Head of Fundraising At SOS Méditerranée

SOS MEDITERRANEAN

The European Association “SOS MEDITERRANEE” is a humanitarian sea rescue organization founded in 2015 by European citizens to address drowning in the Mediterranean. Since then, the teams on board the ships Aquarius and Ocean Viking (in operation since 2019) have rescued and cared for more than 40,000 people in the central Mediterranean, the deadliest migration route in the world. These missions are currently being carried out in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to ensure, among other things, medical care for the survivors on board.

SOS MEDITERRANEE consists of a European network with four organizations in Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. The mission consists of three components:

• Saving the lives of people in distress at sea
• Protection and care of the rescued people until they land at a safe place
• Bear witness to the situation and events in the Mediterranean.

The four country organizations jointly finance search and rescue operations at sea and mobilize civil society in their respective countries.

SOS MEDITERRANEE Deutschland gGmbH was re-founded in Germany in 2022 after the previous German organization became independent and renamed SOS Humanity. In 2023, SOS MEDITERRANEE won the “alternative Nobel Prize” Right Livelihood Award for its humanitarian work.

Role

We are looking for a Head of Fundraising in Berlin or another suitable location for the beginning of 2025.

This is a partially new position, with a lot of strategic scope for a dynamic fundraiser with many years of experience in fundraising, management and strategy. Proven models, skills and support are available at SOS MEDITERRANEE France, Switzerland and Italy. The main tasks are the further development of the individual donation program and the support and acquisition of major donors. The role reports to the Managing Director and leads a team of 2 fundraising managers and part-time student staff.

Tasks

Further development of the existing fundraising strategy, especially donor acquisition, donor retention and donor service:

• Leading the team with a Partnership Manager and the Digital Fundraising Manager
• Close collaboration with the communications and advocacy teams
• Liaison with fundraising agencies and consultants
• planning and implementation of fundraising events
• monitoring, budgeting and income and expenditure control
• Representation among key interest groups and in the SOS MEDITERRANEE network

qualifications and experience

• University degree and/or professional qualification in areas such as fundraising, marketing, international relations, business administration
• Several years of relevant fundraising experience in Germany, especially with private donors and major private donors
• Proven track record in donor acquisition
• Experience in strategy development, planning and implementation
• experience in organizational development and management
• coordination of agencies and consultants
• Ability to work effectively under time pressure and to meet deadlines
• Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills
• Fluent in written and spoken German and English
• Familiarity with MS Office and especially digital fundraising tools

Personal skills

• Autonomy, Initiative
• energy and dynamism
• Interpersonal skills: listening, building relationships, understanding
• sense of teamwork

our range

• attractive NGO salary
• 30 days of vacation
• meaningful activity
• Building and developing an organization that saves lives
• Small, young and dynamic team
• Versatile and varied work