Annual Giving Manager

Western Governors University•Salt Lake City, UT

16d•$73,000 - $109,400

About The Position

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career. Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. The Annual Giving Manager will build and manage all aspects of the WGU Advancement’s annual and broad-based giving efforts including the implementation of a system of measuring progress and evaluating all aspects of the program. This position is responsible for increasing annual giving revenue, broadening the base of support through donor acquisition, and strengthening the major gift pipeline.

Requirements

Comprehensive knowledge of best practices in annual giving and broad-based outreach for educational institutions, national non-profit organizations, political campaigns and outreach, or related sectors
Comprehensive knowledge of multi-channel marketing including traditional channels (e.g., direct mail) and digital channels (email, websites, social media)
Broad depth of client services models including marketing operations and project management
Proficiency in donor database systems
Excellent communication, project management and organization skills
Ability to display the successful implementation of marketing strategies that directly impact organizational revenue
Ability to analyze and interpret data for traditional and digital marketing efforts, including email, landing page performance, website analytics, direct response performance, and overall revenue performance
Ability to evaluate and assess annual giving performance
Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline
Five (5) years of related work experience in a complex organization collaborating and working with cross-functional teams and stakeholders
Experience in lieu of education Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree
Higher education experience
Fundraising and advanced level writing experience

Responsibilities

Designs and manages an integrated multi-channel marketing strategy of outbound programs (direct mail and digital marketing) and inbound programs (websites, giving forms) that engage donors through one-to-many marketing channels and ultimately moves them into personal relationship-based development efforts.
Enhances the annual giving department’s use of digital marketing (e.g., email, websites, social media) and analytics (e.g., predictive modeling, social media data mining) to improve segmentation and messaging and to create a personal and positive experience for donors.
Oversees a strategy to grow the number of donors each year by acquiring, retaining and upgrading donors to $1,000 or more.
Develops giving level programs and special engagement opportunities that encourage mid-level gifts e.g., $5,000 or more) and moves donors to higher levels of annual giving.
Develops strong solicitation, engagement, and stewardship programs for key constituencies (e.g. faculty, staff, alumni, students) as well as other affinity groups.
Coordinates with external vendors that support broad based giving efforts.
Works with WGU partners to ensure personal and consistent messaging and positive donor experiences.
Collaborates with Advancement, marketing and alumni relations colleagues to ensure that Advancement’s brand and overall marketing and communications strategy is used consistently and effectively.
Performs other job-related duties as assigned.