The Opportunity:

As Development Manager, Europe, you will help secure the funding that allows Room to Read to meet its goal of promoting literacy around the world. You’ll accomplish this by cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors, partners, and prospects in Europe, with a focus on Switzerland. Using your exceptional relationship building and communication skills, you will engage with corporate and foundation partners, as well as individual donors, to build awareness of Room to Read’s goals and strengthen their commitment to our mission.

You will cooperate closely with the Development Director, EMEA, and the global development team to craft and execute fundraising strategies and manage donor events and activities across Europe. Additionally, you will lead, with the support of the EMEA Director, the Swiss Board strategy and communications, including four board meetings a year.

If you are based in Zurich and are dynamic, personable, results-oriented and self-motivated with a track record of delivering fundraising results in the non-profit sphere, we’d love to learn more about you.

What you’ll do:

• Build and manage relationships with donors and prospects, primarily corporate and foundation partners, as well as with high net worth individuals and recommend potential funding opportunities based on their interests.
• Manage a portfolio of 200+ donors and prospects in Europe with a value of US $1 – 2 million.
• Grow the corporate, foundation and individual prospect pipeline in Europe by identifying new fundraising opportunities.
• Serve as a thought partner who can craft strategies to deepen donors’ commitment to the organization and co-manage key relationships.
• Lead, with the support of the EMEA Director, the Swiss Board strategy and communications, including four board meetings a year.
• Develop the fundraising strategy for the annual gala and other awareness building events.
• Work together with Room to Read’s global development team to:
  • Prepare donor communication materials, including concept papers, proposals, reports, donor updates and mailings, and additional materials as needed
  • Develop and implement a mid-level and lower level giving strategy focused at engaging and upgrading gifts from individual donors
  • Oversee volunteer chapters in Europe, including in Zürich and Paris
• Conduct regional business planning, track and forecast income, and develop reports using specialized databases and other tools.
• Manage and mentor a part-time associate.

What you’ll bring:

• Bachelor’s degree and/or or at least three to five years of work experience in fundraising.
• Demonstrated ability to manage existing and cultivate new relationships with foundation, corporate and high net worth individual donors, and in securing five and six-figure donations.
• Persuasive and effective public speaking and presentation skills for in-person and virtual events, proposal pitches and cultivation meetings.
• Skilled at developing strategies to engage with and retain donors and increase long-term giving.
• Proven success at creating fundraising pipelines.
• Ability to conduct regional business planning, track and forecast income, and develop reports.
• Experience organizing and implementing high-level fundraising and awareness building events.
• 1 to 2 years’ experience managing others.
• Accomplished with preparing donor communication materials, including concept papers, proposals, reports, donor updates and mailings.
• Adept at using database systems such as Salesforce or fundraising CRMs.
• Native level (C2) verbal and written communication skills in English and German.
• Authorized to work in Switzerland.

We offer:

A competitive salary with excellent benefits.

Versatile and interesting work with excellent career growth potential.

Opportunity to travel to our global offices.

An innovative, meaningful, fun, and rapidly growing organization.

A chance to make an impact on changing the world through literacy and gender equality in education.

Application Procedure:

Please apply on our careers page at Careers - Room to Read. Applications accepted until the position is filled. Due to high applicant volume, we regret that we cannot personally respond to all applicants.