Sr. Director, Major Gifts

Senior Director, Major Gifts and Individual Giving

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid)

FLSA: Exempt

Reports to: Vice President, Global Development

Position Overview

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Through science-based, campaign-driven policy work, Oceana protects and restores the world’s oceans, with offices across the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, and headquarters in Washington, DC.

Oceana is seeking a Senior Director, Major Gifts and Individual Giving to build and lead the organization’s major-gifts team — including Planned Giving. The Senior Director is a senior member of Oceana’s Global Development team, reporting to the Vice President, Global Development.

This is a newly created role at Oceana and a rare opportunity to shape and build out our major gifts program. The position will start without direct reports, with plans to grow the team by adding Major Gifts Officers over time.

The role will personally hold a curated portfolio of Oceana’s most significant donors and prospects, including continuity stewardship of principal-level relationships, while directing team-wide strategy, goal setting, and moves management across the full major-gifts program.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Program Management

• Build, lead, and develop a major-gifts team
• Set portfolio assignments, individual and team revenue targets, and moves-management standards across the major-gifts program
• Recruit, hire, coach, and evaluate team members; set clear goals and support professional development
• Consolidate donor-relationship management into the major-gifts function, working with department leadership to transition portfolios currently held by staff outside the function into appropriate team ownership
• Own forecasting, pipeline reporting, and revenue accountability for the full major-gifts program

Portfolio Management: Principal & Major Gifts

• Personally identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of approximately 50–75 of Oceana’s most significant individual donors and prospects, with particular focus on continuity of principal-level ($100,000+) relationships
• Build a robust major-donor pipeline and convert qualified prospects into major-gifts supporters, providing exceptional, high-touch stewardship
• Prepare and deliver individualized solicitations, moves-management plans, and impact reports for the organization’s highest-level relationships
• Represent Oceana at donor and prospect meetings, cultivation events, galas, industry gatherings, and speaking engagements, including engagements requiring board- and executive-level participation

Strategic Planning & Communications

• Partner with the Vice President, Global Development to design and execute a multi-year major-gifts growth strategy in support of Oceana’s organization-wide revenue goals
• Set annual major-gifts revenue goals for the team and monitor progress against pacing benchmarks
• Collaborate with Communications, Program, and Legal teams to develop donor-facing materials, proposals, and stewardship content
• Represent major gifts in department-wide strategic planning alongside Oceana’s other senior development leaders

Information Management & Administration

• Ensure the team maintains accurate, timely donor records in Salesforce and supporting systems
• Develop and monitor portfolio and program metrics to measure team and individual performance
• Perform other duties as assigned

Supervisory Responsibilities & Decision-Making Authority

• Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, hiring, and performance evaluation of the major-gifts team, consistent with Oceana policy
• Operates with a high degree of independence, performing based on broad instructions and direction from the Vice President, Global Development
• Decides independently on portfolio assignments and cultivation strategy within the major-gifts team, day-to-day donor engagement and st