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Title:  Principal, Philanthropic and Public Funding

About I-CAR:

The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) is a growing, not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, serving the automotive collision repair industry globally. The organization was established by representatives of the collision repair, automotive, and insurance industries in 1979 and has doubled its revenue over the last six years.

 

Today, the I-CAR brand is stronger than it has been in 40 years of operation and has gained a worldwide reputation. There is momentum and excitement among its committed workforce, instructors and volunteers to continue to help the organization grow and expand its breadth of reach and scale. I-CAR leadership believes that the future of the organization will be importantly influenced by its continuing innovation and relevance of its products, technical programs and services.

 

The Principal, Philanthropic and Public Funding position will play an instrumental role in developing and executing partnership, ecosystem, and fundraising strategies that support a work-based learning and job training initiative in the automotive collision repair industry. This individual will work as a key member of a cross functional team accountable for this new strategic endeavor by I-CAR. This initiative will address the critical shortage of technicians in the collision repair inter-industry and help to ensure the safety and well-being of over 30 million drivers on the road. 

 

The individual who is hired has an exciting opportunity to create a throughline from fundraising and partnership efforts to developing a thriving ecosystem amongst a dynamic group of organizations that include but are not limited to philanthropy, public agencies, employers, and educational institutions. This individual will further promote a broad understanding of our value proposition through strong verbal and analytical skills by communicating a convincing case for our new strategic endeavor. This unique position within a 501(c)(6) will enable the right professional to gain industry experience while driving a mission with the potential for significant social impact. Most importantly, a strong applicant will want to grow this role and its related workstreams with support from both team members and a supervising director. There is significant room and tolerance within this role for innovation, trial and error, ongoing revision, refinement, and “figuring it out” through self-directed learning. 

 

Today, the I-CAR brand is stronger than it has been in 40 years of operation and has gained a worldwide reputation. There is momentum and excitement among its committed workforce, instructors, and volunteers to continue to help the organization grow and expand its breadth of reach and scale. I-CAR leadership believes that the future of the organization will be importantly influenced by its continuing innovation and relevance of its products, technical programs and services. 

 

Primary Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

  • Write communication products like emails, proposals, and programming materials that include analysis of research, data, and current issues as related to our value proposition for existing and new partners. 

  • Direct prospect research using tools like Foundation Directory Online to find philanthropic and public donors aligned with our mission and programs. 

  • Commit to becoming conversant in the economic, technological, public policy, and social issues related to our mission and new strategic endeavor. 

  • Write reports and project manage the collection and analysis of measurable impact data. 

  • Manage a portfolio of at least 75 philanthropic and public funding opportunities annually. 

  • Manage the initial donor outreach and scheduling of meetings for the Director. 

  • Initiate outreach and meet with existing employers and educational institutions in our ecosystem to involve them in new programming and partnership opportunities. 

  • Develop strategic partnership plans that enable multiple ecosystem stakeholders to collaborate, share resources, and bring opportunities to program participants. 

  • Communicate these strategic plans to ecosystem stakeholders in a manner that enables an understanding of implementation, roles, and benefits. 

  • Maintain an engagement and opportunity calendar to ensure no missed deadlines or key dates. 

  • Maintain highly organized and accessible records that enable institutional knowledge collection and effective program management. 

  • Collaborate with both members of the Product team and key project members of other teams to ensure that funding and partnership opportunities align with the current needs and ambitions of the new strategic endeavor. 

  • Contribute to the overall fundraising and partnership plan for the new strategic endeavor including partner alignment, value proposition, measurable impact, and requests. 

  • Support, as needed, the fundraising and partnership efforts of I-CAR's 501(c)(3) partner, CREF, including joint development opportunities. 

 

Requirements 

Education and Experience: 

  • Bachelor’s degree required.  

  • At least three years of relevant work experience. 

  • Must have demonstrable experience with professional writing across multiple types of communication products with the ability to incorporate and correctly cite supporting evidence 

  • Must be self-directed; desire to independently design and execute projects with a high tolerance for ambiguity, trial and error, and revision; and actively contribute as part of a team that collaboratively establishes processes, practices, and strategies to achieve our goals. 

  • Must be willing to initiate and maintain communication with both new and existing partners through a variety of methods including virtual calls, phone, email, and in-person engagement when appropriate. 

  • While this is not a sales role, the individual who fulfills this role must be comfortable requesting funding support when appropriate from partners.  

  • This is a full-time remote role but may require some travel that should not exceed once per quarter. 

 

EEO Statement: 

I-CAR is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity / expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law, where applicable. Those with criminal histories will be considered in a manner consistent with applicable state and local laws.

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