About TechnoServe:
At TechnoServe, we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to build a better life. For over 50 years, we have given smallholder farmers and entrepreneurs the skills, connections, and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty. We leverage the power of markets and the private sector to create sustainable economic growth to benefit people and the planet. Our unique mix of business solutions, deep knowledge of local contexts, and data-driven insights is helping to fight poverty across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
TechnoServe staff are local–95% are from the countries in which they work. We put a high premium on collaboration and entrepreneurship. We hold ourselves and each other to the highest standards of integrity and transparency. And we focus on delivering lasting impact for our mission.
Job Summary
The Senior Specialist of Donor Engagement & Growth is responsible for deepening relationships and scaling TechnoServe’s donor pipelines by enhancing the donor journey for our most promising mid-level supporters (between $500 - $5,000), optimizing programming for our Global Advisory Council (GAC), and driving volunteer engagement and giving among our Fellows Alumni. The Sr. Specialist provides a high-touch experience for donors in these groups and acts as a collaborative partner to internal teams—layering engagement strategies over existing workflows to help move donors toward their full philanthropic potential.
The Senior Specialist reports to the Sr. Director of Major Gifts.
Primary Functions & Responsibilities:
Donor Overlay & Project Management (40%)
- Mid-Level Growth: Act as a dedicated partner to the Direct Mail and Digital teams. "Overlay" personalized engagement onto existing mass-marketing cycles to ensure high-potential donors feel seen and valued without disrupting current workflows. These donors are in direct mail and digital marketing cycles to provide them with an enhanced donor experience where personalized outreach complements automated workflows.
- GAC Program Management: Serve as a program lead for the Global Advisory Council. Drive a consistent baseline of engagement. For GAC members in Major Gift Officer (MGO)-managed portfolios, act as a strategic partner, providing the programmatic "baseline" (communications, help with events, and updates) that allows MGOs to layer on bespoke, high-level touches with a focus on onboarding newer members and activating mid-level members who are not yet in MGO portfolios, moving them toward their full philanthropic potential.
- Alumni Empowerment: Act as a catalyst for the 500+ Fellows Alumni, motivating key volunteers in different regions to hold networking events, keeping the alumni a self-sustaining and increasingly donor-ready group. Develop giving tracks, especially for alumni who have moved into executive roles. Keep fellows educated on TechnoServe’s success, challenges and opportunities to help through facilitating a quarterly newsletter and other communications.
Relationship Management (40%)
- Direct Engagement: Get on the phone and proactively reach out to thank donors and volunteers, listen to their stories, and understand the "why" behind their generosity. Be comfortable asking a donor about their life’s passions as well as analyzing their giving history. The goal is to move beyond the transaction to help build a community of supporters.
- The Handoff: Serve as the bridge to MGOs, providing the "intel," nuances, and briefing memos needed for MGOs to invite donors into five- and six-figure investments. Act as the connective tissue that ensures a donor’s journey from "interested" to "invested" feels seamless and personal.
- Events: Serve as a member of the event planning team for donor cultivation events, salon dinners, and virtual functions, to help ensure these events are structured for increased investment.
Internal Innovation & Excellence (20%)
- Donor Journey Resource: Serve as an optimizer of the donor experience. Identify friction points in the donor journey and propose creative, data-backed solutions to improve retention and increase giving.
- CRM Mastery: Maintain impeccable records in The Raiser’s Edge, using data to report on the "health" of donor segments. Ensure all donor interactions are tracked in the CRM in a timely and thorough manner.
- Collaborate with colleagues to ensure that appeals, newsletters, and other donor-centric materials that reach specific donor segments are tailored to resonate. Act as a solution partner to colleagues, identifying and solving "pain points" in the donor journey through data-informed strategies.
Basic Qualifications
- Education and Experience: Bachelor’s Degree with 5+ years of experience in fundraising, alumni relations, or account management, or a Master’s with 3+ years of experience.
- Proven Track Record: Demonstrated success in meeting or exceeding revenue targets and moving donors up a "giving pyramid."
- Project Management: Proficiency in managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects and utilizing The Raiser’s Edge.
- Communication: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills; ability to distill complex international development data into a compelling "business case" for giving.
Required Languages: Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills, with fluency in English.
Travel: Domestic travel up to 5%
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Humanitarian or International Development organizations.
- Knowledge of tools to track donor behavior and pipeline velocity.
- Experience managing Giving Societies, alumni groups, volunteer management, and/or volunteer boards.
- Experience with CRM platforms (The Raiser's Edge preferred).
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- The "Growth" Mindset: A professional who thrives on the challenge of identifying "hidden" major gift prospects within a large database.
- Business Savvy: Understanding of the international development environment and the ability to speak the language of "ROI" to corporate-minded donors.
- Entrepreneurial Drive: A builder who enjoys creating new systems and engagement models from the ground up.
- Discretion: Ability to handle highly sensitive donor information with the utmost confidentiality and ethical standards.
- Knowledge of techniques and best practices in annual giving and stewardship communications (including email solicitations and direct mail strategies).
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively on a team and to build and maintain positive relationships with all levels of the organization.
- Strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.
- Relational Authenticity: A believer that donors are motivated by community and connection who possesses the skills required to turn a routine thank-you call into a real conversation and the ability to build community.
NOTE: This is a hybrid position for candidates living within a commutable distance to our Arlington, VA Headquarters. The current hybrid schedule is two days per week in the office, and three days from home. Candidates must have US work authorization at the time of application. TechnoServe will not provide sponsorship for this position.
We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe's vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.
With our commitment to diversity, we are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and affirmative action employer and do not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, HIV/AIDS status, protected veteran status, disability, and all other protected classes.
We are also proud of our commitment to protecting staff, partners, and beneficiaries from abuse and exploitation, and we thoroughly vet all final candidates through rigorous background and reference checks.
If you have a disability that affects your ability to use our online system to apply for a position at TechnoServe, please contact Human Resources at recruitment@tns.org or call +1 202 785 4515.
