Senior Manager - Individual Giving and Donor Engagement

ABOUT PIVOT

Pivot is a Madagascar-based health-systems strengthening organization working in close partnership with the Ministry of Public Health. Our mission is to save lives, transform health systems, and catalyze global change.

Madagascar is one of the world's most complex health environments: 1 in 13 children die before the age of five, 75% of families live in remote rural communities, and it is the most climate-vulnerable island nation in Africa. We start where the gaps are widest.

Since 2014, we have worked through government partnerships to strengthen care at every level, from community health workers to primary health centers to district and regional hospitals, in the Vatovavy Region of southeastern Madagascar.

Rather than relying on any single intervention, we strengthen every layer of the public health system together: removing out-of-pocket fees, supporting the health workforce, upgrading facilities, and strengthening medicine supply chains and health information systems, while helping inform national health financing and community health policy.

Research is built into the work, so that what we learn in Vatovavy can inform health systems well beyond it. In Ifanadiana District, a decade of this work was associated with a 32% reduction in under-five mortality, a more than twofold increase in patient visits and a 40% increase in facility-based births (Garchitorena et al., PLOS Medicine, 2025).

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Senior Manager, Individual Giving and Donor Engagement is a member of Pivot's Global Support Team (GST) and reports to the Director of Development.

This role builds Pivot's individual giving systems for the first time and runs them, and plans and manages Pivot's events for individual donors, foundations, research partners and other audiences.

Most of Pivot's individual donor relationships are held by the Executive Director, board members and the Director of Development. This role backstops those relationships: preparing leaders and board members for donor conversations, making sure nothing falls through afterward, and managing stewardship.

Over time, the role may hold some donor relationships directly, but that is not its core. It requires the seniority to work directly with the board and major donors, excellent judgment and strong emotional intelligence.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Individual Giving Strategy & Systems

• Within the first 90 days, assess current individual giving and propose a plan covering donor segmentation, moves management, gift acknowledgment, a stewardship calendar, renewal and year-end appeals, and a mid-level and major gift pipeline.
• Implement the plan with Development Operations, building processes in Raiser's Edge NXT so that every gift is recorded, acknowledged and reconciled with Finance, and every follow-up happens.
• Set and report on individual giving metrics (retention, upgrades, new donors, revenue), including for the board's Development Committee.
• Support board giving and board members' own fundraising.

Donor Relationship Support & Stewardship

• Prepare the Executive Director, board members and the Director of Development for donor meetings, including background research, briefings, talking points and suggested asks.
• Draft donor correspondence on their behalf, including thank-yous, updates and stewardship reports.
• Track meaningful donor interactions in the CRM and ensure next steps happen on time.
• Over time, and where appropriate, manage a portfolio of donors directly.

Events & External Representation

• Lead Expo, Pivot's annual flagship fundraising event (approximately $1M a year), progressively taking on its overall strategy, with the Director of Development as advisor and approver, Development Operations leading logistics, and the Director of Science & Impact leading preparation of scientific content.
• Plan and manage Pivot's events, from small donor gatherings and board-hosted dinners to receptions around conferences, for audiences including individual donors, foundations and research partners.
• Own event logistics end-to-end, including budgets, venues, invitations, guest lists, run of show, travel and follow-up.
• Collaborate with the Senior Strategic Communications Manager so that events and donor materials tell Pivot's story clearly and consistently.
• Support logistics and hosting when Madagascar-based colleagues visit the US for donor and partner meetings.
• Travel for events, and potentially to support donor trips to Madagascar.

Team Leadership & Organizational Contribution

• Collaborate with Development Operations, Communications, institutional funding and Finance colleagues, and with the Madagascar team where appropriate.
• Contribute actively to Development Department planning, knowledge management, workflow coordination, and team culture.
• Participate in annual work planning and budgeting processes.

QUALIFICATIONS

Skills & Experience

• 8+ years of experience in individual giving, major gifts or donor relations, including building or significantly improving fundraising systems.
• Strong emotional intelligence: reads people and situations well, and is comfortable making others successful without being the face of the relationship.
• Experience working closely with executives and board members on their donor relationships.
• Excellent writing, including donor letters, briefings and stewardship reports that are accurate and sound human.
• Excellent judgment and discretion with confidential donor information.
• Experience planning and managing events, including budgets and travel logistics.
• Strong commitment to ethical fundraising, donor stewardship, and accurate representation of impact.
• Ability to work effectively in a multicultural setting and collaborate across geographies.
• Willingness to travel about 20% of the time, mostly domestic including occasional international travel.
• English required; French proficiency required, fluency is a plus.
• Strong CRM skills; Raiser's Edge NXT strongly preferred.
• Experience building systems from scratch at a small or growing organization preferred.
• Experience in global health or international development preferred.

Education

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience; Master's degree in a relevant field is a plus.