Background:

Maryknoll Lay Missioners is an independent, nonprofit, global organization dedicated to providing skills and resources that transform the lives of those in need. Each year, Maryknoll Lay Missioners recruits compassionate Catholics from all over the world to dedicate three and a half years to help alleviate poverty in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Its innovative approach of directly funding trained, long-term missioners, leads to better outcomes and sustainable change for individuals, families and children through the missioners’ connection with the local community and personal management of the delivery of the programs. Missioners, who often commit to multiple cycles, emerge as lifelong agents for social change, whose work for justice is rooted in and nourished by Catholic values.

Maryknoll Lay Missioners was created in 1975 as a result of the vision and efforts of the Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers and the Maryknoll Sisters and has thus far placed more than 700 missioners. After a period of reflection, evaluation and planning, Maryknoll Lay Missioners leadership and staff have set an important 2020 goal to greatly increase the number of lay missioners who are recruited, trained and placed with communities-in-need. In order to meet this goal, the organization must increase its reach and resources.

The Position:

Maryknoll Lay Missioners is seeking an Annual Giving Senior Manager to grow and develop an individual giving program as an effective pipeline to sustained and larger gifts. Reporting to the Mission Advancement Director, the Annual Giving Senior Manager will develop multi-channel communications and solicitation strategies for Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ low and mid-level donors. The ideal candidate will bring his or her own ideas and vision for creating individual giving programs and will work with a passionate, mission-oriented staff, in a highly collaborative environment, to develop and execute new strategies that achieve ambitious fundraising goals. The right person will have a high level of perseverance and patience, as well as be a relentless and versatile learner, open to change and willing to reengineer processes from scratch. He or she will be energetic, of the highest integrity and possess sound judgement.

Specific Responsibilities:

Develop and execute an overall strategy for Annual Giving activities, including:

• Establish priorities, budget, systems, and a calendar for donor communications and solicitations, multi-level individual giving strategies, new-donor cultivation and retention, acquisition mailings, lapsed-donor engagement, stewardship, and donor recognition
• Oversee production and distribution of all appeals, including working with vendors to obtain competitive bids for all printed pieces and premiums
• Collaborate with the development team on pipeline development, identification of major gift prospects, and a procedure for passing off donors for major gift asks
• Develop new channels and tools (email, more interactive website, web-based social networking, targeted mailings) for accessing, understanding and recruiting donors, in partnership with the Communications and Public Relations Senior Manager
• Lead efforts to test, track and analyze appeal and acquisition mailing results, and produce benchmarking reports that allow for strategic adjustments
• Design and implement personal, mail, phone, and email solicitations and communications to inform, solicit and recognize donors including briefings, proposal materials, follow-up cultivation, regular gift reports, thank-you letters, and other communications
• Partner with Communications and Program staff to develop persuasive and emotional stories and other content that clearly and effectively articulates needs and impact
• Coordinate with Finance team for monthly and annual reconciliation and reporting
• Oversee donor database and ensure that its structure, coding and content are current and complete, in conjunction with Donor Care Services Manager
• Supervise the Donor Care Services Manager on timely and accurate data entry, and gift processing and acknowledgement

Qualifications:

• Passion for and commitment to the mission, purpose, and values
• Bachelor’s Degree in applicable field (or equivalent experience)
• Minimum of 4+ years of annual giving program experience and professional fundraising experience with increasing levels of responsibility
• Track record of success (and learning from hardship) in developing, implementing, and analyzing scalable fundraising plans
• Ability to navigate the demands of a data-driven direct response program while also providing support to a highly-personalized and thoughtful major gifts effort through excellent analytical, organizational and relationship skills
• Significant accomplishments working with a small team to establish short and long-term fundraising goals, identify funding opportunities, and develop new initiatives; experience working with and taking guidance from senior leadership teams
• Very strong persuasive writing skills and experience conceptualizing and writing Annual Giving materials
• Creative, out-of-the-box thinker and problem solver
• Well-honed fundraising management skills, especially building and managing systems; familiarity with e-Tapestry a plus
• Highly organized, creative, pro-active, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize with superior time management and troubleshooting skills
• Outgoing personality and positive attitude
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel locally

Maryknoll Lay Missioners is an Equal Opportunity Employer and offers a competitive salary with full benefits. For more information on Maryknoll Lay Missioners, visit: http://www.mklm.org/

To Apply:

Maryknoll Lay Missioners has retained the services of Harris Rand Lusk to conduct this search. Inquiries, nominations, and applications may be directed in confidence to:

Debbie Farrell, Director, Leadership and Development

Harris Rand Lusk

122 East 42nd Street, Suite 3605

New York, NY 10168

[email protected]

(Please include “Maryknoll Annual Giving Senior Manager” in the subject line of the email)