Associate Director, Donor Communications

ROLE

• Oversee development of donor-facing materials such as decks, memos, talking points, stewardship materials, narrative briefs, and tailored two-pagers.
• Translate organizational and program content into funder-ready products using impact‑focused language.
• Build and maintain messaging frameworks for donor communications to ensure consistency and strategic alignment.
• Manage intake, scoping, and workflow for donor communications requests, setting support levels and aligning work with audience and relationship goals.
• Recommend readiness, review pathways, and approval processes, involving Philanthropic Partnerships as needed.
• Manage strategic cadence of communications to keep the funder community informed, using segmentation, audience mapping, and appropriate channels.
• Partner with program communications and Partnerships to ensure narrative consistency across funder touchpoints.
• Oversee list hygiene, audience mapping, and lead triage for clear visibility of funder interactions.
• Develop and execute individualized stewardship plans and cultivation strategies for top‑tier funders and high‑priority prospects.
• Deliver key donor moments and high‑impact engagement experiences in coordination with Events and other Mar Comm teams.
• Provide leadership and program staff with tailored narratives, talking points, and meeting preparation for funder principals and CEOs.
• Ensure stewardship and cultivation touchpoints work together to build trust and support moves management.
• Own development and execution of prospect engagement strategies to expand the philanthropic pipeline.
• Identify and develop engagement pathways for new‑to‑climate funders and prioritize outreach with Partnerships.
• Track and report on prospect engagement activity and pipeline development.
• Assign work and manage capacity across the team, ensuring clear priorities and sustainable workload.
• Maintain coordinated view of all active donor communications work for visibility to Director and Partnerships.
• Manage donor communications workflows, intake processes, and project timelines for consistent, high‑quality execution.
• Serve as primary operational liaison to the Philanthropic Partnerships team, aligning communications strategies with fundraising priorities.
• Work closely with the Director to align donor communications priorities with broader audience strategy and organizational context.
• Collaborate with program communications to integrate foundational messaging and funder intelligence.
• Partner with Institutional Communications & Public Affairs and Creative Studio, Channels & Operations on shared deliverables, events, and campaigns involving funder audiences.
• Coordinate with Partnerships on dotted‑line relationships with donor relations staff to ensure smooth operational collaboration.

• 7+ years of experience in fundraising communications, donor relations, development communications, or a closely related field.
• At least 2–3 years of supervisory experience.
• Deep understanding of how communications supports fundraising, including donor stewardship, cultivation, prospect engagement, and funder‑facing product development.
• Proven ability to translate complex organizational strategies into clear, compelling funder‑ready materials across multiple formats.
• Strong writing and editorial skills, adaptable to multiple audiences and relationship contexts.
• Experience managing team workflow, capacity, intake processes, and project timelines, and prioritization.
• Experience with audience segmentation, funder journey mapping, or CRM‑informed communications strategies.
• Advanced analytical and critical thinking skills for synthesizing complex information and making judgment calls.
• Strong project management skills with ability to handle multiple priorities and complex tasks.
• Excellent relationship‑building skills for partnering with fundraising teams, program staff, and leadership.
• Commitment to a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment.

• 20 days paid time off for first‑year employees, with incremental PTO in subsequent years; 14 paid holidays annually