Manager, External Relations--National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has become the nation’s voice on mental illness, a national organization including NAMI organizations in every state and in over 1100 local communities across the country who join together to meet the NAMI mission through advocacy, research, support, and education.

We currently have an opening for a Manager, External Relations. The individual in this foundation and corporate fundraising position works with the Director, External Relations, to plan, coordinate, implement and successfully implement a highly successful foundation and corporate relations strategy. These efforts include foundation identification and proposal development, corporate sponsor identification and solicitation, grant writing, project management, and special events.

Location: NAMI Headquarters, Arlington, Virginia

Travel: 25-30%

Reports To: Director, External Relations

Essential Functions:

• Build and grow all aspects of organizations’ foundation fundraising. Identify appropriate foundations, build positive relationships, prepare and submit grant requests.

• Identify, cultivate and establish relationships with new corporate sponsors while nourishing existing ones. Solicit and close funding proposals with corporate sponsors.

• Lead grant writing efforts for foundation and corporate grants. Depending on project scope, write funding proposals independently or as part of a team from initiation through completion.

• Ensure that all corporate funding proposals and grants are presented to corporate partners in a timely manner, and follow up to make sure all information has been communicated.

• Coordinate and facilitate meetings at the NAMI office with senior staff to determine general and project funding needs.

• Travel to corporate offices of foundations and new and existing corporate sponsors to present on NAMI activities.

• Assist External Relations staff in coordinating corporate involvement in the Annual Corporate Partners Meeting, the Issues Exchange meeting, the NAMI Convention and the NAMI Gala Reception.

• Monitor the progress of foundation and corporate-sponsored projects within NAMI, serving as the liaison between the sponsoring organization and the department fulfilling the deliverables. Develop progress reports on a regular basis for corporate funders.



Minimum Qualifications:

• 3-5 years experience in foundation fundraising
• Ability to multi-task, meet deadlines under pressure and work independently
• Competence with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Collaborative style
• Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.

Desired Qualifications:

• 3-5 years in corporate fundraising
• Knowledge of mental health field
• Experience in sales

Education:

• B.A. or B.S., preferably in communications or business.

How to Apply:

Send cover letter, including salary history, and resume to:

jobs@nami.org

Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V