Head of Philanthropy

Term of Employment: Full-time, exempt

Reports to: Development Director

Supervises: Principal Philanthropy Manager and three Philanthropy Managers

Location: Remote (U.S.-based)

Who We Are:

The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) accomplishes this mission by filing high-impact lawsuits to protect animals from harm, providing free legal assistance and training to prosecutors to assure that animal abusers are held accountable for their crimes, supporting tough animal protection legislation and fighting legislation harmful to animals, gathering data about and advocating for effective regulation of animal exploitative industries and providing resources and opportunities to law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal law.

Role Description:

The Head of Philanthropy leads ALDF’s major and principal gifts program, managing a team of four fundraisers and driving revenue growth from individual donors capable of making transformational investments of $10,000 and above. The position combines strategic program leadership with team development and frontline fundraising, initially focusing on building team capacity to increase six- and seven-figure commitments.

As ALDF builds its first dedicated principal giving position and expands its major gifts infrastructure, this proven leader will establish systems, processes, and a performance culture that ensures sustainable results. Success in the first year includes directing strategy and performance for the major and principal gifts program, establishing robust systems and processes, developing meaningful key performance indicators (KPIs) and tracking mechanisms, and coaching the team to ensure excellence across all performance metrics. Year one will focus on these foundational priorities, with the addition of active portfolio management of up to 20-30 high-capacity prospects by year two.

This role reports to the Development Director and partners closely with the Chief Advancement Officer, Executive Director, and program leadership to align fundraising strategies with organizational priorities.

How You Will Make a Difference:

Leadership and Strategy

• Direct the strategy and performance of the major and principal gifts program, establishing and managing KPIs (including revenue growth, pipeline health, donor retention, portfolio performance, and solicitation outcomes), forecasting revenue against ALDF’s targets, and leveraging data-driven insights to identify opportunities for growth.
• Develop and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies that connect donor priorities to organizational programs and maximize impact.
• Partner with program staff and senior leadership to identify funding priorities and develop compelling cases for support, proposals, and stewardship materials.
• Oversee planning and execution of major donor engagement activities, events, and cultivation opportunities.
• Ensure compliance with fundraising best practices and organizational policies and continually strengthen systems and protocols to drive excellence.

Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and manage a team of major and principal gift officers by setting ambitious revenue targets and performance standards, developing individualized growth plans, and fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and empowerment to achieve team-wide goals.
• Provide ongoing coaching and feedback and professional development opportunities to create a culture of continuous learning.
• Implement robust portfolio management and moves management systems to track donor progression and team performance.
• Build team capacity through training on best practices, donor engagement techniques, and emerging philanthropic trends.
• Ensure compliance with internal processes and the highest standard of ethical fundraising practices.

Donor Relations and Fundraising

• Manage a leadership portfolio of 20–30 major and principal gift prospects and donors, designing and executing sophisticated, individualized engagement strategies that align donor interests with organizational priorities and build long-term relationships with high-net-worth individuals.
• Partner with the Executive Director, board members, and senior leadership on donor meetings and solicitations, advising on strategic opportunities.
• Craft compelling proposals, impact reports, acknowledgements, and donor communications.

Program Operations

• Partner with the Operations team and other internal stakeholders to optimize CRM systems for portfolio management, pipeline tracking, and performance monitoring.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and reporting tools that inform forecasting and strategic decision-making.
• Ensure accurate donor and gift tracking, documentation, and compliance with data management protocols.
• Lead wealth screening strategy, including identification of prospects, effective use of screening data, and routine updates.
• Develop, manage, and monitor the annual major gifts revenue and expense budget in collaboration with the Development Director.
• Track program expenditures and ensure fiscal responsibility across all major gift activities.

Please note, this job description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position, which are subject to change in order to best advance ALDF’s strategic objectives and mission.

We Are Looking for Candidates With:

• A bachelor's degree in business, communications, public relations, non-profit management or a related field is preferred. In lieu of a degree, a minimum of 5 years of fundraising experience may be considered equivalent.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible major gifts fundraising experience, including at least 3 years of managing a team of gift officers.
• Proven track record of personally securing six- and seven-figure gifts and leading teams to achieve ambitious revenue targets.
• Strong knowledge of major gift methodology, including moves management, prospect research, wealth screening, and pipeline management.
• Deep expertise in KPI-driven fundraising, including setting measurable goals, tracking portfolio performance, and using analytics to inform strategy and drive results.
• Commitment to team relationship-building and investing time in developing team culture and connection, recognizing these as essential to performance.
• Proficiency with donor database systems, Microsoft Office suite, and data visualization tools.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze data to inform strategy and decision-making.
• Experience preparing and managing budgets, with responsibility for monitoring revenue and program expenses.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build authentic relationships with diverse constituents, including donors, board members, and organizational leadership.
• High level of independence, strategic thinking, and problem-solving.
• An understanding of and demonstrated commitment to the mission of ALDF.
• Cultural competency and sensitivity, with an understanding of vegan and animal protection communities preferred.
• Ability to travel up to 20% of the time for donor meetings, events, staff meetings and retreats.

Additional information:

This is a U.S.-based position. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

ALDF is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing an employment environment which is welcoming of persons from diverse backgrounds and free from unlawful discrimination and harassment, and in which all legal rights of our employees are recognized and protected. ALDF conducts all internal and external operations, programs, and employment-related decision making (including hiring decisions) without regard to actual or perceived race, ancestry, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, political affiliation, disability or medical condition (including physical, intellectual, or psychiatric), sexual orientation, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic information, age, or other protected category, and in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local anti-discrimination and anti-harassment laws.

Consistent with the organization’s mission, our events are free of animal products and byproducts.

The application deadline for this position is March 30, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so we encourage applicants to apply early as we may make a decision before the deadline closes.

We Offer Competitive Compensation with Excellent Benefits, Including:

• Starting annual salary of $146,152 for most geographic locations.
• For candidates located within 25 miles of Washington D.C., Cotati, CA, or Los Angeles, starting salary is $153,854.
• For candidates located within 25 miles of New York City or San Francisco, starting salary is $161,536.
• To ensure salary equity, we do not negotiate salary outside of the published starting rate. Rate is determined by role, using set geographical factors.
• Comprehensive health care, dental, life and vision benefits (100% employer paid); Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Dependent Care Account (DCA) are also available.
• 192 hours of PTO.
• 19 paid holidays.
• 1-month paid sabbatical after 5 years of continuous employment.
• 16 weeks of paid parental leave.
• 401k plan with a maximum 5% employer contribution match after one year of employment.
• Alternative work schedules (at manager’s discretion).
• One-time remote work allowance of $750.
• Annual professional development reimbursement of up to $1,000.

Maintaining a healthy work/life balance is a core value for the Animal Legal Defense Fund.