Senior Specialist, Membership

National Geographic Society•Washington, DC

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The National Geographic Society Advancement team focuses on identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual and institutional partners to support the Society's mission in science, technology, education, exploration, and storytelling. The Annual Giving Membership (AGM) team is responsible for creating and executing impactful fundraising and stewardship programs through integrated, data-driven marketing and communication campaigns across various channels. The Senior Specialist, reporting to the Director of Membership, will play a key role in the Contributing Membership program by managing and collaborating on production, data, budget, and other essential areas. This role is crucial for helping the Membership team achieve its increasing revenue targets for both acquisition and retention, while also contributing to the broader stewardship and engagement efforts of the AGM team.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
Four years in nonprofit fundraising including experience in creating effective direct mail campaigns.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, ability to translate complex organizational missions into emotional and compelling narratives for donors.
Detail-oriented, highly organized, and capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a goal- and deadline-oriented matrixed team environment.
Must be service and solutions-oriented with strong relationship management and interpersonal skills.
Strong analytical skills, including ability to gather and analyze a variety of information and develop appropriate recommendations for action.
Ability to effectively manage vendor and/or consultants to create, review, and implement direct response campaigns.
Ability to exercise good judgment and collaborate with minimum of instruction and supervision when necessary.
Ability to maintain high standards of confidentiality and professional integrity.
Competency in word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software (MS Office or Google Workspace) required.
Successful experience working collaboratively across multiple diverse teams to drive activity that achieves or exceeds individual and team goals.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of Raiser's Edge (or similar) database preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage campaign implementation: Support the day-to-day operations for recurring direct mail and email marketing and stewardship campaigns by managing processes, timelines, and ensuring key deliverables stay on schedule.
Cross-functional collaboration: Act as a liaison between the Digital, Operations, Campus & Experiences and Communications teams, among others, as well as external partners, to facilitate collaboration, communication, and smooth project execution.
Quality assurance and editing: Lead and continuously improve editorial process to ensure high-quality standards across acquisition, retention, and stewardship efforts. Manage proofing and review stages internally and with vendors as needed.
Process support: Ensure the systems, workflows, and processes supporting acquisition, retention and stewardship operate effectively and on schedule. Identify issues and challenges and escalate, recommending and participating in process improvements.
Documentation: Help develop and maintain project and program documentation, including schedules, deliverables, resource requirements, key operational details, workflows, SOPs and best practices. Review and update quarterly.
Audience Engagement: Serve as a key liaison between internal teams and external partners to finalize AGM data selects, segmentation, printing, shipping and other components of integrated, cross-channel campaigns. Manage segmentation schedules and review and validate audience pulls to ensure alignment with campaign objectives, project requirements, and fundraising best practices.
Program Optimization and Improvement: Identify opportunities to streamline processes, share knowledge, and develop innovative approaches to donor management and campaign execution. Update and contribute to team performance tracking documents, listing opportunities for improvements and/or operational reviews.
Build Testing and Creative Priorities: Use creative thinking to identify new segmentation opportunities, testing approaches, premium ideas, and ways to more effectively engage, retain, and steward members throughout their relationship with NGS. Add and update ideas into team testing priorities and upcoming planning documents.
Expense Tracking: Maintain and update budget tracking documents with final results to support accurate financial reporting, forecasting, and reconciliation.
Inventory & Materials: Manage the acquisition, tracking, and inventory of program materials, supplies, and premiums to ensure optimal inventory levels and cost-effective utilization.
Team Communication: Distribute project-based status reports, schedules, summaries, and reference materials to maintain alignment, awareness, and transparency across the AGM team. Ensure team and Director are aware of any performance or process discrepancies with timely and proactive email updates if/when discrepancies occur.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

medical, dental, and vision insurance
engaging and comprehensive wellness program
401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 6 months of employment
flexible paid time off benefits with up to 22 days of paid annual leave per calendar year (15 days for new hires in their first year, prorated based on the number of pay periods remaining in the year)
10 days of sick leave
12 paid holidays and a paid winter break between December 25 and 31
paid parental leave
adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
fertility benefits
learning and development opportunities
Lifestyle Spending Account
pet adoption assistance and insurance
pre-tax transportation benefits with a generous employer subsidy
employer-paid life insurance and disability benefit
a variety of National Geographic discounts and perks