Senior Philanthropy Officer - Major Gifts

ABOUT AUSTIN PETS ALIVE! (APA!): Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a No Kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional, community-based animal rescue work.

The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services, with a goal of providing personalized, proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The Senior Philanthropy Officer - Major Gifts plays a pivotal role in driving APA!’s mission forward by securing major financial support for our lifesaving programs. Working in close collaboration with the CEO, the Sr. Director of Advancement, and the broader Advancement team, this leader manages a robust portfolio of major gift donors and prospects, building meaningful, lasting relationships that elevate our philanthropic impact.

As an integral ambassador for APA!, the Senior Philanthropy Officer identifies, qualifies, solicits, and stewards major gift supporters. This role blends strategic vision with proactive execution—using donor insights, CRM tools (such as Virtuous), moves management strategies, and creative outreach to inspire investment in APA!’s vision.

At APA!, volunteers are at the heart of everything we do. The Senior Philanthropy Officer actively champions a collaborative, inclusive culture, partnering with volunteers and staff alike to achieve shared fundraising and community engagement goals.

This position requires a high level of responsiveness and availability. The work is often fast-paced and dynamic, with weekend or shift flexibility expected. While APA! strongly encourages work-life balance, during on-duty shifts, the Senior Philanthropy Officer is expected to be highly present, solutions-oriented, and ready to support the team with real-time problem-solving.

Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Drive major gift revenue growth to support current programs and expand future capacity.
• Partner with the CEO, Sr. Director of Advancement, and the Advancement team to design and execute comprehensive donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans.
• Manage and steward a portfolio of 75+ major donors while proactively cultivating prospective supporters.
• Develop compelling proposal materials, case statements, and personalized impact reports for major donors.
• Maintain up-to-date donor records, moves management tracking, and revenue forecasting within the CRM.
• Identify and engage prospective major donors to continuously expand the pipeline.
• Help plan and represent APA! at donor stewardship events, gatherings, and community networking opportunities.
• Produce tailored communications and digital content to deeply engage portfolio donors.
• Provide analysis and maintain an accurate donor portfolio in the database.
• Attend community networking events to identify prospective donors.
• Participate in the strategic fundraising, collaborative stewardship, and cultivation work of the Advancement team.
• Foster positive volunteer relationships by engaging volunteers in departmental goals and offering guidance and mentorship.
• Identify strong volunteers for deeper roles and seek out volunteer conversion opportunities.
• Recognize volunteer contributions through consistent appreciation and shoutouts.
• Foster and model a volunteer-powered culture across the team by ensuring that every staff member is partnered with volunteers on every shift, with the goal of empowering volunteers to lead and grow within the program.
• Serve as a facilitator and coach to staff and volunteers, ensuring the work is shared, not siloed, and that volunteers are supported in completing daily tasks.
• Ensure active recruitment, onboarding, and engagement of volunteers using volunteer engagement tools and resources
• Support retention by matching volunteers to appropriate tasks, offering guidance, and providing regular check-ins and staff mentorship.
• Identify strong volunteers for deeper roles and seek out customer-to-volunteer conversion opportunities.
• Recognize volunteer contributions through consistent appreciation and shoutouts.
• Provide clear expectations, hands-on training, and in-the-moment coaching to set volunteers up for success.
• Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Demonstrate strong accountability, thoughtful decision-making, and excellent time management.
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain collaborative communication with the Sr. Director of Advancement, executive leadership, and team members.
• Partner with Volunteer Managers to support and empower volunteers interested in philanthropy efforts.
• Adapt flexibly to shifting priorities and new initiatives within a dynamic nonprofit setting.
• Participate in evening or weekend donor engagement activities as needed.
• Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills
• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
• Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and manage volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERTISE:

• Minimum of 8 years of fundraising experience, including responsibility for substantial individual gifts and meeting revenue goals.
• Authentic passion for animals and animal welfare.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, and donor database/CRM platforms, with specific familiarity with systems such as Virtuous.
• Warm, approachable, and energized by interpersonal interactions, with a high emotional intelligence that puts donors at ease.
• Outgoing and community-minded, possessing a natural ability to foster genuine connections and inspire enthusiasm for our cause.
• Organized and adept at managing projects and processes.
• Proactive and independent in managing projects.
• Collaborative and able to work well with diverse groups.
• Flexibility to attend evening and weekend donor events and community gatherings.
• Committed to embodying APA!’s Core Values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart
• Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
• Passion for working well with staff, volunteers, and customers—helping all individuals feel successful, appreciated, and connected to APA!’s mission
• Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
• Comfortable working cross-functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers, customers, and team members
• Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules, procedures, and instructional materials
• Self-starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
• Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
• Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
• Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
• Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS & WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Must be comfortable working around animals in a shelter and office environment.
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to visually observe people and animals from up to 150 feet away
• Ability to hear normal speech at close contact and shouting up to 150 feet away with ability to hear and discern dog vocalizations both soft and loud
• Will sit, stand, walk, talk, hear, stoop, bend, stretch, squat, kneel, grasp, grip, put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level, lift and/or carry up to 30 pounds and push and pull up to 50 pounds for situations of moving supplies and setting up for events; repetitively use hands to operate computers; flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist.
• If reasonable accommodations are requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship to the organization.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

• Standard office and shelter campus environment, with occasional interaction with shelter pets
• Uses own transportation to travel and transport
• Possible exposure to contagious diseases
• Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste, disinfectants, and high levels of noise
• Potential for animal bites and scratches and diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people
• Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs

TIME COMMITMENT:

• This is a full-time, exempt position with a standard 40-hour workweek.
• Shift and schedule flexibility is required, as weekly schedule is subject to change
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Regularly scheduled on-site workdays at APA!’s three campuses

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP: This position reports directly to the Sr. Director of Advancement.

LOCATION:

• Hybrid from the Austin area
• APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin, TX 78703
• Tarrytown Corporate Office, 2414 Exposition Blvd, Suite B-100, Austin, TX 78703
• May travel to offsite locations as needed

BENEFITS

Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life saving work.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT

Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ people, women, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply.

Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, community focus, and innovation.

APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation, please contact Talent Acquisition at job@austinpetsalive.org at least one week in advance of your interview.