Senior Director, Client Services
About the Role
The Senior Director, Client Services serves as a leader at Aperio, with responsibility for creating a sustainable pipeline of partnerships and delivering on promises to clients. In collaboration with Aperio’s senior leadership team, the Senior Director optimizes the impact, health, vibrancy, and sustainability of Aperio’s client services through the full development of our team’s talent and potential. Day-to-day, the Senior Director spends the majority of their time on direct client services, leading partnerships, contributing to work products, and guiding account teams. In addition, the Senior Director serves as a leader and mentor to staff through the formal mentorship program and informal interactions. The Senior Director manages a portfolio of relationships with prospective partners, serves as the face of Aperio externally, and proactively cultivates a personal thought-leadership role in our community and industry. The Senior Director advances and operationalizes our core values and models an open, growth-orientation every day.
Client services responsibilities (75%)
The Senior Director contributes to a range of client projects in advisory, project lead, or account team member roles. At any given time, the Senior Director works on a portfolio of 5-10 active clients in one of these roles. When serving as an ‘Advisor’ on the account team, the Senior Director is responsible for leading an account team to success in exceeding client expectations, growing partnerships, and developing Aperio talent; the Senior Director provides strategic direction, day-to-day guidance, and ‘apprenticeship’ opportunities to account team. When serving in other capacities on an account team, the Senior Director brings the highest quality of service in fulfillment of client deliverables, in close collaboration with other staff and partners. Throughout all client work, the Senior Director will:
Adopt a client-centric approach and provide each client with an exceptional experience
Continually seek to understand the client’s end goals, business models, and definition of success for the partnership
Create strategies for the account team to deliver on promises to clients, using all available resources, aligning with Aperio’s model and methodologies, and investing time/energy to highest and best use
Foster alignment and collaboration among the account team
Optimize partnership impact and relationship quality, thinking and working beyond the current scope of work to future opportunities
Optimize project efficiency and profitability
Leverage each client project to develop Aperio’s talent by providing shadowing, coaching, and other learning opportunities and providing clear, real-time feedback
Leverage each client project to build the capacity of the company by enhancing, templatizing, and cross-pollinating resources in collaboration with Strategic Services
Establish clear roles and responsibilities for account team members
Meet with account teams regularly in accordance with Aperio’s governance model
Direct staff to samples, tools, templates, training, coaching and other resources available through Strategic Services, peers, and other account teams
Support staff in removing barriers and resolving conflicts
Lead or participate in leadership- and board-level meetings
Lead or participate in strategic and major capacity-building work sessions
Serve as the strategic partner for the client’s senior leadership
Contribute strategies for revenue growth and complex initiatives
Review and contribute to major deliverables to align with client needs and expectations
Ensure that external subject-matter experts and partners are used to highest and best use
Leadership & mentorship (10%)
The Senior Director serves as a leader and resource to the staff, providing both formal and informal mentorship that enhances the professional development and optimization of each team member. Additionally, the Senior Director leads and implements capacity-building projects to support the growth and efficiency of the organization.
Lead a cohort of 5-7 mentees as a mentor in Aperio’s formal staff mentorship program
Facilitate regular gatherings and conversations among cohort members (as outlined in the mentorship program governance model) to contribute to a welcoming, supportive environment where staff can growth and thrive
Lead implementation of select strategic/capacity-building projects, such as developing a ‘focus area’, developing service delivery methodologies, and/or defining ‘playbooks’
Proactively identify capacity-building opportunities and collaborate with other members of the Aperio team to advance them
Leverage project-management best practices to advance special initiatives and projects
Contribute to Aperio’s efforts to fight racism and discrimination, especially in nonprofits, fundraising, and philanthropy
Provide feedback openly, constructively, and regularly
Receive feedback openly, constructively, and regularly
Business development (15%)
The Senior Director proactively and actively contributes to company growth strategies. As the face of Aperio in the community, the Senior Director will:
Personally build and engage a portfolio of 50-100 strategic relationships, sourced from personal networks and cold outreach
Manage extension, upgrade, and referral conversations with current clients, optimizing opportunities for partnership growth
Participate in and/or lead new partnership conversations
Represent Aperio leadership during proposals presentations, as requested
Build a personal brand as a thought leader in the nonprofit and fundraising community, proactively seeking opportunities to present and participate in conferences, workshops, and webinars hosted by Aperio and other industry groups
Create articles and videos that educate, equip, and inspire nonprofit leaders and fundraisers
Promote and engage with Aperio content across social media channels
Qualifications
10+ years’ experience in relationship-based fundraising (major gifts, foundations, or corporate partnerships), including 5+ years’ experience focusing full-time on generating philanthropic revenue from a portfolio of individuals, foundations, and/or companies
Demonstrated ability to lead, manage, develop, and grow large and complex teams
Diverse nonprofit experience—including experience in organizations with $50 million+ in annual revenue—preferred
Demonstrated ability to efficiently manage a portfolio of relationships and grow revenue from that portfolio year-over-year
Experience soliciting $100,000+ gifts
Experience managing complex projects to successful completion
Outstanding organizational and time-management skills and ability
Ability to inspire and hold accountable diverse internal and external stakeholders
Experience partnering with volunteer and staff leadership on donor relationships and/or projects
Ability to analyze and interpret data and apply insights to strategy
Demonstrated ability to leverage metrics to improve the donor experience and fundraiser performance
Superb relationship management, interpersonal, and communication (written and oral) skills
Strong storytelling and public speaking skills
Strong understanding of technology systems pertinent to major gifts (Salesforce and Raiser’s Edge a plus)
Openness to the ever-changing, dynamic environment of a start-up company
Eagerness to learn new knowledge and skills
Ability to travel for assignments, as needed, up to 50% of time
Location
Currently, this role combines remote work-from-home and frequent travel to spent time onsite with clients and meet with Aperio team members.
To facilitate work-from-home, Aperio provides essential technology equipment and a monthly mobile phone reimbursement of $75 per month.
Compensation
Aperio is pleased to offer competitive compensation and benefits, as well as accelerated career development opportunities.
Base compensation for this role is $120,000 - $135,000 commensurate with experience in executive leadership, business development, and portfolio-focused, relationship-based fundraising. Bonus and promotion opportunities available.
Benefits include:
Paid time off (PTO) starting at 4 weeks per year, which includes 10 days of sick time and 10 days of vacation time
10-18 holidays per year, including closure over the year-end holidays
Summer Fridays observed between the Friday before Memorial Day and the Friday before Labor Day
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401K with a nonelective company contribution of 3% of your compensation, regardless of whether you make employee contributions
