Associate Director, Planned Giving (Legacy Giving Advisor)

WHO WE ARE

The Humane League (THL) is a global nonprofit working to end the abuse of animals raised for food. Recognized as a Top Charity by Animal Charity Evaluators for multiple years running, we are regarded as one of the most effective animal protection organizations in the world. We are a high-impact, mission-driven team that uses our time, talent, and resources strategically to dismantle factory farming and create lasting change for farmed animals worldwide. We set bold goals, embrace continuous improvement, and hold ourselves accountable to the animals who depend on us. As a fully remote organization with 100+ staff across the globe, we collaborate across borders and with partner organizations to build a powerful, united movement for animals.

YOUR OPPORTUNITY

As Legacy Giving Advisor, you play a central role in helping one of the world’s leading farm animal protection organizations secure the resources needed to fight factory farming globally. This role will shape the future of a global movement and strengthen the long-term impact of work that protects billions of animals.

As the Legacy Giving Advisor, you will shape THL’s growing planned giving program, consisting of bequests, beneficiary designations, and charitable gift annuities. You will serve as both a strategist and frontline fundraiser, building THL’s planned giving program to grow long-term revenue, while stewarding the generous individuals that make up THL’s Legacy Society.

Working closely with the Associate Vice President of Donor Relations, you will develop and execute a dynamic and comprehensive planned giving strategy to drive revenue growth, set the annual marketing and communications plan, and serve as the organizational expert on planned giving. You will manage a portfolio of over 200 Legacy Society members and 300 identified planned giving prospects, cultivating and stewarding relationships and securing gifts that advance THL’s long-term mission. As THL’s legacy giving expert, you will co-create the vision for the program, advise colleagues across the Development department, and guide donors in thoughtful long-term philanthropy, shaping the future of the program through influence and leaving a lasting impact for animals worldwide.

This is a full-time, remote position reporting to the Associate Vice President of Donor Relations. Occasional travel may be required to support relationships and professional development, equivalent to 4+ trips per year. Depending on your time zone, occasional hours outside of 9am-5pm may be required, primarily for meetings with donors.

This position is based in the United States. The successful candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Strategic Leadership & Program Growth

• In consultation with Development Leadership, lead and co-create the vision and strategy for all aspects of THL’s planned giving program, reviewing, updating, and executing a dynamic annual plan to grow revenue and build a robust pipeline of future gifts.
• Explore and implement new giving vehicles and test creative marketing strategies to promote them. Identify innovative approaches to donor engagement and program expansion that increase long-term revenue and retention.
• Lead high-impact initiatives, including the strategy and execution of legacy matching challenges.
• Cultivate relationships with allied professionals—including estate attorneys, trust officers, and financial planners—to expand the referral network for client gift opportunities. Leverage these relationships strategically to maximize donor conversion and long-term impact.
• Serve as the department’s subject matter expert. Provide training and individual coaching to gift officers to increase their confidence in identifying planned giving opportunities and making planned giving and blended solicitations.

Donor Advising & Portfolio Management

• Manage a portfolio of 200+ Legacy Society donors and 300+ identified prospects. Build long-term relationships with Legacy Society members, qualify new leads, and create individualized engagement plans using THL’s CRM (EveryAction). Use donor data and insights to inform engagement plans and forecast revenue.
• Meet with donors to suggest planned giving strategies that align with their financial and philanthropic goals in collaboration with donors’ professional advisors.
• Oversee the donor journey, ensuring timely and meaningful communication via phone, email, and mail to welcome new members and report on the impact of their future gifts.

Marketing & Communications

• Design and implement an innovative annual marketing plan. Work with the Director of Advancement to integrate planned giving messaging into the annual broadcast email and direct mail calendars.
• Cultivate relationships with Legacy Society members that result in donor testimonials.
• Stay current on THL’s programmatic victories to customize compelling "insider" reports and updates that resonate with legacy donors.
• Manage relationships with external partners, including FreeWill, to maximize lead generation and conversion ensuring these partnerships strategically advance program objectives.
• Conceptualize and curate content for educational webinars and stewardship gatherings to cultivate prospects, partnering with THL’s Donor Care team on logistical execution. Incorporate feedback and data analytics to continuously improve engagement strategies.

Operations & Compliance

• Oversee the full lifecycle of estate administration in collaboration with Legal, ensuring the organization’s interests are protected and donor intent is fulfilled. Integrate risk management and compliance into all planned giving initiatives to safeguard organizational and donor interests.
• Manage charitable gift annuities (CGAs) in collaboration with external nonprofit partners.
• Set revenue projections and forecast long-term income. Collaborate with DevOps and IT to develop dashboards and KPIs that measure program health and campaign impact.
• Ensure all planned giving activities comply with IRS regulations and internal policies. Create and update Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the department.

In addition to the above essential job duties, other duties may be assigned as business needs arise. These may include non-essential, marginal job duties.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Experience: 7+ years of fundraising experience, with 5+ years specific to planned giving or legacy marketing.
• Subject Matter Expertise: Knowledge of planned giving best practices and gift vehicles, including bequests, life-income gifts (especially charitable gift annuities), and non-cash assets. Familiarity with the estate administration process. Stays current on trends and changes in legislation that can impact planned giving. Advanced education and/or certification, such as Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP), preferred.
• Leadership and Management: Fosters collaboration within the Development department and ensures collective focus on donor stewardship and achieving planned giving goals. Provides coaching and mentorship to teammates to increase fluency with planned giving concepts. Leads by example and builds the capacity of Development staff to identify and secure planned gifts.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to align activities with long-term development goals, assess risk, and plan ahead. This includes planning annual initiatives, evaluating program effectiveness, and identifying new opportunities to grow the Legacy Society. Use insights from donor data and market trends to drive program innovation.
• Data Analysis: Adept at analyzing donor data within a CRM to qualify prospects, track engagement, and refine our planned giving strategy. Ability to interpret and communicate trends will help inform individual donor plans and drive the success of initiatives like the 2025 Legacy Matching Challenge.
• Problem Solving: In a dynamic fundraising environment, you must be able to assess evolving donor needs, respond to challenges (such as delayed bequest documentation or shifting campaign results), and design creative solutions that preserve donor satisfaction and ensure program effectiveness.
• Adaptability and Flexibility: Ability to gracefully shift priorities, adjust timelines, and maintain focus through shifting goals or communication styles—particularly as you manage multiple campaigns, reporting deadlines, and interactions with a diverse donor base.
• Initiative and Proactiveness: Ability to ​​independently track key dates, anticipate donor follow-ups, and identify opportunities to deepen engagement—whether by recommending a new touchpoint strategy or developing a fresh SOP to help the department operate more efficiently.
• Verbal and Written Communication: Excellent communications skills in order to regularly write to, speak with, and create updates for high-value donors. Must be able to express appreciation, share detailed program outcomes, and guide internal stakeholders through complex planned giving scenarios with clarity and confidence.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Enthusiastic to work closely with philanthropy officers and other members of the Development department, supporting campaigns, coaching colleagues on planned giving practices, and collaborating on strategic donor stewardship. Ability to work cross-functionally in order to help the department meet its collective goals.
• Interpersonal (EQ, empathy): Strong interpersonal skills are essential for fostering positive donor relationships and maintaining a collaborative team environment. The role requires a high level of emotional intelligence to support thoughtful donor stewardship, and ensure interactions—whether with supporters or colleagues—are handled with empathy, diplomacy, and professionalism. Adhere to gift standards of the national association of gift planners.
• Time Management and Prioritization: Effective management of multiple timelines and tasks, including tracking donor communications, campaign schedules, and legal documentation. Strong organizational skills ensure deadlines are met and donor needs are addressed promptly.
• Mission Alignment: Dedicated to THL’s mission and values, as required to credibly and persuasively advance fundraising objectives and build donor relationships.

New candidates are welcome to apply as long as this job opening is listed on our website. If you are experiencing technical issues, please contact careers@thehumaneleague.org. Please submit applications and all supporting documents in English. All application questions and materials need to be submitted here through the application submission form; we do not accept applications through our careers email.

Hiring Timeline

Once your application has been reviewed, you will be notified via email with further details on the status of your application. If a candidate is moved forward, the interview process will be as follows:

• Phone Interview (via phone call)
• Work Simulation Exercise (completed remotely)
• Interview (via video call)
• Second Interview (via video call)
• Reference Checks

Each stage is expected to last a week or two on average. For full details of our full-time position recruitment process, please review this document (this will vary for temporary roles; please see the above bullet points for this role's specific stages).

Compensation and Benefits

Salary range: $95,684–$116,586 USD annually.

At The Humane League, we are committed to fair, consistent, and transparent compensation. We use a structured job architecture and step system to determine salary based on a role’s scope and an individual’s total years of relevant experience. To ensure equity, we follow a no-negotiation policy for salaries. Candidates whose experience places them at step 5 or higher within their job level are awarded a “Senior” title designation.

Employees enjoy full medical coverage, optional dental and vision packages, paid sick leave, a 401(k) retirement plan with matching, pet care & Rx discount plans, working from home, up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees, wellness benefits, paid holidays, flexible vacation time, professional development, and the supportive environment at The Humane League!

Equal Employment Opportunity

THL is an equal opportunity employer. THL does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected classifications, including but not limited to race, color, age, national origin, ethnicity, religious creed or belief, physical or mental disability, marital or familial status, legally protected medical condition, genetic information, military or veteran status, gender, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or any other status or classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. THL is committed to the importance of non-discriminatory practices within the nonprofit sector, as well as all workplace environments, and strongly encourages all interested candidates to apply.

Reasonable Accommodations

The Humane League is committed to fully supporting all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, THL provides reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws throughout the hiring process and employment if hired. If a reasonable accommodation is needed, please contact the People team at accommodations@thehumaneleague.org to initiate the interactive process. THL complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and all other applicable state and local laws.

AI Policy

Original work and thought are essential in the hiring process and allow us to evaluate you based on your own skills and competency. Therefore, the use of artificial intelligence (ChatGPT, Gemini, Rytr, Google Assistant, etc) to generate responses is strictly prohibited. By submitting this application you agree to comply with our AI Policy. Violations of this policy in any part of the recruitment process will result in being dismissed from consideration. If you need a reasonable accommodation to this policy, please see above for more information.

Employees enjoy full medical coverage, optional dental and vision packages, paid sick leave, a 401(k) retirement plan with matching, pet care & Rx discount plans, working from home, up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for eligible employees, wellness benefits, paid holidays, flexible vacation time, professional development, and the supportive environment at The Humane League!