Who We Are

The Humane League (THL) is a global nonprofit ending the abuse of animals raised for food. THL fosters a high-energy culture of teamwork and mission-driven problem solving, and we have earned recognition as Top Charity from Animal Charity Evaluators for all of their rating periods. Over the past few years, we’ve grown to a staff of 100+ talented individuals dispersed across the country and around the world. At THL, how animals are treated in the food system is at the forefront of our everyday work. As such, many of our staff are vegan by personal choice, and all of our THL-hosted events offer fully vegan menus. We welcome all mission-aligned candidates to apply, no matter where you are in your journey to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

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Your Opportunity

As Director of Philanthropy, you play an integral role in helping one of the world’s leading farm animal protection organizations achieve sustainable growth and secure the philanthropic resources needed to fight factory farming in every corner of the globe. We want you because you are an experienced philanthropic strategist, relationship builder, and team leader dedicated to THL’s mission to end the abuse of animals raised for food.

The Director of Philanthropy will be accountable for building on the success of THL’s major gifts program. Two thirds of THL’s funding comes from private foundations, and the remaining third comes from individual donors. As Director of Philanthropy, you will lead a team of Philanthropy Officers to sustain and grow a currently $6M fundraising program from individual and institutional funders contributing $10,000+. You will work closely with the Associate Vice President of Donor Relations and Senior Vice President of Development to grow revenue year-over-year, retaining these high-value supporters and implementing a comprehensive donor acquisition plan to upgrade or acquire new major donors and ensure sustainable growth. You will also maintain a small portfolio of international donors, as well as fundraising partners in the Effective Altruist movement who research, recommend, and influence gifts to THL. This position reports to the Associate Vice President of Donor Relations.

This is a full-time, remote position. This position requires domestic and international travel to support relationships and professional development, equivalent to 3 or more trips per year. Depending on your time zone, occasional hours outside of 9am-5pm may be required, primarily for meetings with donors and partners based in Europe.

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

This position is open until filled, and applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. If you are experiencing technical issues, please contact careers@thehumaneleague.org prior to the deadline. Please submit applications and all supporting documents in English. All application questions and materials need to be submitted here through the application submission, we do not accept applications through our careers email.

We have recorded a webinar hosted by Caroline Mills, Associate Vice President of Donor Relations to answer questions regarding the role and The Humane League. You can view the recording here.

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Essential Job Duties

The Director of Philanthropy role is a leadership position in THL’s Development department that will be accountable for overseeing and guiding all major gift solicitation and stewardship efforts to maintain revenue sustainability and growth in line with THL’s annual budgetary needs. In addition to stewarding your own portfolio of donors and partners, you will direct and manage the day-to-day work of the Philanthropy team to support the execution of THL’s fundraising goals and objectives.

• Manage a team of Philanthropy Officers who are focused on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding high-net-worth individuals and foundations. Direct the implementation of individualized donor strategies, events, gift matching opportunities, and more to meet THL’s annual fundraising goals.
• Foster a cohesive and positive team culture, implement inclusive practices, and ensure that the team operates with high standards of professionalism and equity. Collaborate with the Development Leadership team to support the Development department’s culture goals.
• Develop and execute cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for a portfolio of approximately 20 Effective Altruist meta-charities, international donors, and board members to secure five- to seven-figure gifts.
• Partner with the CEO, Board of Directors, and other members of leadership to create and execute individualized strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward top-tier individual, foundation, and legacy donors and prospects. Provide coaching in preparation for donor meetings.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of THL’s donor database to oversee systems and software that track donors and prospects, working closely with THL’s IT team to develop KPI dashboards. Utilize data to establish metrics for success, track progress, recommend benchmarks, and set revenue projections for the major gifts program to assist with the organization’s annual budgeting and goal setting process.
• Collaborate with other members of the Development Leadership team to set the annual Development department budget. Monitor the Philanthropy team’s spending against the budget.
• Partner with THL’s Operations, Finance, and Legal teams to ensure compliance with financial and legal requirements for donor data, pledges, restricted gifts, and more. Represent donor interests and advise on the allocation of restricted funding. Stay abreast of IRS regulations and collaborate on refining THL’s financial and gift acceptance policies.
• Stay current with THL’s Customer Relationship Management software to ensure timely documentation and leverage new technological features to improve donor experience and increase revenue.
• Support the development of expertise across the entire Donor Relations team by sharing learning and providing guidance on unique giving vehicles such as named funds, qualified charitable distributions, cryptocurrency, and more. Train Philanthropy Officers on advanced topics in philanthropy.
• Work with Programs staff to identify short- and long-term funding needs and develop strategies to secure ongoing support for programmatic priorities that align with THL’s long-term goals.
• Participate in THL’s annual strategic planning process to set the course for the organization’s priorities while representing the needs of the Development department and THL’s funders.
• Support Philanthropy Officers and members of the Board and senior leadership in effectively engaging prospective donors, including by attending conferences and other events, and via referrals and introductions.
• Collaborate across the Donor Relations team to advance donors through the prospect pipeline through prospect identification, research, assignment, and upgrade solicitations by Donor Relations staff.
• Write donor proposals, impact reports, and general updates in partnership with members of senior leadership.
• Support the development and execution of fundraising and cultivation events including in-person fundraising events, happy hours, conferences, and virtual town halls. Solicit and guide committees of donor volunteers to host private house parties in collaboration with the Events & Engagement Lead.
• Stay current on The Humane League’s programs and theory of change in order to effectively articulate our mission and represent our work to the public.

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.

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Required Skills

• Experience: 7+ years of experience in non-profit fundraising. 5+ years of experience in major gift fundraising, including: a) experience working within a major gifts program that raises at least $5M annually, and b) experience managing a portfolio that raises at least $1M from individual major donors annually.
• Leadership and Management: 3+ years of direct management experience. Leads the Philanthropy team to deliver high-quality results, fostering a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.
• Technology and Data Analysis: Extensive experience with relational databases (e.g. EveryAction), data analytics, reporting, and spreadsheet management. Leads data analysis initiatives and integrates insights into strategic planning.
• Problem Solving and Decision Making: Identifies root causes of complex issues, implements solutions, and monitors outcomes to ensure effectiveness. Analyzes complex data and trends to guide high-impact decisions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Contributes to the development and execution of crisis response strategies.
• Initiative, Proactivity, and Adaptability: Sound capacity to take initiative, work independently, and follow through to execute on project ideas. Provides strategic direction and support to the team during transitions, maintaining high performance and morale.
• Verbal and Written Communication: Exceptional verbal and written skills, with the ability to communicate in a persuasive and donor-centric manner, including to Effective Altruist audiences. Communicates effectively with all levels of staff and various external stakeholders, influencing and inspiring others through clear, strategic messaging. Adept at crafting compelling written content and delivering impactful verbal presentations.
• Collaboration and Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrated ability to manage interpersonal dynamics, build trust within teams, and drive cross-functional collaboration. Highly skilled at cultivating and maintaining relationships with major donors and partners in order to ensure alignment and secure support. Ability to maintain the highest degree of confidentiality regarding all aspects of work.
• Organization and Project Management: Experience in project management, including establishing project scope, timelines, and execution. Outstanding organizational skills, with a high level of attention to detail. Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously, prioritize effectively, and adapt as new developments occur. Sets priorities at the team level and drives process and system improvements.
• Strategic Thinking: Demonstrated ability to develop and execute strategies and overcome obstacles to achieve goals. Leads team-level strategic thinking, aligning team efforts with organizational goals and overseeing strategic initiatives that contribute to long-term success.
• Global Perspective: Approaches fundraising and strategic planning with a comprehensive understanding of the global nature of the organization’s programs, ensuring that global aspects of the work are supported effectively.
• Financial Oversight: High level of financial expertise needed to contribute to fundraising goal-setting and organizational budget preparation, analysis, and reporting. Collaborates with senior leadership to optimize resource allocation and align departmental budgets with organizational financial objectives and strategic priorities.

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Compensation and Benefits

The annual compensation range for this role is $104,239 - $127,404. At The Humane League, we believe in maintaining a fair and nondiscriminatory work environment for all employees. As part of this commitment, we have implemented a job architecture framework, which levels all of our roles according to size and complexity, as well as a compensation step system, which allows us to account for an individual's total years of related experience when determining their compensation. In addition, we have adopted a no negotiation policy for salaries. To determine a job's level, we carefully consider a variety of factors, including a job's size and complexity, required experience, knowledge, and/or skills, internal comparability, and market data. To determine final compensation, experience will be measured by considering prior work in jobs or activities that are related to the role at THL. Candidates whose experience places them at step 5 or above of their job level within our compensation structure will be awarded a senior designation. These practices are aligned with our organizational values and help us ensure we maintain clear, consistent, and transparent HR processes.

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!

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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:

• Work Simulation Exercise (completed remotely)
• First Interview (via video call)

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 interim/temporary roles, please see the above bullet points for this role's specific stages).

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Equal Employment Opportunity

THL is an equal opportunity employer. THL does not discrimination on the basis of protected classifications such as 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, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical condition), gender (including gender identity and gender expression), sexual orientation, citizenship status, or any other status or classification protected by applicable law. THL is committed to the importance of diversity within the nonprofit sector, as well as all workplace environments, and strongly encourages the interest of diverse candidates.

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Reasonable Accommodations

The Humane League is committed to the full inclusion of 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.

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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.