Back Major Gifts Specialist

This position will require 8 days per month in Washington DC office. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

Now is the time to move from commitments to action on climate change—WRI is at the forefront of this urgent transition. WRI has the knowledge, convening power and tools to drive change and its Individual Philanthropy Sector builds relationships with Individuals and Family Foundations to help the Institute deliver results and bring about a more equitable and sustainable world. The Individual Philanthropy Sector is part of WRI’s broader Global Development Program, which coordinates all fundraising for WRI. In this capacity, the Individual Philanthropy Team is part of a growing and evolving Individual Philanthropy programs organized around principal gifts ($500,000+), major gifts ($10,000+), mid-level gifts ($1,000-$9,999), and annual fund gifts (

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Senior Manager for Operations & Strategy, Individual Philanthropy, you will directly support the Director of Individual Philanthropy as they engage with Individuals, Family Foundations and Family Offices who currently make or have the capacity to make six-figure and transformational gifts. You will ensure the Director of Individual Philanthropy can seamlessly execute donor, prospect, Global Leadership Council (GLC) and campaign engagement strategies to achieve ambitious fundraising goals. Your daily work will include administrative and operational tasks, including assisting with global travel, scheduling, logistics and reporting. You will support the preparation of materials used for site visits, meetings, and events. You will ensure the Director is working in coordination with their counterparts across the Global Development department, the Executive Office, and WRI’s diaspora to facilitate high-level donor and prospect engagement. You will be supported by the Individual Philanthropy and Development Operations and teams.

What will you do:

Development Administration & Operations(40%):

• Provide day-to-day administrative support to the Director of Individual Philanthropy, including email support, scheduling internal and external meetings
• Arrange the Director’s travel, including researching and booking flights, trains, rental cars, accommodations and reservations, and building trip itineraries
• Assist with complex logistics and scheduling of donor/prospect meetings, Global Leadership Council meetings, site visits and events
• Support compliance with expense reporting
• Provide comprehensive CRM support, including locating and updating information about donors and prospects; maintaining Constituent CRM records with activities, call reports, meeting notes, event attendance, and/or gift notes; utilizing dashboards and answering basic reporting questions
• Support Major Gift team portfolio and quarterly financial reviews, including report preparation and distribution, meeting notes, and reminders
• Deliver strong Major Gift program project management, including developing, monitoring and updating project trackers, timelines and materials and following established communications and research processes

  Donor Cultivation & Stewardship(35%):

  📚 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯! 🌍🤝 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗡 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨𝗡𝗛𝗖𝗥, 𝗪𝗙𝗣, 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗖𝗘𝗙, 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦𝗦, 𝗨𝗡𝗙𝗣𝗔, 𝗜𝗢𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀! 🌐

  ⚠️ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐰: 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐍𝐎𝐖!

  • Provide a high-level of stewardship as a point of contact for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), Family Foundation, Family Office teams and their networks, ensuring a polished and sophisticated engagement experience
  • Support the Director in their engagement with individuals, their teams and networks, ensuring seamless execution of qualification and engagement strategies; including coordinating with the Executive Office, Communications, Program and Leadership teams to identify opportunities to align donor and prospect interests and activities
  • Assist Director with donor and prospect meetings, including with preparation of meeting strategy and briefing documents, agendas, taking and transcribing meeting notes, intake on call reports and follow-up activities, videoconferencing and in-person venue needs
  • Draft and ensure the timely and tailored acknowledgement of gifts by maintaining acknowledgement workflows
  • Assist Director with donor reporting requirements, including admin support around timelines, execution, gathering supporting collateral, arranging internal calls across network for inputs and updates

    Global Leadership Council (25%):

    • Provide Global Leadership Council meeting support, including but not limited to working with vendors, lead on meeting tech and IT liaison, end to end invitation project management (preparing the invitation, taking RSVPs, collecting meeting notes and tracking follow-ups) and, if needed, staffing the event
    • Facilitate internal collaborations and coordination across WRI’s global teams to support Global Leadership Council engagement strategies and program needs
    • Deliver strong project management to support an evolving Global Leadership Council program including developing, monitoring and updating project trackers, timelines and materials
    • Utilize CRM to accurately maintain and report on Global Leadership Council pipeline and fundraising goals

      What will you need:

      • Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree
      • Experience: You have minimum of 3 year of full-time work experience coordinating multiple projects through a project life cycle
      • Experience or knowledge of managing high-level relationships requiring a high degree of discretion
      • Experience with and knowledge of Microsoft Office 365, Asana, and with a CRM database
      • Experience working independently and proactively
      • Experience managing multiple projects and priorities
      • Experience with project management or executive-level support
      • Experience working in development fundraising preferred, but not required
      • Languages: Verbal and written English proficiency required.
      • Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position.

        Potential Salary: Salary range is between 69,000 and 73,000 USD. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors. WRI offers a competitive renumeration and benefits package.

        How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of 03 April 2024. We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter.

        You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

        What we offer:

        • Access to the WRI global network with the opportunity to exchange with and learn from passionate colleagues working at the cutting edge of their fields across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the US
        • The chance to have an impact and to develop your career within a mission driven organization with access to varied learning and training opportunities
        • A workplace that strives to put diversity and inclusion at the heart of our work
        • The opportunity to join and get involved in different working groups and affinity groups to shape the future of WRI
        • Commitment to hybrid working model with flexible working hours
        • Generous leave days that increase with tenure