Senior Director, Leadership Giving

About Audubon

The National Audubon Society is a leading nonprofit conservation organization with 120 years of science‑based, community‑driven impact, dedicated to protecting birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Birds are powerful indicators of our planet’s health, acting as sentinels that warn us of environmental change and inspire action.

Audubon works across the Western Hemisphere, driven by the understanding that what is good for birds is good for the planet. Through a collaborative, bipartisan approach across habitats, borders, and the political spectrum, Audubon drives meaningful and lasting conservation outcomes. With 800 staff and over 1.9 million supporters, Audubon is a dynamic and ever‑growing force committed to ensuring a better planet for both birds and people for generations to come.

Senior Director, Leadership Giving collaborates closely with members of Development, Executive, and Senior Leadership Teams and represents Audubon’s hemispheric fundraising interests as a senior individual‑giving focused fundraiser. This position will report to the Vice President of Leadership Giving.

The Senior Director will be responsible for charting a path of ambitious growth in major and principal gifts to support Audubon’s hemispheric conservation vision, as well as collaborate with the Gift Planning team to secure bequest intentions and non‑cash assets from high‑net‑worth individuals. They will also provide fundraising leadership for Audubon, supporting a team of gift officers and natural partners in their own fundraising work to help maximize Audubon’s philanthropic potential.

This role will also work closely with Board Members—advisory board members as well as fiduciary board members of the National Audubon Society—to engage them in the identification, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation of major, principal, and planned gifts.

The successful candidate will be entrepreneurial, have demonstrated experience closing six‑ and seven‑figure gifts, and must have a high EQ for managing up, down, and laterally in all levels of the organization.

This position is classified as hybrid, in accordance with Audubon’s “Where We Work” Policy. Hybrid employees are expected to work in an Audubon office every Monday and Tuesday and an additional two days each month of the employees’ choosing. Candidates should be located within commuting distance of one of Audubon’s offices.

• Personally manage a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects; generating at least $2M‑$5M in annual revenue via personal solicitations.
• Establish and enhance an individual major and principal giving program, with the support of a team of fundraisers.
• Oversee a multi‑year fundraising initiative built around the Flight Plan, Audubon’s new Strategic Plan.
• Ensure direct report(s) are successfully staffing and activating Executive Directors and other regional field leadership in support of achieving Audubon’s ambitious fundraising goals.
• Ensure direct reports are informed, engaged, and prepared to share information around the larger organizational strategic plan and how local programming at locations their donors reside rolls up into that plan.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and supervision to a team of direct reports including frontline fundraisers and support staff.
• Work closely on a team of Senior Development Directors with the VP Leadership Giving and other members of the development management team to ensure, through portfolio management, strategic thinking and team coaching, that revenue generated meets or exceeds organizational needs.
• Maintain and foster a culture of safety.

$186,000 - $208,000 / year (Oakland, CA)

• Albuquerque, NM
• Albany, NY
• Anchorage, AK
• Baltimore, MD
• Charleston, SC
• Chicago, IL
• Columbia, SC
• Fargo, ND
• Fort Collins, CO
• Lincoln, NE
• Miami, FL
• New Orleans, LA
• New York, NY
• Oakland, CA
• Palm Desert, CA
• Roseville, MN
• Sacramento, CA
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Tallahassee, FL
• Washington, DC

• Prior experience with major- and principal-gift fundraising in a campaign environment is a must.
• Proven track record of closing gifts of $100K to $1M+.
• At least 15 years…