
• Has knowledge of and supports ongoing expansion and updating of electronic and social media presences.
• Takes leadership in coordinating with VPs, Administrators, and Program Directors in searching for grants and other appropriate funding mechanisms and opportunities for developing new programs and services or supporting existing ones.
• Provides leadership and support in donor identification, cultivation, and recognition, develops and strengthens foundation and corporate relationships, maintains interagency contacts, provides a presence on relevant committees in coordination with director. Solicits donations, advertising, and in-kind goods/services to promote WCS programs and special events.
• Takes ownership of assigned projects related to agency Public Relations and Capital Campaigns.
• Collects, writes, and archives success stories to be available for the development department and broader agency use
• Contributes articles and stories to bimonthly external/internal WCS newsletter, annual report and other publications
• Takes leadership of special writing projects with members of the WCS Executive Team and other Senior Leadership staff.
• Takes ownership of creating writing templates for specific uses including standard agency resource pieces and items for proposals.
• In partnership with the Director and other department staff, takes ownership in developing relationships with the media and securing ongoing coverage of WCS work.
• Prepares Media and Press releases for review by the Director of Development and Communication and the WCS Executive Team and distributes them to the appropriate media channels.

Minimal Qualifications:

• Requires a Bachelor's degree in communication, public policy, social welfare or related field. Master's degree preferred.
• Five to ten years related experience in proposal writing and/or fund development for human services organization.
• Prior development experience that includes knowledge of fundraising and research techniques, fundraising strategies and informational sources required.
• Experience with proposal/grant writing and institutional donors preferred.
• Must have experience using computer databases, software programs (Word, Outlook, Excel) and making electronic funding submissions.

Other Duties and Responsibilities:

• Gathers agency statistics and external data related to the areas in which we work such as the justice system, community reintegration, behavioral health, peer support and others
• Contributes to the maintenance of a central agency filing system for currently funded programming and projects.
• Participates in public relations strategizing.
• Regularly updates records of submitted proposals and applications; continually updates results as they become known.
• Provides leadership in the preparation of presentations and is available to speak and deliver presentations on behalf of the agency.
• Attend conferences, community meetings and community building events to represent the agency as requested.
• Take ownership in supervising interns placed in the Development and Communication Department