Digital Fundraising Referent

SOS MEDITERRANEAN
The European association “SOS MEDITERRANEE” is a humanitarian sea rescue organization founded in 2015 by European citizens to address the lack of sufficient rescue capacity in the Mediterranean. In six years, teams aboard the ships Aquarius and Ocean Viking (in service since 2019) have rescued and assisted more than 38,000 people in the central Mediterranean, the world's deadliest migration route. These operations are currently being carried out in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to, among other things, ensure medical care for survivors on board.

Originally founded in Germany and France, SOS MEDITERRANEE has developed into 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 those rescued until disembarkation in 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.

At the end of 2021, the German branch of SOS MEDITERRANEE separated from the international network and started a new project under the new name “SOS Humanity”. The international SOS MEDITERRANEE network then founded a new SOS Mediterranee organization in Germany in 2022, which now needs to be set up.

In 2023, SOS Mediterranee won the “alternative Nobel Prize” Right Livelihood Award for its humanitarian work. The position is responsible for the further development, implementation and management of SOS MEDITERRANEE's online fundraising activities in Germany; this is in accordance with the strategic direction of the international network. He*she contributes to the mobilization of German target groups, establishes online communication with donors and potential donors, develops fundraising campaigns, and collaborates with the media and partners. He*she represents the German organization within the international fundraising network of SOS MEDITERRANEE.

The role reports to the Head of Fundraising. Especially in the early days, regular communication with fundraising colleagues in France, Switzerland and Italy is essential to ensure successful and rapid development.

Tasks & Responsibilities
Online fundraising

Co-development, budgeting, implementation and success monitoring of the online fundraising strategy and annual planning in Germany

Support of fundraising IT and tools such as CRM, databases, website extensions, donation management, email tools, etc.

Development and expansion of digital fundraising channels for lead generation, including Google Grant, Google Ads, Facebook Business Manager, website, emails, newsletter.

Collaborate with colleagues from fundraising, communications and operations to carry out campaigns to build a donor base in Germany

Creation of donor journeys and donor support in collaboration with the international team from SOS Mediterranee

Development of convincing messages/content to attract donations

Offline fundraising

Integration of offline measures such as mailings, events and other direct approach initiatives into the individual donor strategy

Monitoring & evaluation, reporting

Develop reliable performance and financial reporting for online fundraising

Creation of evaluations & reports to incorporate results and findings into future strategies

Continuous embedding of newly gained knowledge into planning

Verifying compliance with plans and strategies

Generally

Build working relationships with other teams such as communications, finance and other countries

Constantly striving for improvements, higher ROI and income

Always up to date with developments and opportunities on the German market, industry standards and relevant regulations

Qualifications and experiences

Many years of experience and passion for online fundraising and communication in Germany

In-depth knowledge of digital fundraising/online marketing tools. (CRM, mailing campaigns, Google Analytics, Facebook Business Manager, Google Ads, etc.)

Experience developing engaging content focused on donor retention and acquisition

Experience in managing agencies and service providers

The ability to manage a variety of tasks and priorities in a small team

Teamwork and relationship building, internally and externally

Determined and creative approach

Motivated and results-oriented

Excellent communication skills in German and English, both oral and written

Acceptance of the mission and values of SOS MEDITERRANEE in its European dimension.

Willingness to travel a few times across Europe and occasional weekend and on-call shifts.

Knowledge in the areas of sea rescue, maritime and international law, migration issues, the Mediterranean context and the French language is an advantage

How to apply
We also encourage applicants who only meet a good portion of the listed criteria to apply.

Please send your CV and a letter of application that highlights your role-specific skills to job.deutschland@sosmediterranee.org and put “Online Manager” in the subject line.

We will review applications regularly and hold interviews until the role is filled.