JOB SUMMARY:
The Senior Major Gifts Manager provides strategic leadership and day-to-day management for a team of Major Gifts Managers, ensuring they are equipped, supported, and accountable for delivering high-quality donor engagement and portfolio results. This role serves as the primary point of coordination between MG Managers and the Director, Strategic initiatives, contributing to workplan development, performance planning, and cross-team integration. The Senior Major Gifts Manager also works with the Executive and Deputy Directors for the National team, supporting Board-related Major Gifts initiatives and facilitating national strategies and operations alignment.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Team Management and Staff Development
- Directly supervise Major Gifts Managers, providing regular coaching, feedback, and performance support aligned with individual development goals and team priorities.
- Lead onboarding and ongoing training for direct reports, in coordination with the Director of Strategic Initiatives and MG Ops team, to ensure consistent skill-building and role clarity.
- Conduct regular 1:1 check-ins and team meetings to monitor workload, surface challenges, and promote accountability for portfolio metrics, pipeline health, and donor engagement targets.
- Support performance management processes, including goal-setting, mid-year check-ins, and annual evaluations, in partnership with the Director of Strategic Initiatives.
- Identify training gaps and resource solutions as needed, including field guide tools, peer learning, and external professional development.
National Strategy and Workplan Support
- Partner with the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Major Gifts team leadership to contribute to annual and multi-year workplan development, translating strategy into team-level priorities and action steps
- Track team progress against national Major Gifts team goals, flagging gaps, risks, and opportunities to leadership on a weekly basis
- Contribute to national team communications, reporting, and internal documentation as directed.
- Lead onboarding communications and orientation schedule for new fundraisers across the the MG and PRG teams.
- Serve as in-office liaison for Major Gifts team
Board-Related Major Gifts Initiatives
- Support the Executive and Deputy director to coordinate and execute Board-related activities to influence/cultivate/steward Major Gift donors and prospects
- Prepare materials, talking points, and updates for Board-related meetings and reports as needed; ensure all is captured properly in Salesforce
- Ensure fundraising and operations teams are aligned in approach, due dates and actions needed
Portfolio Oversight and Operational Coordination
- Maintain visibility into the portfolios managed by direct reports, providing strategic guidance on prioritization, re-engagement, and pipeline advancement.
- Partner with the MG Operations Specialist to ensure data quality, Salesforce accuracy, and gift processing workflows are consistently followed across the team.
- Monitor complex gift activity (DAFs, stock, family foundation contributions) managed by direct reports and escalate as needed to ensure timely stewardship and acknowledgment.
