Director, Major Giving Operations

Jul 7

Anticipated Start Date: September 1, 2025

Description

Reporting to the Vice President, Major Giving (VP), the Director of Major Giving Operations is a strategic leader responsible for driving the operational excellence and infrastructure that powers the Major Giving program at UNICEF USA. This role strengthens frontline fundraising capacity through effective systems, processes, staffing, and cross-functional collaboration, all in service of UUSA’s aspirational goal to generate $1 billion in annual impact.

The Director oversees a team of administrative professionals (Senior Associates) and leads a broad range of operations, including budgeting and revenue tracking, portfolio and pipeline strategy, internal communications, knowledge management, and strategic planning. This role collaborates closely with partners across Philanthropy, Global Programs, Finance, Legal, IT, and other departments to ensure seamless support of major gifts fundraising.

Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Management (50%)

Lead, manage, and develop a team of Senior Associates supporting major giving operations and frontline fundraisers. Set expectations, provide ongoing feedback, and conduct performance evaluations. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across the team. In partnership with the VP, design and facilitate team retreats, knowledge-sharing sessions, and onboarding programs tailored to the major giving function.

Operational Leadership (20%)

Design and implement tools, templates, and operational workflows that increase efficiency and support consistent adoption across the Major Giving team. Manage annual planning cycles, income tracking, budget management, and performance dashboard integrity. Oversee teamwide adherence to data protocols, including BBCRM usage, contribution form processing, and interaction reporting. Lead training and onboarding for new MG staff in collaboration with HR and Philanthropy Coordination.

Portfolio & Pipeline Strategy (10%)

Oversee adoption and standardized use of systems and standards for portfolio and pipeline management in collaboration with Prospect Development. Develop and monitor KPIs and metrics to assess portfolio health, revenue performance, and donor movement. Support strategy execution by analyzing trends and surfacing insights to inform decision-making and pipeline development. Build team fluency in key systems such as BBCRM and PowerBI to support data-informed decision-making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration (10%)

Serve as operational lead on cross-departmental initiatives affecting major giving, such as donor engagement and stewardship, and other relevant special projects. Liaise with partners across Finance, Legal, Donor Revenue Management, IT, and others to ensure compliance, data accuracy, and frontline enablement. Coordinate with Philanthropy Coordination and Marketing to prioritize and deliver strategic support for fundraisers.

Internal Communication & Knowledge Management (10%)

Lead internal communications for the Major Giving team to ensure alignment and transparency on goals, tools, and priorities. Maintain a centralized knowledge management system for resources, templates, and processes using platforms like Box, Slack, and Trello.

Requirements

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree, or equivalent combination of education and experience
Minimum of 8-10 years professional experience preferred in a fundraising role at a major not-for-profit organization, preferably within a human rights organization
Prior supervisory experience required Knowledge of the donor cultivation cycle and major gift fundraising model, strategy, and techniques
Advanced data entry skills, including accurate data creation and maintenance
Demonstrated ability to follow nuanced procedures and processes
Ability to audit work products for accuracy and thoroughness
Ability to seek out learning opportunities and proactively seek feedback to develop and grow
Ability to maintain open communication, ask powerful questions to acquire insights across departments, teams, and management levels
Highly organized individual with ability to prioritize and manage deadlines, and follow through on commitments.
Strong oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills
Commitment to the mission and growth of UNICEF USA
Excellent technical and computer skills, including experience working with a relational database (preferably BBCRM), as well as the Microsoft Office suite of products (particularly Excel).
Ability to work in a team environment with all types of staff, including remote workers.

Preferred Qualifications

Familiarity with CRM technologies
Experience with international development or humanitarian organizations a plus
Employs active listening techniques in order to empathically meet clients’ needs in a manner that provides satisfaction for the client within the resources that can be made available.
Proficiency in transforming, translating, and communicating data-based information clearly to end users. Drives own learning and takes initiative towards meeting annual professional development goals.
Ability to deal with highly sensitive information, maintain confidentiality, and exercise a high degree of judgment and discretion.
Understands key constituent, prospect, and proposal data elements (assignments, ratings, stages, etc.) as a whole.
Ability to utilize this knowledge in a relational context, understanding and proactively accounting for the impact of updates on other prospect data points

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

$102,310 - $133,000

How to Apply for this Job

Apply Now

About the Organization

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most vulnerable children. The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programs, in advocacy and in operations. The past two decades have seen important progress on child rights, yet while much has been achieved, sharp disparities remain. In most countries, inequality is higher today than a generation ago, including in middle income countries where a majority of the world’s poor children now live. The rapid pace of urbanization and the growing youth bulge in Africa and parts of Asia will require significant expansion of the provision of essential services for children. These challenges are compounded by the scale and complexity of crises triggered by conflict, natural disasters, or epidemics. The global community faces these challenges when the political and economic environments pose challenges of their own, testing the world’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable. In this environment, strong and consistent leadership of UNICEF is critical to enable the achievement of results for children.

UNICEF USA (UUSA) was founded in 1947 and is the oldest of the 36 UNICEF National Committees that support UNICEF. UUSA is headquartered in New York City and with 300 employees distributed across nine regional offices in the US. UNICEF USA’s mission is to relentlessly pursue a more equitable world for every child. It does this by rallying the American public to advance the global mission of UNICEF for the protection of children’s rights in more than 190 countries and territories. Every year, UNICEF USA raises nearly $600 million dollars from private sources and marshals its supporters to advocate for over $800 million in US government support for UNICEF’s lifesaving work. In addition to raising funds, UNICEF USA has built a broad-based advocacy movement.

Over the past 70 years, UNICEF USA has been profoundly successful in rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children, and its fundraising campaigns are imbedded in the country’s philanthropic consciousness. This past June, UUSA reported its best revenue year in history amidst the unprecedented challenges and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, this iconic organization, although vibrant and more relevant than ever, is in need of a refresh to further strengthen its position as the leading child-focused NGO in the United States.

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