Major Gifts Manager

The Nature Conservancy

2d•Remote

About The Position

The Major Gifts Manager reports to the Prospect Development Manager and is a critical member of the Midwest Development Operations team. They are responsible for driving the major gift fundraising success of two of the Midwest Business Units (BUs). The Manager builds processes to effectively manage the major donor pipeline, leverages fundraising reports and analyses, oversees data management for prospect portfolios, provides team donor strategy support, and drives team accountability to meet fundraising goals. The Major Gifts Manager is responsible for leading the major gift prospect management program for two of the Midwest Business Units. They will collaborate with the centralized Global Development Prospect Management Team to manage, research, and prioritize their team’s prospect portfolio and work with development team leadership to assign and track prospect activity. They will work towards meeting the strategic priorities of the program through the development and implementation of tactics for approved plans and completing and/or overseeing day-to-day tasks. They will manage the discovery pipeline process for two of the Midwest BU’s development teams to ensure the ongoing identification and qualification of new major donors and prospects. They will leverage centralized fundraising reports and conduct advanced analyses of fundraising activity to establish and manage metrics/KPIs for the teams and inform strategy and action. They organize and help lead team pipeline meetings at least once a month to ensure timely cultivation, solicitation, follow-up, data entry, tracking of new and current prospects, and strategy development. This position serves as a liaison to the Global Development office, other state chapters, and international field offices for questions related to opportunities, pipeline projections, crediting, and donor strategies. They manage the biannual Prospect Management review for their assigned BUs. They will provide support and targeted training related to the major gifts process and database management. They must maintain advanced skills in fundraising systems and resources utilized by the team to execute assigned tasks, including the fundraising database, Power BI, and Microsoft Excel. They participate in the Major Gifts Manager network and other position-related calls/networks to learn about best practices and organizational requirements for their role. They help coordinate the annual budget and goal setting processes. They will improve and implement processes and practices to improve team major gifts management effectiveness and communicate information to assist staff in making decisions, solving problems, and improving workflow. They will keep up to date on market trends and best practices to improve services. The Major Gifts Manager works in close cooperation with any or all the following: Conservancy staff, donors, volunteers, vendors, public agencies, financial institutions, and legal and accounting professionals. They will organize and coordinate varied activities, projecting outcomes, and implementing solutions in consultation with leadership. They may travel occasionally, and work long and flexible hours as needed. This is a remote position working from a home office that can be based anywhere in the Midwest Division with a preference for candidates based in Wisconsin and Indiana. The ability to occasionally work from a TNC office is also preferred. Internal applicants located in Central or Eastern time zones may be considered.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and 3 years related experience or equivalent combination.
Experience coordinating projects.
Experience generating reports and analyzing and interpreting data.
Experience with current technology in relevant field.
Experience working across departments.
Experience, coursework, or other training in principles and practices of relevant field.
Advanced skills in fundraising systems and resources utilized by the team to execute assigned tasks, including the fundraising database, Power BI, and Microsoft Excel.
Ability to implement complex processes.
Ability to use existing technology to achieve desired results.
Demonstrated experience using diplomacy and tact to build strong relationships and motivate staff.
Experience interpreting guidelines to achieve desired results.
Strong organization and negotiating skills, accuracy, attention to detail and ability to manage multiple tasks.
Successful experience implementing strategic program goals.
Understanding of basic accounting principles.

Nice To Haves

Multi-lingual skills and multi-cultural or cross-cultural experience appreciated.
Experience supervising staff, interns and/or volunteers is valuable.
Experience with database management.
Knowledge of current trends in the specific field.

Responsibilities

Act independently within broad program goals to prioritize tasks in the absence of specific instructions and exercise independent judgment to identify and solve problems.
Ensure programmatic commitments, TNC policies and procedures, financial standards, and legal requirements are met and managed for compliance.
Financial responsibility includes working within a budget and negotiating and contracting with vendors.
Travel occasionally, work long and flexible hours as needed.
Work is varied and may not always fall under established practices and guidelines.
Maintain advanced skills in fundraising systems and other resources used by the team to execute assigned tasks and implement processes and practices to improve effectiveness, working with leadership to ensure the full team is implementing them.
Accountability for strategic goals related to functional area.
Coordinate projects with several variables, set realistic deadlines, and manage a timeline.
Decisions may bind the organization financially or legally.
Implement and manage new initiatives that will ensure department and organization-wide goals and strategies are achieved.
Manage functional activity towards program’s strategic goals.
May participate in complex negotiations.
May supervise administrative, professional and/or volunteer staff, responsibility includes training and professional development.
The work environment may involve infrequent exposure to disagreeable elements and minor physical exertion and/or strain.