Senior Development Officer (26080)

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is recruiting a Senior Development Officer to manage a portfolio of individual and family donor relationships and secure significant philanthropic support for WWF-US’s strategic priorities. The role focuses on cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors through a relationship-based approach, contributing to sustained revenue growth and long-term donor engagement.

The Senior Development Officer will manage a portfolio of approximately 75–100 individual and family relationships, prioritising donors with capacity and inclination to give at the $100K+ level. The role calls for developing and implementing individualised engagement strategies to cultivate, solicit and steward donors in alignment with WWF’s fundraising priorities.

Performance will be measured against several specific goals. The financial goal is to achieve and maintain a three-year rolling average of $1M–$2M in new and renewed philanthropic revenue, with a focus on securing and growing gifts at the $100K+ level. The engagement goal is to maintain an average of 8–10 meaningful interactions per year with each assigned donor or qualified prospect. The Senior Development Officer is also expected to submit at least 12–18 tailored proposals or solicitations annually, with an emphasis on securing major gifts of $100K and above; demonstrate consistent progress in identifying, qualifying and advancing new prospects; ensure effective stewardship, timely follow-up and accurate documentation of donor engagement in CRM; and partner with colleagues across Development and programme teams to align donor strategies.

Additional responsibilities include working closely with programme staff and leadership to align donor interests with WWF’s highest-priority initiatives, and actively participating in team strategy discussions and contributing to a collaborative fundraising environment.

Required qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree with 6+ years of experience in major gifts fundraising; a passion for WWF’s mission and knowledge of conservation issues; demonstrated knowledge of the principles and best practices of non-profit major gifts development; strong customer service and sales skills; flexibility and the ability to balance a variety of activities and work effectively as part of a team; the ability to succeed within a consensus-building culture; proven ability to manage projects, set priorities and work within deadlines; and the ability to travel approximately 40% of the time. Intellectual curiosity and a sense of humour are highly preferred.