Development Manager

Position Title: Development Manager

Reports to: Executive Director

Start Date: August 2025

Location: Remote

Hours: 20–25 hours/week (non-exempt)

Hourly Wage: $27/hour or commensurate with experience

The Women’s Ordination Conference (WOC) seeks a strategic and relational Development Manager to support our mission through a focused portfolio in planned giving, donor stewardship, and prospect research.

Founded in 1975, the Women’s Ordination Conference is the oldest and largest organization advocating for the ordination of women as deacons, priests, and bishops into an inclusive and accountable Roman Catholic Church. A feminist voice for women in the Church, WOC is a grassroots-driven movement that promotes activism, dialogue, and prayerful witness to call for women’s full equality in the Church.

We encourage applicants of any age, race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, sexual orientation, citizenship, marital status, disability, and/or lived experience.

Our ideal candidate has a heart for WOC’s mission and a mind for building sustainable, values-aligned donor relationships. You thrive in a collaborative team, are self-directed, and bring both strategic thinking and meticulous follow-through.

Core Responsibilities:

Individual Giving and Stewardship

• Maintain and analyze a portfolio of individual donors and prospects, with attention to retention, upgrade, and re-engagement strategies.
• Implement a metrics-informed stewardship plan, including customized donor touchpoints across the giving spectrum.
• Conduct proactive prospect research to identify high-capacity individuals for major and planned gifts.
• Working in collaboration with the Executive Director to raise a minimum of $250,000 for a major WOC conference in May 2026, and $100,000/year beginning in the subsequent year.

Planned Giving

• Develop and manage WOC’s planned giving program, including donor segmentation, marketing strategy, and relationship-building to encourage legacy commitments.
• Educate donors on gift planning vehicles such as bequests, charitable trusts, and beneficiary designations.
• Create compelling materials that articulate the long-term impact of legacy gifts aligned with WOC’s mission.

Prospect Research

• Support portfolio management through donor qualification, research briefs, and cultivation strategy recommendations.
• Track key indicators such as giving capacity, philanthropic interest, and engagement history to inform moves management.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, with demonstrated success in individual and annual giving of $1000+ donors.
• Familiarity with donor databases and related programs (Little Green Light, GiveLively, Zapier).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with attention to tone, accuracy, and mission alignment.
• Knowledge of donor lifecycle strategies, including prospect identification, stewardship, and planned giving vehicles.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Priority review will be given for those: with 2+ years of planned giving experience; or those with proven fundraising training certifications.
• Familiarity with the Catholic Church and/or Catholic organizations.

Location:

WOC offers flexible and remote scheduling options. This is a remote position, with preference for proximity to Washington, DC (where WOC’s office is located) or Detroit, MI (where our 50th anniversary conference is to take place May 2026). The manager must be in the United States to complete their duties. Travel may be requested to attend board meetings, fundraisers, and our 50th anniversary conference.

Operations:

The Women’s Ordination Conference is a small organization with two staff members and a board of directors between 10-15 members. This position is part of a critical fundraising year as we approach our 50th anniversary.

To Apply:

Please send a resume and short cover letter to Kate McElwee, Executive Director, at kmcelwee@womensordination.org with the subject line: Development Manager Application.

Deadline to apply: August 20, 2025. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

WOC fully and actively supports equal opportunity for all people and encourages women, people of color, and LGBTQAI+ applicants to apply.