Position Summary: The Senior Director of Major and Individual Gifts is a pivotal leadership role responsible for the strategic integration and performance of GLIDE's comprehensive individual giving program. Encompassing the Annual Fund, Mid-Level/Major Giving, and Planned Gifts, this role serves as a trusted partner to the Chief Advancement Officer and a key architect of the Fund Development team's growth. The individual in this role is an organizational leader who can ably-both internally and externally--represent the spirit and culture of philanthropy on which Glide is built.
The successful candidate will design and execute an ambitious, sustainable fundraising roadmap that ensures a seamless individual donor pipeline-strategically stewarding supporters from their initial contribution through transformative legacy commitments-in partnership with the CEO, Board members, staff, and others. As the team's lead Major Gifts Officer, the Senior Director will also personally manage a high-level portfolio of 50-75 prospects with the capacity to support GLIDE with major commitments.
Essential Duties & Responsibilities:Leadership and Strategy- Strategic Vision: Design and implement a multi-channel individual giving strategy that integrates the Annual Fund, Mid-Level, Major Gifts, and Planned Giving into a unified, high-growth engine.
- Revenue Benchmarking: Establish, monitor, and achieve rigorous annual and multi-year revenue targets across all individual giving streams.
- Moves Management: Oversee the Major and Mid-Level Gift processes, mentoring gift officers in sophisticated moves-management techniques to deepen philanthropic ties and maximize donor lifetime value.
- Annual Fund Oversight: Provide executive direction for the Sr Manager of Annual Fund, collaboratively defining goals for donor acquisition, retention, direct mail, and digital campaigns.
- Segmentation and Strategy: Define clear donor segmentation and strategies to successfully recruit new supporters and transition existing donors to the giving ladder.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with the Communications Team, GLIDE Memorial Church, organization-wide staff and Board leadership to ensure a synchronized solicitation of cadence and cohesive messaging across all donor touchpoints.
Fundraising, Pipeline, and Performance Management- Portfolio Management: Directly cultivate, solicit, and steward a high-priority portfolio of XX donors, including ultra-high-net-worth individuals and prospects capable of 7- and 8-figure transformative gifts.
- Pipeline Stewardship: Guide the broader team in creating meaningful stewardship journeys that convert prospects, first-time donors, regular supporters, and others into long-term, invested partners.
- Performance Management: Rigorously track performance metrics-including revenue, retention rates, and participation-and pivot strategies proactively based on real-time data.
- Collaboration: Work across all levels of GLIDE staff and Board leadership to craft and execute personalized fundraising strategies that appeal to individuals' philanthropic goals.
General- Philanthropic Spirit: Personify, champion and perpetuate GLIDE's organization-wide culture of philanthropy, ensuring it is reflected in all internal and external interactions.
- Partnership: Foster deep, collaborative, and trusting partnerships with staff across all departments to align fundraising efforts with programmatic impact.
- Context: Actively engage with GLIDE's ethos by developing an expert-level understanding of its history, social justice mission, and core values from its founding through its current role in San Francisco's ecosystem
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications:- Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience. Master's Degree, CFRE, CAP, 21/64, and other fundraising certifications a plus;
- Seven to 10-plus years of significant nonprofit fundraising and leadership (preferably 5-7 figure individual giving in the social/human services area);
- Demonstrated multi-year experience managing a stable and successful fundraising team
- Excellent interpersonal and communications skills (written and verbal) with both internal and external constituencies. Proven experience in telling the story of an organization and conveying its importance.
- Commitment to professional and personal integrity;
- Ability to establish priorities and execute tasks with little direct supervision;
- Adaptable and flexible style maintaining the appropriate balance of rigor and flexibility
- Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships across difference-from front-line staff to Board members
- Ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality;
- Strong writing skills: adept at crafting proposals, solicitation letters and correspondence;
- Adept at creating and tracking budgets, adhering to expense limits;
- Computer Skills: MS Office suite including Excel and Word (mail merge preferred), Adobe products, fundraising software (Salesforce preferred)
- Experience with Wealth Screening and Prospecting Software, such as Lexis for Development Professionals and Windfall preferred
Leadership CompetenciesGlide values and expects its leaders to possess and demonstrate the following competencies:
- Adaptive Leadership & Resilience: Leads with agility, composure, and resilience during change and uncertainty while maintaining momentum and supporting team stability.
- Strategic Vision & Systems Thinking: Sees the broader organizational picture, connects cross-functional work, and plans proactively to advance shared goals and long-term success.
- Operational Excellence & Accountability: Ensures strong execution, stewardship, and follow-through while taking ownership of outcomes and maintaining operational effectiveness.
- Emotional Intelligence & Interpersonal Dynamics: Builds trust and psychological safety through self-awareness, empathy, communication, and curiosity.
- Talent Development & Collaboration: Invests in people and fosters collaboration across teams to strengthen organizational effectiveness and shared leadership
$150,000 - $175,000 a year
Work EnvironmentGLIDE's buildings are located in the Tenderloin neighborhood.GLIDE maintains an "open door" policy to the community and its clients, who frequently enter and leave the building.
