The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online supporters. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. For over two decades, the NRDC has worked in China as a thought leader and trusted adviser to our partners. With a highly effective team of more than 40 members based in our Beijing office, we have worked hard at both the national and local levels to support the development and implementation of innovative laws, policies, technologies, and market tools that curb pollution and accelerate China's transition to a clean, low-carbon economy. NRDC's Beijing Representative Office is registered in Beijing in accordance with applicable laws.
Position Summary
NRDC seeks an experienced fundraiser to manage donor relations for its China Program. Reporting to the Institutional Giving Team in the United States, with a dotted reporting line to the Country Director/Deputy Country Director, China Program, the Development Manager will be based in Beijing and responsible for providing Development support on China Program fundraising activities. He/she will coordinate between Beijing Representative Office (BRO) and Development, Finance, Office of General Counsel, SVP International and its Strategy, Planning & Operations (SPO) team, for grant/fundings tracking, database maintenance and related documentation. This position requires strong internal and donor coordination, as well as grant administration and stewardship.
Responsibilities
This position requires strong internal and donor coordination, as well as grant administration and stewardship. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.
Serves as the central point of coordination within BRO for the Development team and collaborates with Finance, the Office of General Counsel, the SVP, International and SPO team, ensuring seamless information flows among different departments.
Maintains a deep understanding of BRO's strategy, current work, strengths, fundraising needs, and NRDC processes, as well as the global funder landscape, philanthropic trends, and key internal and external fundraising stakeholders for environmental work in China.
Supports China Country Director's engagement with donors. This includes scheduling, preparation of donor stewardship talking points, briefing and background information, summarizing engagement takeaways in the form of call reports, and following up of action items in line with donor stewardship needs.
Identifies and supports engagement opportunities with existing and prospective donors for NRDC’s China Program, aligning fundraising efforts with the organization's programmatic priorities. Stays informed about philanthropic trends related to environmental work in China and maintains strong professional relationships with NGO peers.
Supports donor engagement with funders of NRDC's China Program, collaborating with relevant BRO teams to track formal and informal donor communications. Attends relevant internal and external meetings/events as appropriate.
Develops and maintains fundraising protocols and processes in collaboration with the Development team. This includes proposal and report development protocols, as well as database maintenance.
Supports program teams to develop concept notes and proposals consistent with NRDC's theory of change, approved program plans, and grant requirements. This entails coordination between teams, drafting relevant parts of proposals, consolidating drafts, ensuring impact is effectively conveyed, maintaining workflows to meet deadlines, as well as maintaining appropriate filing systems.
Supports grant stewardship activities to ensure timely grant agreement signing and reporting (technical and financial).
Stays up-to-date on evolving risks and follows guidelines to mitigate them for NRDC.
Acts as a fundraising resource for BRO staff, organizing fundraising training sessions as well as keeping staff informed on internal development best practices.
The above list of duties is not comprehensive but generally demonstrates the types of matters under this positions responsibility. Other duties may be assigned.
Qualifications
Minimum Education & Experience
Bachelor's degree required, master's degree preferred
7+ years' experience managing relationships with foundations, corporate philanthropy, and major-level donors
Knowledge of environmental issues and environmental funder landscape
Skills, Abilities, Competencies
Fully bilingual (Chinese-English) with proven English writing and oral skills
Demonstrated knowledge of fundraising best practices and ability to meet funder deliverables expectations
Familiarity with funder landscape and philanthropic markets supporting China program work
Superior writing and oral communication skills; ability to communicate effectively across different cultural contexts
Organizational skills; ability to prioritize and oversee multiple streams of work to meet overlapping deadlines
Detail-oriented with high standards of excellence
Ability to travel, approximately 10-20% annually
Commitment to NRDC's mission, values, and DEI principles
We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a supportive working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with skills and experience.
To apply, please visit www.nrdc.org/careers and upload your resume and cover letter through our online portal. We would like you to upload any additional papers or project work that you think would showcase your abilities. Due to the high volume of applications NRDC receives, we will only contact candidates we would like to progress through the search process. Please no phone calls, emails, faxes, or in-person resume drop-offs. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Applications will be accepted until filled. For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org and www.nrdc.cn.
