Job Opportunities at NCLR

The National Center for Lesbian rights is currently looking to fill the following positions. Please send this page to any friend or colleague who may be a good candidate for any of our available opportunities.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is an equal employment opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women, people of color, LGBT persons, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

job opportunities | director of development

The National Center for Lesbian Rights seeks a highly skilled, enthusiastic, articulate, and motivated Director of Development to be based in its national office in San Francisco.

About the National Center for Lesbian Rights

NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding nearly 36 years ago, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has asserted bold and strategic national leadership at critical moments in the struggle to win marriage and family rights, expand immigration and asylum efforts, support youth safety, create and promote a positive sports culture, as well as work on elder law and transgender law.

Principal Responsibilities

The Director of Development provides the leadership, strategic direction, management, and coordination for expanding NCLR's fundraising efforts.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Development creates and implements fundraising strategies that increase the organization's support from individuals, corporations and foundations, and other sources, with a special emphasis on developing individual donors. The Director of Development also plays a key role in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major donors for annual and planned gifts and works in close collaboration with other senior managers and key volunteer leadership.

The Director manages a dedicated and professional development department, currently made up of five full and part-time staff. As well, this position oversees the contracts of various vendors that provide services in the areas of grant writing and reporting, direct mail, events planning, and marketing.

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Serve as a member of NCLR's senior management team.
• Perform general management responsibilities, including annual plans, budgets, reports, and evaluation of fundraising activities.
• Work closely with the Executive Director and other senior managers to assist with long-range planning.
• Work closely with the board of directors and other volunteer leadership bodies to engage and assist them in fulfilling their fundraising responsibilities.
• Coordinate development activities with other facets of the organization, particularly Communications and Finance.
• Prepare annual fundraising goals and plans in collaboration with the Executive Director.
• Maintain, evaluate, and create protocols and systems to support all development activities and operations, including donor and gift record-keeping; databases, records, and files; and gift processing and acknowledgement.
• Oversee design production and distribution of all development materials.
• Supervise and review copywriting for fundraising letters, online fundraising campaigns, and other collateral materials to promote fundraising. Assure that letters and emails are targeted to their audience and reflect the branding goals of the agency.
• Maintain a proactive, creative leadership role in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of individual, foundation, and corporate contributions; cultivate and directly solicit key donors, working with the Executive Director and key volunteers as appropriate.
• Supervise all grant writing, research, and reporting to funders.
• Prepare monthly development reports for the Board of Directors.
• Contribute to the development and oversight of organizational and program budgets.
• Develop and maintain close working relationships with the philanthropic community, individual and corporate donors and sponsors, board members, volunteer committees, and other NCLR departments; serve as a visible spokesperson and advocate for NCLR's mission and programs in the funding community.
• Manage the development department in a fiscally sound manner; hire, supervise, motivate, and train staff when necessary; ensure that appropriate systems and procedures are in place to support NCLR's future fundraising goals; identify and develop professional growth opportunities for the development staff.
• Maintain a healthy sense of humor.

Professional Experience

• At least five years of proven experience managing a complex fundraising program in a sophisticated organization with a reputation for quality and excellence, with extensive major gifts expertise.
• A successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating, and soliciting individual donors, corporations, and foundations for support experience with LGBT constituencies is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience in managing people and budgets; ability to work in a hands-on environment with limited resources.
• A record of measurable results in organizing and implementing such activities as: major gifts, online fundraising campaigns, annual funds, corporate and foundation giving, direct mail, planned giving, and special events.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various constituencies, including board and staff members, donors, foundation and civic leaders; experience recruiting and organizing volunteers.
• Track record as an effective communicator; highly skilled in writing and speaking; adept at crafting proposals, donor correspondence, and other kinds of materials; the ability to communicate NCLR's mission and interests to a broad audience.
• A knowledge and understanding of the national funding environment.
• Experience and skills with online fundraising and social media.
• Computer literacy; must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, and Microsoft Excel. Knowledge of Raiser's Edge and Salsa is desirable.

Personal Qualities

• Commitment to NCLR's mission and programs with knowledge of LGBT communities and issues.
• A strategist who is adept at planning, prioritizing, organizing, and following through; highly energetic and able to balance multiple competing priorities.
• Highly entrepreneurial; resourceful, and flexible, with the ability to anticipate and act on events and opportunities which advance NCLR locally, regionally, and nationally.
• A team builder with strong skills in management and leadership; must understand the subtleties of motivating and directing a diverse group of personalities.
• A catalyst with vision who can create excitement and energy around NCLR's programs and encourage others to support the organization; persuasive, persistent, and determined in the pursuit of the organization's fundraising goals.
• Straightforward and self-possessed; one who shares information readily, listens as well as gives advice and respects the abilities of others; diplomatic.
• Energetic and willing to work hands-on in developing and executing a variety of fundraising activities ranging from the day-to-day to the highly creative and visible.
• Willingness to travel and to work long hours as necessary.

Salary and Benefits

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience within the guidelines of NCLR's scale. Excellent employer paid benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage for staff members and their dependents and domestic partners; life insurance; long-term and short-term disability; pension, including 403(b); vacation; and medical, dependent, and parking flex spending.

Application Process

Email your resumé with a letter of interest to Kate Kendell at KKendell@NCLRights.org. Please include “Director of Development Search” in the subject line of your email.

All applications are reviewed and acted upon as they are received. The position will be filled as soon as the appropriate candidate is found. It is therefore recommended that you submit your materials as promptly as possible.

No telephone calls please.

NCLR is proud to be an affirmative action employer. All interested individuals, including people of color, women, persons with disabilities, and persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or intersex are particularly urged to apply.

job opportunities | state legislative director

The National Center for Lesbian Rights seeks a highly skilled, enthusiastic, articulate, and motivated State Legislative Director based at its regional office located in Washington, D.C. This position reports to the Legal Director and will be the lead attorney on NCLR’s state policy work.

About the National Center for Lesbian Rights

NCLR is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education. Since its founding nearly 35 years ago, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has asserted bold and strategic national leadership at critical moments in the struggle to win marriage and family rights, expand immigration and asylum efforts, support youth safety, create and promote a positive sports culture, as well as work on elder law and transgender law.

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Working with key state partners, identify legislative and policy opportunities and develop a strategy to win greater protections for LGBT people in underserved states
• Perform legal research and writing to analyze and advocate for proposed policy/legislative changes at the state level
• In partnership with state and local organizations and allies, draft and analyze legislative/policy language
• Work with state and local legislatures and policymakers to advance key priorities through LGBT-inclusive state and local legislation and policy proposals
• Prepare testimony and other materials and appear before state and local legislatures to provide support for LGBT-inclusive legislation
• Work closely with the Federal Policy Director to ensure that federal policy changes are effectively implemented at the state level and state policymakers and officials are trained on how to best comply with federal policy changes
• Take the lead in convening various coalitions and developing affirmative project proposals to advance LGBT-inclusive policies at the state and local level
• Develop and manage relationships with key players on these issues including state legislators and policymakers
• Represent NCLR in front of a wide range of audiences about key state and local legislative developments and policy issues through conferences, workshops, trainings and other public speaking engagements across the country
• Maintain docket of all state policy and legislative work being done by NCLR
• Track LGBT-related priority state and local legislation, ensure that NCLR’s state legislation webpage is up-to-date, and ensure that timely and accurate action alerts are sent
• Work closely with NCLR’s Communications staff to develop communications for e-advocacy campaigns and assist with the preparation of press releases, statements and other media materials related to key initiatives

Qualifications

• Law degree and a minimum five years of relevant experience, including significant legislative analysis or drafting experience
• Excellent research, writing, verbal and interpersonal skills
• Willingness to travel and work late hours as required
• A demonstrated awareness and commitment to a broad range of social and racial justice issues and an understanding of the multiple communities NCLR represents
• Ability to manage a diverse portfolio of competing priorities
• Ability to take initiative and work with high level of independence, creativity, and good judgment
• Ability to interact with all levels of staff in a small and friendly office environment where each employee assumes multiple responsibilities
• Proven ability to work collaboratively both within an organization and with a range of outside groups
• Enthusiasm for all aspects of the work of NCLR’s state and federal work, and for understanding how
• NCLR’s litigation interplays with the policy work
• Ability to maintain good sense of humor in high stress environment

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience within the guidelines of NCLR's scale. Excellent employer paid benefits include medical, dental, and vision coverage for staff members and their dependents and domestic partners; life insurance; long-term and short-term disability; pension, including 403(b); vacation; and medical, dependent, and parking flex spending.

Application Process

Email your resumé with a letter of interest to Maya Rupert at mrupert@nclrights.org. Please include “State Legislative Director” in the subject line of your email. No telephone calls please.

NCLR is proud to be an affirmative action employer. All interested individuals, including people of color, women, persons with disabilities, and persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or intersex are particularly urged to apply.