Description

National Speech & Debate Association (National Forensic League)

Campaign Director

The Organization

The National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) is the preeminent organization in the United States supporting speech and debate programs in k-12 education. We are guided by the belief that civil dialogue based on evidence-informed argumentation, active listening, and effective communication is critical to a healthy and prosperous society. This is true now more than ever. Speech and debate also have tremendous academic benefits. Multiple studies and thousands of alumni share that participation helped them improve grades and test scores and matriculate to college at higher levels.

Founded as a speech and debate honor society to provide national recognition for local participation, the NSDA now provides programs and services to connect, support, and inspire young people to reach their potential through speech and debate. The NSDA currently supports more than 120,000 students at over 3,000 schools by providing competitive standards and topics and essential training materials for teachers, students, and judges. These programs and services throughout the year support student paths towards National Tournament participation at the conclusion of the season.

As we enter our Centennial year, we are excited to work towards our goal of a speech and debate program in every high school in the country.

The Opportunity

The Campaign Director will lead our efforts to grow speech and debate by developing and leading a multi-year campaign to more than double the annual revenue the organization brings in, from six million to more than twelve million dollars a year. This campaign will likely resemble a political fundraising campaign- cultivating large groups of alumni to support our expansion, using bundlers to help us reach our goals, and engaging in major donor fundraising with high-net-worth donors. The Director will develop the strategy and all materials needed to support it, create and manage the campaign committee and all fundraisers associated with the campaign, and steward all donors of the campaign.

The National Speech & Debate Association is committed to modeling and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for all speech and debate communities. 

The Campaign Director will report to the Chief Development Officer.

Key Responsibilities

Campaign Strategy

• Creates the campaign strategy in collaboration with the Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, Chief Development Officer, and others as needed.
• Creates a campaign committee and works with the Chief Development Officer and other leadership to recruit its members.

Campaign Execution

• Manages all aspects of implementing the campaign, including but not limited to designing and requesting campaign materials, directly soliciting donors for the campaign, and planning and executing campaign events.
• Manages, supports, trains, and stewards the campaign committee and all significant bundlers and funders of the campaign.
• Establishes and builds relationships with a wide range of speech and debate supporters including alumni at the local, regional, national, and international level.

Organizational Collaboration

• Collaborates closely with development colleagues to increase support from existing supporters; communicates development-related activities via written contact reports.
• Participates in the development of departmental progress on strategic objectives and metrics.

Requirements

Basic Requirements

• Commitment to the importance of civil discourse and training all youth to reach their full potential.
• Five or more years experience successfully running campaigns in the political or non-profit fields
• Demonstrated ability to meet financial goals for campaign fundraising, with a proven track record of cultivating and securing five-figure gifts and above
• Must possess strong written, oral, and presentation skills, and have experience in developing clear and concise campaign materials
• Good with people/ strong ability to persuade. 
• Proven skills and success in project management.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, writing, and organizational skills.
• High professional and ethical standards for handling confidential information.
• Ability to work well as part of a team.
• Ability to be both strategic and work hands-on.
• Willingness to travel nationally (20-40%).
• Based in the USA

Preferred Requirements

• Familiarity and/or experience with speech and debate activities preferred.
• Familiarity using and managing subscription-based email services and constituent databases.
• Experience working with and incorporating the perspectives of individuals from multiple varied communities. 

Pay and Benefits

Salary: $100,000 - $140,000
Competitive compensation and benefits package including high-quality health and dental insurance, 20 days of paid time off, and access to an employer-matched retirement plan. This is a full-time exempt position. 

To Apply for this opportunity, please submit your resume and cover letter via Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4082881713

Or by email to Nicole.Wanzer-Serrano@speechanddebate.org