Senior Director of Philanthropy

San Diego Humane Society•San Diego, CA

28d•Hybrid

About The Position

San Diego Humane Society is hiring a Senior Director of Philanthropy! How you'll impact our mission: At San Diego Humane Society, we’re united by our mission to Inspire Compassion, providing hope and advancing the welfare of animals and people. Philanthropy is the foundation of our ability to serve our community, and we’re proud to have a strong, engaged donor base and a mature philanthropic program that combines best practices with innovative approaches. The Senior Director of Philanthropy plays a vital role in this mission by leading the organization’s major and foundation giving efforts. This position joins a high-performing team defined by a deeply rooted culture of collaboration, transparency, and shared purpose. The Senior Director is expected to not only thrive within this environment but to actively champion and evolve our culture of philanthropy across the entire organization. This role delivers service at the gold standard level in alignment with the SDHS Way, to meet the needs of animals and the people who love them by leading with compassion, finding creative solutions, providing personalized care and building connections. If you’re passionate about making an impact in the animal welfare movement, we’d love to talk to you. What’s in it for you? At SDHS, we’re proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and commit to being a place where every person – staff, volunteer, and guest – can feel a sense of belonging. We support and invest in employees through conscious delivery of benefits and a workplace environment based on our Core Values. As an employee you’ll enjoy: Competitive pay and paid time-off (including your Birthday Day Off!) Comprehensive benefits package, training and well-being programs 403(b) retirement plan with 5% match after 1 year Free pet adoptions, pet vaccines and spay/neuter services …and so much more!

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and minimum ten (10) years of successful professional fundraising experience, or a combination of relevant experience and education.
Major gift fundraising experience required, with experience in asking for and closing major gifts.
Significant management experience and demonstrated success in managing/mentoring successful major gift officers required.
Must be a self-starter with ability to plan, supervise and evaluate an ambitious major gift program; strong interpersonal skills and proven ability to work effectively with a diverse population of donors and prospects, board members/other volunteers, staff, and community leaders
Ability to effectively communicate a compelling and inspiring vision of SDHS’s mission and programs; comfortable interacting with high net worth individuals.
Demonstrate a high level of emotional intelligence and a proven track record of contributing to and sustaining a positive, collaborative team culture.

Nice To Haves

Experience, coursework or other training in comprehensive/capital campaigns and planned giving is preferred.

Responsibilities

In partnership with the Executive Vice President, lead an ambitious, proactive and sustainable major gifts program by creating tools and strategies, role modeling donor-facing work and providing motivational leadership to a Director of Philanthropy, Associate Director of Philanthropy and Grants Manager.
Build and manage a portfolio of 100+ major gift donors and prospects, working with them throughout the donor cycle.
Continually develop and maintain major giving program infrastructure, including overseeing the creation of compelling donor-facing materials, creating donor engagement opportunities that frontline fundraisers use and developing and maintaining up-to-date recognition opportunities.
In partnership with Director of Philanthropy, oversee the management of a productive leadership annual giving society that acquires, retains and upgrades donors of $2,500+ through a robust calendar of communications, events and other engagement opportunities.
Serve as a primary contributor to and steward of the organization’s culture of philanthropy. This includes identifying and implementing opportunities to engage colleagues from across the organization in the work of Philanthropy, creating cross-departmental partnerships, and fostering a sense of shared ownership in our mission.
Actively contribute to the health and morale of the Philanthropy team by participating in culture-building initiatives, providing peer-to-peer support, and ensuring that our internal values of compassion and respect are reflected in our daily operations.
Partner to develop strategies around special campaigns (such as capital projects) as well as annual campaigns (such as Day of Giving, Fur Ball Stand Up match sponsors, etc.).
In partnership with Grants Manager, oversee the foundation giving program.
Play a key role in growing and maintaining the organization’s culture of philanthropy. Identify and implement opportunities to engage colleagues from across the organization in the work of Philanthropy, create partnerships and grow buy-in.