Director, Philanthropy

About the Oregon Humane Society

Founded in 1868, Oregon Humane Society (OHS) is the Northwest's oldest and largest animal welfare organization with one of the highest adoption rates in the nation. We are working toward our vision of a world where all animals are treated with compassion, kindness, and respect. With campuses in Portland and Salem, OHS is an Oregon-based nonprofit that relies on donor support for its adoption, education, medical and humane law enforcement programs. Visit oregonhumane.org to learn more about how we are creating a More Humane Society.

The Team

The OHS Philanthropy Team is responsible for solicitating gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Philanthropy Team is part of the Advancement Department, along with the Development Operations, Planned Giving, and Marketing & Communications teams. This team collaborates closely with the development team, the CEO, and other key stakeholders across the organization to deepen donor engagement and increase support for OHS priorities through various channels and tactics.

The Position

The Director of Philanthropy is a high-energy, visionary leader and fundraiser who thrives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. They are passionate about leading a matrixed team to do their best work and to meet and exceed fundraising goals. They are an innovator, a high-level thinker, a team player, and decision maker who, in close partnership with the Chief Advancement Officer and Director of Development Operations, has the ability to keep their finger on the pulse of internal operations while managing teams towards a higher-level strategy and vision that is aligned with OHS’ broader goals.

The Director of Philanthropy is passionate about supporting an authentic Oregon Humane Society brand across audiences and channels that aligns with Oregon Humane Society’s culture and future vision. They will bring experience leading high-performing fundraising teams and managing large-scale, multi-channel fundraising operations.

They will pair an approach that is data-driven and results-oriented with an appetite for evolving new, creative approaches to donor engagement and cultivation at scale, including the use of technology. In this role they will lead revenue-generating teams, including Foundations, Mid-Level, and Major Gifts. They will be open to trying new things and taking risks, while working collaboratively with their team and key stakeholders to ensure alignment and impact.

The Director of Philanthropy also brings experience in partnership development with corporations, foundations, major donors, and High Net Worth Individuals. They will help lead the team to position Oregon Humane Society as the “go-to” partner for high impact philanthropists seeking to build a better world. This position will manage a small portfolio of major donors.

The Director of Philanthropy will work closely with the CEO, CAO, Director of MarComms, and Executive Team to ensure high-performing cross channel communications – including digital and social content, email campaigns, direct mail, and beyond – that raise mission-critical revenue while authentically, respectfully, and vividly portraying our mission in a manner that the agency is proud of.

The Director of Philanthropy is an influential leader who will motivate, guide, and support the team through transition, and work closely with the CAO and leadership to ensure OHS’ revenue-generating strategies continue to evolve and are integrated across the team and connected to broader agency goals. By inspiring their team toward a bold vision for greater impact, the Director of Philanthropy will have an opportunity to do the best work of their career, enabling people across the organization to do their best work to support our mission.

Essential Responsibilities

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

• Consistently strives to exceed expectations; demonstrates flexibility, resilience, and the ability to maintain positive relationships and composure, even under difficult circumstances.
• Maintains high ethical standards, including exhibiting behaviors and actions that embrace and align to our organization and customer service values, while treating all people with respect and dignity.
• Demonstrates an awareness of your individual personal strengths and development needs, modeling non-defensive behavior and openness to feedback; builds a culture of feedback and learning.

TEAM LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

• Manages, supports, and provides coaching feedback to team members, and creates and sustains a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence within their own team and embrace their role and responsibilities in advancing shared goals and priorities.
• Manages day-to-day implementation and support for key activities including coordination with other teams implementing complementary activities.
• Role models inclusive leadership, creating an environment where diverse viewpoints are welcomed and actively engaged

LEARNING

• Contributes to regular dialogue and accountability with the leadership team and across the organization to review progress and course correct if necessary.
• Utilizes data and insights to identify, understand and articulate the key inputs and metrics that tell the story of the organization/team strategy and its progress.
• Builds appropriate feedback loops to measure if we are meeting key milestones and if the impact planned is being felt across the organization.

INFLUENCE & REPRESENTATION

• Communicates effectively to executive and other stakeholder groups to ensure they are informed and able to actively engage.
• Liaises with and maintains productive relationships with all stakeholders, including other departments, and donors; build mutually rewarding professional relationships inside OHS at all levels.
• Leverages our best practices externally and grows OHS’ reputation as a leader in the animal welfare space.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Works with Fundraising and the Corporate and Foundation Team(s), to achieve new levels of impact, influence, and innovation.
• Ensures a strategic and integrated approach to donor lifecycle management in partnership with the Director, Marketing & Communications, Director, Major Gifts, Corporate and Foundation Team(s), and the Director, Advancement Operations to implement a seamless and inspiring donor experience.
• Evaluates current donor file and team processes, identify opportunities and bright spots, taking recommendations from external advisors into account while leveraging Oregon Humane Society’ unique assets and opportunities.
• Works with CAO to lead development relations with Board of Directors.
• Assists in the development of strategies to heighten the profile of Oregon Humane Society amongst target constituencies, with a special focus on Portland and Salem.
• Works in close partnership with CAO, and peers to ensure the team is bringing in the highest possible revenue in ways that truly reflects the culture and spirit of Oregon Humane Society.
• Partners with CEO and CAO at major functions and represents Oregon Humane Society publicly.
• Guides CEO, CAO, other executives, and board members with cultivation and solicitation strategies for prospects.
• Oversees and monitors major contracts and external partners.
• Responsible for a small portfolio of major donors.
• Collaborates with the executive team and management to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems, processes, and personnel designed to accommodate the growth and performance objectives.
• Evaluates performance by analyzing and interpreting data and metrics.
• Supports CAO, Director of MarComms and Team Leaders in creating, evaluating (taking a data-driven approach whenever possible), testing, and implementing new strategies to meet the Advancement Team’s ambitious growth goals.
• Supports change management across the team to ensure that team members’ best ideas are surfaced, where team members feel valued and heard, and that new ideas are celebrated and evaluated with openness and rigor.
• Makes and implements significant decisions leading to stronger outcomes.
• Leads and executes special projects as assigned by CAO.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITY

Supervises: Manager(s) of Philanthropy

ACCOUNTABILITY

Reports Directly To: Chief Advancement Officer

Often Engages Directly With: President and CEO; Director, Marketing & Communications; Director, Advancement Operations; Vice President, Planned Giving; and staff shelter wide.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

We are interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may be one who comes from a less traditional background. We welcome applicants who bring a diversity of identity, culture, experience, perspective and thought. We encourage you to apply, even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications described. You are also encouraged to address how your professional and lived experience, scholarship, mentorship and/or service will contribute to the Oregon Humane Society.

• Quality decision making through a combination of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment; high level of business acumen including successful P&L management; the ability to balance the delivery of programs against the realities of a budget; problem solving, project management, prioritization, and creative resourcefulness.
• Exceptional capacity for managing, leading, and developing people; a collaborative team builder who has experience in scaling organizations; ability to connect with team members both on an individual level and in large groups; capacity to enforce accountability; develop and empower top-notch leaders.
• Respond and react to challenges as necessary in a mature and professional manner.
• Demonstrated excellence in developing and implementing strategic plans and operational strategies.
• Proven ability to build consensus and work with diverse opinions to develop program proposals.
• Strong collaborative experience.
• Strong organizational skills; attention to detail and to process.
• Outstanding people skills and excellent communication skills – both written and oral.
• Must be able to work independently as well as in collaboration with a team.
• Demonstrated success in direct response fundraising.
• Demonstrated success in proposal preparation, donor negotiation, and donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Able to exercise sound judgment and maintain a professional demeanor during all interactions with the public, partner agencies, donors, staff, and volunteers.
• Proficiency using the Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills - able to communicate with a diverse population in a consistently informative, respectful, and professional manner.
• The ideal candidate will have 10+ years of experience working in a high performing fundraising team.
• 5+ years of direct management at a director level.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's or master's degree in business, Marketing, or relevant field.

Work Environment Conditions & Physical Requirements

This position interacts and collaborates will all levels of the organization, including OHS staff, executive team members, donors, general-public, external vendors, volunteers, and supporters. Contact and communication are carried out through face-to-face, telephone and digital interactions. Excellent customer service skills are essential to success. Communication must be clear, understandable, professional, and respectful in all circumstances.

WORKING CONDITIONS

• Work is performed in an office and medical center/animal shelter environment.
• Travel between the two campuses may be required.
• Working at both campuses may be required.
• Occasional weekend and evening work may be required.
• Animal contact and related injuries may occur.
• Noise exposure varies and sometimes includes uncontrolled barking and other animal vocalizations.
• The pace of work is active and demanding, requiring a high degree of multitasking and ability to adapt to changing priorities while managing concurrent projects/tasks to completion.
• This position resides within the Oregon Humane Society campus open to the public. Contact with emotional people may occur.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Occasional lifting and moving of inanimate objects weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Occasional pushing and pulling of carted items weighing up to 100 lbs.
• Occasional moving items above shoulder level.
• Occasional use of hands and arms at or above shoulder level.
• Prolonged standing, sitting and/or stooping may occur.
• Occasional climbing and bending.
• Must be able to lift, move, restrain, guide, or manage an animal weighing up to 150 lbs. on a leash on an occasional basis.
• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for prolonged periods.
• Ability to respond and perform life saving techniques in an emergency.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and address and overcome complex challenges and barriers. We strive for a culture of integrity, respect, and compassion where every member of our community contributes their perspectives and authentic selves and where everyone reaches their potential as individuals and teams. We recognize that striving for diversity, equity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening, and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Oregon Humane Society is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group.

At-Will Employment

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related duties required by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship.