Advancement Operations & Donor Engagement Senior Manager

Job Title: Advancement Operations & Donor Engagement Senior Manager

Department: Advancement

Reports To: Vice President of Advancement

Position Type: Full-Time

Work Environment: Hybrid. (Mon, Tues, Thurs we are in person at our offices in Century City)

About the Organization: Make-A-Wish is one of the nation’s most recognized nonprofits, creating life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. A wish experience can be a game-changer for a child with a critical illness. This one belief guides us in everything we do at Make-A-Wish. It inspires us to grant life-changing wishes for children going through so much. It compels us to be creative in exceeding the expectations of every wish kid. It drives us to make our donated resources go as far as possible. Most of all, it is the founding principle of our vision to grant the wish of every eligible child. Make-A-Wish of Greater Los Angeles is specifically going through a season of seismic change. We have recently restructured our Board, our Leadership, and our staff, and have a strategic plan for 3 years of methodical growth and expansion, both in our program delivery and in our staffing.

Position Summary: The Advancement Operations & Donor Engagement Sr. Manager is responsible for strengthening the effectiveness of the Advancement team through strategic CRM management, fundraising analytics, donor intelligence, and donor communications.

This position ensures that Advancement data is accurate, actionable, and consistently used to inform fundraising strategy and relationship management. The Sr. Manager oversees CRM data integrity and reporting, monitors leading and non-leading indicators of fundraising performance, collaborates with the national Make-A-Wish organization on annual fund data and donor segmentation, and identifies prospective donors and opportunities for deeper engagement. In addition, this role leads donor communications and stewardship initiatives that strengthen donor relationships, increase retention, and support the organization's fundraising goals and events.

Who you are: Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles is seeking an analytical, highly organized, excellent communicator, who is comfortable translating data into insights and actionable recommendations. This person will serve as a strategic partner to the Advancement team and a resource to the broader Advancement team.

Key Responsibilities

Advancement Operations, CRM & Data Management (35%)

• Serve as the primary administrator and internal subject-matter expert for the organization's donor CRM and related fundraising data systems.
• Maintain accurate, complete, and consistent donor records, gift histories, relationship information, contact reports, and engagement records.
• Establish and maintain data-entry standards, reporting processes, data hygiene protocols, and procedures that support effective fundraising operations.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reports that provide visibility into donor activity, fundraising pipeline health, engagement, and team performance.
• Ensure that donor interactions, solicitations, follow-up activities, cultivation plans, and stewardship touchpoints are documented appropriately.
• Partner with Advancement colleagues to improve CRM adoption, reporting consistency, and the quality of information used in fundraising decisions.
• Identify opportunities to streamline processes, improve data quality, and increase the team's effectiveness through better use of technology.

Fundraising Performance & Non-Financial Indicators (20%)

• Track and report on key performance indicators beyond dollars raised, including donor engagement, relationship development, and fundraising pipeline activity.
• Develop reporting on non-financial indicators such as donor meetings, meaningful personal contacts, solicitations in preparation, proposals submitted, follow-up completion, stewardship activity, event participation, and prospect qualification.
• Monitor donor retention, reactivation, giving frequency, recurring giving participation, upgrade potential, and engagement trends.
• Help establish consistent performance metrics and reporting cadences across the Advancement team.
• Produce regular dashboards and concise reports for the Advancement team that identify progress, gaps, emerging opportunities, and areas requiring attention.
• Translate data into actionable recommendations that help fundraisers prioritize outreach, strengthen relationships, and advance donor prospects through the pipeline.
• Support a culture of accountability by ensuring that goals, activities, and next steps are clearly documented and regularly reviewed.

National Partnership & Annual Fund Data Analysis (20%)

• Serve as the primary local Advancement contact for designated national Make-A-Wish data, annual fund, and donor analytics initiatives.
• Coordinate with national colleagues to obtain, review, interpret, and operationalize annual fund data lists and donor segmentation reports.
• Analyze national and local donor information to identify prospects for acquisition, reactivation, retention, increased giving, recurring gifts, and major-gift cultivation.
• Identify individuals within existing donors, event participants, volunteers, corporate, and community networks who may have potential for deeper philanthropic engagement.
• Conduct preliminary prospect identification and qualification using available giving history, engagement patterns, screening results, and other authorized research resources.
• Prioritize prospects based on giving behavior, engagement, relationship history, and indicators of potential philanthropic capacity.
• Develop actionable prospect lists and recommendations for the appropriate Advancement team members.
• Track outreach and follow-up to ensure that identified opportunities lead to meaningful donor engagement.
• Maintain appropriate data-use practices and follow organizational privacy, security, and national data-sharing policies.

Donor Communication & Stewardship Leadership (10%)

• Lead the planning and execution of an integrated donor communications and stewardship calendar aligned with fundraising priorities.
• Develop and coordinate donor communications across appropriate channels, including email, direct mail, digital communications, impact updates, newsletters, and targeted donor messaging.
• Create segmented communications that reflect donor history, interests, engagement, giving level, and relationship stage.
• Partner with internal colleagues to develop compelling donor-facing content that demonstrates the impact of philanthropy and the mission of Make-A-Wish.
• Coordinate communications recognizing donor generosity, reporting on impact, welcoming new donors, re-engaging lapsed supporters, and encouraging continued or increased giving.
• Establish processes to ensure timely donor acknowledgments, personalized stewardship, and consistent follow-up.
• Collaborate with national and local colleagues to adapt relevant messaging, campaign resources, and brand standards for the Greater Los Angeles audience.
• Monitor communications performance, including delivery, engagement, response, conversion, and retention indicators where measurable.
• Use donor data and campaign results to refine messaging, improve segmentation, and strengthen donor engagement over time.

Cross-Functional Advancement Support (10%)

• Work closely with annual giving, major gifts, corporate partnerships, events, and other Advancement colleagues to align data, communications, and fundraising priorities.
• Prepare prospect briefs, donor summaries, pipeline reports, and other materials that support fundraising strategy and donor relationship development.
• Identify opportunities to connect event participants, volunteers, community supporters, and other constituents with appropriate giving and engagement pathways.
• Support Advancement planning meetings and performance reviews with timely, reliable data and clear recommendations.
• Perform other related duties that support the goals and effectiveness of the Advancement department.

Qualifications

Required:

• • Commitment to the mission and values of Make-A-Wish.
  • Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, communications, marketing, business, analytics, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.
  • 5+ years of relevant experience in nonprofit advancement, fundraising operations, donor relations, CRM administration, marketing analytics, or donor communications.
  • Demonstrated experience maintaining and using a CRM or donor database to support fundraising, relationship management, or audience segmentation. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience creating or coordinating donor-facing communications.
  • Strong project management skills and the ability to manage multiple deadlines and priorities.
  • High attention to detail and a commitment to data integrity, confidentiality, and responsible donor information management.
  • Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret data, develop reports, recognize patterns, and recommend actionable next steps.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with experience creating or coordinating donor-facing communications.

Preferred:

• Proficiency in reporting tools, Microsoft Excel and Power BI a plus.
• Experience with email marketing systems.
• Experience with donor CRM, Salesforce especially.

Work Environment

• This is a hybrid role based in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA.
• Currently in-office 3 days a week. (Mon, Tues, Thurs)
• As the organization continues to grow and evolve, we are experimenting with new and innovative ways to create our team culture and reward our staff.

Compensation

• Annual Salary: $85,000 - $95,000. The actual salary offered will be commensurate with experience and in accordance with applicable California state wage and hourly laws
• Benefits: 100% Employer Coverage for Medical Insurance for staff members, with partial coverage for dependents. Dental, Vision, & Life Insurances. 403b with matching.
• Perks:
  • 11 Paid Holidays
  • Hybrid Work Environment – 3 days (Mon, Tues, Thurs) in the office in Century City.
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Flex Time
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Cell Phone Stipend
  • Access to the Calm app and other mental and emotional support programs
  • Discounted Gym Memberships
  • Caregiving Support
  • Parenting Resources
  • And more!

Interested applicants should email resume and cover letter in PDF format plus the answers to the following four questions to: hr@la.wish.org with the subject line: “Senior Manager of Advancement Operations and Donor Engagement”

Required Supplementary Questions:

1. Please give us an example of a way that you used Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to guide strategy at your current or past position. How were KPIs helpful for this task and what were their limitations?
2. Can you tell us about a successful fundraising or marketing email campaign you’ve done before? What made it successful and what software or platforms did you use?
3. Please give us a brief overview of your CRM database management experience. Which CRM databases have you used and what kind of tasks have you done through CRM?
4. We work 3 days a week at our offices in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Are you able to work on a hybrid schedule in this location?

Benefits: 100% Employer Coverage for Medical Insurance for staff members, with partial coverage for dependents. Dental, Vision, & Life Insurances. 403b with matching.

Perks:

• • 11 Paid Holidays
  • Hybrid Work Environment – 3 days (Mon, Tues, Thurs) in the office in Century City.
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Flex Time
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Cell Phone Stipend
  • Access to the Calm app and other mental and emotional support programs
  • Discounted Gym Memberships
  • Caregiving Support
  • Parenting Resources
  • And more!