PURPOSE
CATALYZING COLLABORATION FOR GREAT COMMISSION BREAKTHROUGHS
visionSynergy exists for the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We desire to see the global Church working together in unity to release the transforming power of the Gospel among all peoples. Our mission is to accelerate the Great Commission by developing and strengthening strategic ministry networks in high-priority areas of world mission.
The core of our work is providing leadership coaching and advisory services for numerous multilateral networks of Christian mission organizations. We act as a catalyst, coach, and consultant – encouraging the leaders of these groups to accomplish together what they could never do alone as they seek to advance the Gospel in every part of the world where Christ is not yet known. In addition to our coaching and advisory services, we provide a variety of tools and training to equip leaders within the specific networks we serve as well as the broader Christian community. As a global advocate for collaboration, we encourage Christian leaders everywhere to adopt a partnership approach to ministry in their own contexts.
ABOUT
visionSynergy
visionSynergy plays a unique role in the worldwide Christian movement as a mission service organization specifically dedicated to advancing ministry collaboration.
visionSynergy empowers Christian leaders and their ministry organizations to work together for maximum impact by developing and strengthening collaborative initiatives in high-priority areas of world mission.
The core of our work is providing leadership coaching and advisory services for numerous multilateral networks of Christian mission organizations. We act as a catalyst, coach, and consultant – encouraging the leaders of these groups to accomplish together what they could never do alone as they seek to advance the Gospel in every part of the world where Christ is not yet known. In addition to our coaching and advisory services, we provide a variety of tools and training to equip leaders within the specific networks we serve as well as the broader Christian community. As a global advocate for collaboration, we encourage Christian leaders everywhere to adopt a partnership approach to ministry in their own contexts. We have worked with mission leaders to launch, facilitate, and advise more than a hundred large-scale global, regional, and local mission networks. These networks have collectively involved thousands of churches, ministries, and mission organizations focused on a wide variety of mission fields and initiatives. Over many years, we have earned a strong reputation as a trusted neutral broker - connecting people, strategies, and resources to empower effective collaboration.
visionSynergy is a small team of about 20 full-time and part-time people with a wide range of skills and experiences. We are a distributed team located across six countries and seven U.S. states. With an operating budget of about $1.8M we are supported by a generous group of financial investors who understand the leveraged power of collaboration. The majority of our funding comes through major grants from Christian foundations, family offices, and other high-capacity individual donors. visionSynergy is a healthy organization with strong supporters, a proven track record, and an engaged and energetic board of directors who provide oversight and strategic direction for the ministry.
DISTINCTIVES
“Who knows whether you have not attained this position for such a time as this?“ Esther 4:13
Founded in 2003 by Phill Butler, a pioneer of field-based mission partnerships, visionSynergy plays a unique role in the worldwide Christian movement as one of the few mission service organizations specifically dedicated to advancing ministry collaboration. visionSynergy has earned a strong reputation as a trusted neutral broker - connecting people, strategies, and resources to empower effective collaboration.
visionSynergy has worked with mission leaders to launch, facilitate, and advise dozens of global, regional, and local mission networks which have collectively involved thousands of churches, ministries, and mission organizations focused on a wide variety of mission fields and initiatives. Our priorities are on training and coaching Majority World leaders to form and facilitate new mission networks - especially at the local level - among the most unreached peoples and places of the world. Since our formation, visionSynergy has served as a primary advisor to dozens of international networks involving thousands of organizations.
In 2011, Kärin Butler Primuth became CEO of visionSynergy, succeeding her father and visionSynergy’s founder. Under Kärin’s leadership, visionSynergy has become a distributed organization of nearly twenty full-time and part-time team members currently located in six countries and seven U.S. states. We are a collegial team with a wide range of skills and experiences and who have lived, worked, and traveled in numerous countries.
With an operating budget of around $1.8M, visionSynergy is supported by a generous group of financial investors who understand the strategic value and leveraged power of collaboration. The majority of our funding comes through major gifts from Christian foundations, family offices, and other high-capacity individual donors.
visionSynergy is a healthy organization with strong supporters, a proven track record, and an engaged and energetic board of directors who provide oversight and strategic direction for the ministry.
PRIORITIES
The basis of our work is not just theory or theology. Over several decades, members of our team have formed, facilitated, or advised numerous multilateral and multinational networks which have achieved major breakthroughs in their various areas of ministry. We know from experience that God’s people can actually work together in tangible ways to make real and lasting changes in the world.
Our priorities are focused on critical areas in world mission where ministry collaboration is essential to achieving real breakthroughs. These are areas where the situations are too complex, where the challenges are too big, and where the resources required are simply too great for any one organization.
We believe that Great Commission breakthroughs can only be achieved through greater collaboration. And this can only be facilitated by effective networks that empower genuine partnering efforts.
Effective networks depend on effective leaders, which is why our work is focused on coaching, training, equipping, and connecting ministry leaders with a vision for collaboration.
We accomplish this through three primary strategies:
DEVELOPING networks: We advise the leadership of operational networks toward greater effectiveness by providing evaluation and strategic consultation, access to resources for ongoing learning, connections to other networks, and assistance in sustainable financial development.
EQUIPPING and CONNECTING network leaders: We identify, equip, and connect network leaders for shared learning through training and coaching programs, workshops and online learning communities, and regional and global conferences.
ADVOCATING for collaboration: We present keynotes, publish articles, and conduct workshops encouraging Christian leaders everywhere to take a collaborative approach to ministry that unites the Body of Christ to accomplish together what cannot be achieved alone.
PROGRAMS
visionSynergy is committed to equipping the leaders of the networks we serve – as well as the broader Christian community – through focused training, practical resources, and strategic consultations emphasizing the best practices of ministry collaboration. We want to help leaders get a firm grasp on the key principles and specific skill-sets for building collaborative initiatives that can have a significant impact on the world.
Our efforts are currently focused in several programmatic areas:
The Synergy Catalyst Program: A 2-year training and coaching experience, primarily focused on Majority World leaders, to equip them to launch new mission networks. We are currently piloting our 4th cohort of leaders. The first cohort successfully launched dozens of new local mission networks leading to four new Gospel movements among unreached peoples in North India.
The Synergy Commons: A global online learning community, currently at about 1,500 members from more than 100 countries representing more than 70 networks. The Commons provides a resource library, online training (courses/webinars), and topical discussion groups.
The Synergy Summit: Conferences for network leaders including a biennial global Summit and independently organized national and local Summits.
Presentations and Publications: Various keynotes and workshops presented at gatherings of Christian leaders as opportunity provides as well as contributed articles and other printed resources published on the Commons and through other channels.
Advisory Engagements with Operating Networks: Multiple short term engagements to consult with the leadership teams of existing networks on operational issues and broker connections with other networks.
It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known. Romans 15:20
POSITION PROFILE
Director of Donor Communications
Reports to: CEO
Direct Reports: External vendors and 1-3 contractors for creative production and administrative support
Time/Location/Travel:
- Full time position
- Remote
- Domestic/International travel (10%)
BENEFITS
- 401(k) retirement match (5%)
- Generous PTO (up to 20 days vacation, 10 holidays, etc.)
- QSEHRA healthcare reimbursement plan
- Flexible hours
- Home office stipend
- Professional development stipend
POSITION OVERVIEW
The Director of Donor Communications creates and implements comprehensive communications strategies across a variety of channels to strengthen existing donor relationships, engage prospective donors, and expand our organization’s advocacy and program reach. There is considerable freedom for the right candidate to shape this role around their strengths and to build out the communications function within our organization. We are a lean organization and do not hire for pure managerial roles. Every individual in our organization exercises leadership in their areas of responsibility and engages collaboratively with others to accomplish our mutual goals. We are seeking a candidate for this role who has a high level of individual initiative and a drive to build systems and processes for continual improvement. We want an entrepreneurially-minded person who will bring a combination of strategic thinking along with the willingness and skill to roll up their sleeves as an individual producer. Our organization is a unique ministry with a unique role in the worldwide Christian movement. For nearly 20 years we have been supported by a growing base of high-capacity individual donors, family offices, and foundations who believe in the leveraged power of mission networks to advance the Great Commission. We want someone in this communications position who is excited about telling our story to educate and engage a new generation of major donors who will partner with us for long-term sustainability as we expand our ministry capacity in multiple countries.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Donor Communications (60%)
- Work alongside the CEO to develop, lead, and implement comprehensive donor-focused communications strategies and initiatives to cogently articulate and promote the organization’s unique role, value, and impact
- Proactively investigate trends and opportunities in donor communication strategies and determine how those could impact the organization’s fundraising
- Implement creative fundraising campaigns and appeals through email, direct mail, website, and social media channels
- Develop an annual communications plan and calendar, ensuring financial development and communications activities are aligned
- Develop and manage communications processes with regular touchpoints to retain and engage existing donors and inspire them to increase their support over time
- Develop clear and compelling content for grant proposals, letters of inquiry, major gift requests, and donor reports
- Manage and develop content for email newsletters, campaigns, and autoresponders; maintain contact and subscriber lists; track and report analytics across campaigns and subscribers
- Provide the Board of Directors and other fundraisers with collateral to support fundraising efforts
- Organize and manage small event gatherings for donors and prospects
Organizational Communications (30%)
- Manage all aspects of the organization’s brand, positioning, messaging, and visual identity, ensuring consistency across all communications channels
- Develop compelling visual- and story-based content showing both qualitative and quantitative impact for grants, social media, print publications, presentations, and other digital communications
- Produce executive keynote presentations and ghostwrite contributed articles and organizational communications on behalf of and in the voice of the CEO
- Manage the design, development, content, analytics, and ongoing maintenance of our organizational site (visionsynergy.net) and social media channels (Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Source and create content for a consistent flow of posts and updates through web and social media channels; grow subscriber/follower numbers and engagement; track and report analytics across channels
- Manage creative production of print and digital collateral
- Develop and oversee a team of outsourced creative contractors as needed for graphic design, media production, and/or web development
- Coordinate with and equip team members to collect photos and videos from the field
- Organize and maintain a central library of photo, video, audio, print, and other creative assets
General (10%)
- Travel domestically and internationally as needed for field visits and to meet with partners, donors, associates, and other staff
- Meet periodically with the team both online and face-to-face as needed for organizational planning, program review, etc.
- Work together with program staff to support our key field programs as needed on various engagements; depending on specific skill-sets, supporting contributions may include face-to-face or teleconference consultations, strategy & planning documents, research, international travel, meeting facilitation, webinar/workshop presentation, etc.
QUALIFICATIONS
Character and working style
- Personal commitment to Jesus Christ
- Exhibits humility, generosity, integrity, and perseverance
- Proven record as a strong team player and individual contributor
- Results-oriented but comfortable with ambiguous situations
- Thrives in a global, multi-cultural environment
- Positive and optimistic mindset
- Flexible, collaborative, proactive, eager to learn
Mission background
- Passion for global missions and knowledge of current trends in global missions
- International background and cross-cultural missions experience preferred
- Belief in the importance of ministry collaboration toward common mission goals across theological, denominational, doctrinal, and cultural differences
Educational background and work experience
- Bachelor’s degree required; prefer master’s degree in communications, marketing, public relations, cross-cultural studies, missiology, leadership, organizational development, business management, or related field
- Minimum 5 years experience in corporate communications, donor communications, or marketing
- Prior experience managing external vendors and contractors
Communication skills and experience
- Superior copywriting skills with attention to detail for long-form and short-form content in multiple channels (email, direct mail, web, social media)
- Demonstrated success planning and implementing communications campaigns in multiple channels (email, direct mail, web, social media) focused on engaging and motivating potential major donors
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to discern key insights and salient points from direct interviews and collected stories
- Ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively
- Ability to create clear and concise presentations and reports
- High-level fluency in English with the ability to provide sensitive, culturally appropriate communication to constituents whose first language may not be English
Creative and technical skills
- Proficiency with presentation design including experience developing presentation decks for executive-level or keynote presentations
- Experience with graphic design and video editing (Adobe Creative Suite preferred)
- Experience with web and social media content creation and promotion
- Experience producing e-newsletters and email marketing campaigns (Mailchimp preferred)
- Strong analytical and research skills
- Experience with monitoring/reporting/interpreting analytics data for email, web, and social media (Google Analytics or other web analytics applications)
- Experience managing WordPress websites and integrations with other applications for donor development processes (e.g. campaigns, forms, subscriptions, mailing lists, online contributions, etc.)
- Proficiency with MS Office apps and experience with cloud-based communication, collaboration, and project management applications and tools (e.g. Google Workspace apps, Zoom, Slack, Asana, Salesforce, etc.)
- Ability to plan and independently manage multiple projects
- Ability to engage and manage outsource contractors for creative and technical projects
Travel and remote work requirements
- Able to work independently and effectively on a remote team
- Able to flex working hours to accommodate periodic meetings with team members across time zones
- Experienced with international travel; prefer passport free of restrictions to travel in South Asia (esp. India), East Asia (esp. China), and the Middle East (esp. Egypt, Lebanon, and the Arabian Peninsula)
- Occasional domestic and international travel up to 10%
CONTACT
To find out more, please visit https://visionsynergy.net/
Passion, ability & context align?
Contact: Brooke Hodnefield | bhodnefield@slingshotgroup.org