Manager of Donor Experience

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ASSOCIATION INC • Houston, TX

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The Manager of Donor Experience is responsible for cultivating and deepening relationships with Houston Grand Opera’s donor community through strategic stewardship, impactful communication plans, and meaningful recognition programs. This role serves as a key connector between donors and the organization’s artistic mission, ensuring that philanthropic partners feel valued, informed, and inspired to maintain and grow their support. We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO. The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors. Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 2 or more years of experience in stewardship, philanthropy operations, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to implement and manage projects involving multiple departments.
• Proven excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Some night and weekend work around performances and events.
• Resourceful, proactive, self-starter who can independently solve problems and prioritize key tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Highly organized with strong attention to detail.

Nice To Haves

• Passion for the arts

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive donor engagement strategy that deepens relationships, drives retention, and cultivates long-term philanthropic connections with Houston Grand Opera and its supporters.
• Create and implement a comprehensive gift acknowledgment system, ensuring donor recognition is accurate, timely, and thoughtfully tailored to honor the significance of each contribution.
• Serve as the organizational lead for donor recognition across all print and digital platforms, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and full adherence to institutional policies.
• Manage all donor giving societies (including the Butler Studio Committee, Laureate Society, National Patrons Circle, and Young Patrons Committee), ensuring meaningful recognition and engagement for all constituencies.
• Collaborate with front line fundraising colleagues to develop and execute personalized stewardship plans that deliver meaningful recognition and engagement across all donor segments.
• Track and analyze donor engagement and retention trends to surface opportunities for improvement and recommend data-informed strategies that advance philanthropic outcomes.
• Partner with the Donor Events Manager to support stewardship event execution, including donor invitations, attendance tracking, and strategic post-event follow-up.
• Oversee gift agreement documentation and monitor recognition deliverables to ensure all donor commitments are timely and accurately fulfilled.
• In collaboration with colleagues in Audiences and Marketing, craft compelling, donor-centered content for stewardship communications (including Opera Cues features, impact reports, and email updates) that deepens our donors’ emotional investment in the organization's mission.

Benefits

• Comprehensive and affordable health benefits.
• Generous paid time off.
• 403b retirement plan with employer match.
• Flexible work schedule.
• Professional development fund and opportunities.
• Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation.
• Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level