Donor Engagement Senior Manager

The Marine Mammal Center•Sausalito, CA

2d•$81,112 - $88,275•Onsite

About The Position

Reporting to the Senior Director, Development, the Donor Engagement Senior Manager manages The Marine Mammal Center’s donor engagement and stewardship program. The position strengthens donor relationships at every giving level by ensuring donors have a meaningful, consistent, and timely experience connected to the Center’s mission. It contributes donor engagement insights and recommendations to Advancement planning and helps incorporate donor engagement strategy across the department. In partnership with the Senior Director of Development, the Senior Manager establishes standards, systems, and measures that guide donor engagement and support donor retention, renewal, and long-term commitment. As a member of the Advancement team, the Senior Manager oversees the Center’s giving circles, including the Stellar Legacy Circle, and works closely with major and planned gifts, events, annual giving, program staff, and volunteers to ensure donor engagement is cohesive and purposeful. The role manages donor communications, stewardship, acknowledgment, and recognition practices; leads and coaches staff; coordinates volunteer-supported donor appreciation; and measures program outcomes. This is a full-time, onsite position. Days and hours may vary according to organizational needs, and evening, weekend, or holiday work may be required. Travel within California, the Hawaiian Islands, and other national travel may be expected. The compensation range is $81,112–$88,275.

Requirements

Strong commitment to The Marine Mammal Center’s mission and strategic priorities.
Knowledge of donor engagement, donor relations, stewardship, gift acknowledgment, recognition, and donor service practices across giving levels and donor types.
Knowledge of fundraising principles and the donor lifecycle, including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, giving circles, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal, and upgrading.
Commitment to ethical fundraising practices consistent with the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.
Ability to contribute donor engagement insights and recommendations to program plans, standards, and practices.
Demonstrated ability to manage, evaluate, and continuously improve donor engagement projects that strengthen relationships, retention, renewal, and long-term commitment.
Strong project management and systems-building skills, including the ability to design, document, implement, and maintain service standards, stewardship frameworks, workflows, procedures, performance measures, and quality expectations.
Ability to develop and interpret donor engagement metrics, analyze program results and donor feedback, identify trends, and present practical recommendations to leadership.
Ability to manage budgets, monitor expenditures, assess resource needs, and responsibly manage approved resources.
Ability to supervise and coach staff, set priorities and performance expectations, address problems, and foster accountability.
Ability to recruit, train, lead, and support volunteers and develop meaningful volunteer roles.
Ability to build partnerships, influence decisions, coordinate cross-functional work, and support organizational change.
Excellent written, verbal, presentation, facilitation, and interpersonal communication skills; a warm, donor-centered service orientation; and the ability to communicate professionally and with discretion.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail, including the ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines, anticipate challenges, exercise sound judgment, and complete work.
Proficiency with CRM systems, preferably Salesforce with the Nonprofit Success Pack, and productivity and project management tools such as Asana and Slack.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint, and Word; productivity tools such as Asana and Slack; and virtual collaboration tools such as Teams and Zoom.
Commitment to an inclusive, respectful, collaborative, and accountable workplace and ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds, identities, experiences, and perspectives.
Willingness to support and participate in The Marine Mammal Center’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Education and experience equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in administration, development, business, or a related field.
At least 5 years of relevant experience or equivalent work in donor relations, stewardship, or advancement.
At least 3 years of supervisory experience.
Valid driver’s license and acceptable motor vehicle record to meet insurability standards; must be at least 21 years old because the position frequently requires driving company vehicles.

Nice To Haves

Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) credential.
Experience managing stewardship systems, donor communications, or recognition programs.

Responsibilities

Contribute donor engagement recommendations to Advancement planning and priorities.
Manage and evaluate donor engagement practices, identifying improvements based on donor needs, giving patterns, feedback, program results, and emerging practices.
Develop and manage the annual donor engagement budget with the Senior Director of Development and use approved staff, volunteer, and financial resources effectively.
Improve donor communications, stewardship, acknowledgment, and recognition practices across giving levels and donor types.
Establish service standards, workflows, routing and escalation practices, and standard operating procedures for donor inquiries, gift acknowledgment, stewardship, and recognition.
Develop and maintain a tiered stewardship and acknowledgment framework, including touchpoints, responsibilities, timeliness expectations, and quality standards.
Ensure the development of stewardship communications, impact reporting, and recognition opportunities that connect donors with the outcomes of their support.
Support the resolution of complex or sensitive donor matters and ensure donor preferences, interactions, acknowledgments, stewardship activities, and recognition commitments are accurately maintained in the CRM.
Plan, implement, grow, and evaluate giving circles and recognition societies, including the Stellar Legacy Circle.
Set and maintain giving-circle membership, renewal, benefit, communication, engagement, and recognition standards, ensuring commitments to members are fulfilled.
Develop cultivation and engagement opportunities for giving-circle members in partnership with annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, prospect research, and events.
Develop and steward the donor pipeline into and within giving circles, identifying opportunities to deepen engagement and encourage movement between giving levels.
Evaluate giving-circle membership, renewal, participation, pipeline movement, and engagement results and recommend improvements.
Supervise and coach staff; set goals, priorities, responsibilities, decision-making authority, and performance expectations.
Conduct individual and team meetings, approve timecards and time-off requests, complete performance evaluations, and address performance or workplace concerns.
Support staff development and promote accountability for individual and team results.
Foster an inclusive, collaborative, donor-centered, and accountable team culture.
Develop and manage a volunteer-supported donor appreciation program, including thank-you calls, handwritten notes, and other stewardship activities.
Partner with the volunteer program to recruit, onboard, schedule, support, and recognize volunteers involved in donor engagement.
Develop volunteer scripts, guidelines, training, and quality standards; provide ongoing direction, support, and feedback.
Monitor volunteer-supported donor engagement for alignment with service, confidentiality, and quality standards.
Partner across Advancement and with program staff and volunteers to support a cohesive donor experience.
Develop and maintain dashboards and reports on donor service, acknowledgment timeliness, retention, renewal, giving-circle participation, and other donor engagement outcomes.
Analyze program results and donor feedback, identify trends and opportunities, and provide findings and recommendations to Advancement leadership.
Perform special projects, research, and other duties as assigned.