SENIOR DIRECTOR, DIGITAL FUNDRAISING

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia – one of the most popular websites in the world, serving nearly half a billion users every month. It is the only non-profit in the top 50 websites, supported by a community of millions of individual donors around the world. Wikipedia’s fundraising campaigns are the most visible direct communication the Foundation has with its reader audience, reaching hundreds of millions of people around the world through multilingual campaigns in nearly 40 languages. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is looking for a Senior Director to lead the Digital Fundraising program, reporting to the Vice President of Advancement. Wikimedia’s unique donor model requires a seasoned leader to drive strategy and innovation to develop a thriving international donor community. The Senior Director will be a critical part of the leadership cohort within the Advancement Department. In this role, you will lead the strategy to grow our global community of readers to support Wikipedia and develop a thriving donor lifecycle. Succeeding in this role will require exceptional people management skills and a strategic, data-driven mindset to lead the team to the continued growth of Wikimedia’s fundraising program.

Learn more about Wikimedia Foundation fundraising by reading our annual fundraising reports.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the strategy of our global digital fundraising program reaching more than 7 million donors in 30 countries each year, including donor acquisition and retention through on-site reader donations, the international email program, social media fundraising, monthly giving, growth, and new channels to reach annual fundraising goals. 
• Oversee fundraising creative direction and the teams responsible for donor experience optimization through A/B testing, design, international localization, production, and execution across all fundraising channels. 
• Partner with fundraising directors and senior leadership to define data-informed goals and long-term strategy to enable the growth of the fundraising program and develop a thriving donor lifecycle.
• Create long-term digital strategies and alignment where there are many different expectations, and gain buy-in across fundraising teams.  
• Lead annual process to define objectives, audiences, budgets, KPIs and oversee the team’s success in reaching revenue goals.
• Manage team performance, ensuring ability to achieve goals, develop team skills, and advance our fundraising program.
• Ensure the team has the tools they need to execute state of the art campaigns, make data-driven decisions, and expand learning opportunities.
• Model leadership that cultivates a collaborative, positive, and inclusive team culture.
• Oversee external vendor or agency relationships.
• Develop best practices for cultural inclusivity to ensure project work reflects diverse perspectives.
• Partner with other departments in the Foundation to identify, foster and realize opportunities to enhance organizational impact toward our strategic priorities.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven track record in successfully building and leading fundraising teams. 
• Substantial experience leading the development and execution of digital strategies for fundraising, including multi-channel campaigns, that engage large numbers of people through email, and digital technology.
• Deep experience applying data and insights to build strategic initiatives and measure results.
• Extensive experience overseeing A/B testing and user optimization. 
• Ability to lead in a fast-paced environment, while effectively prioritizing and leading a variety of activities with multiple or competing priorities and cross-team dependencies. 
• Skilled in maintaining an agile mindset and leading in change management. 
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; an open and transparent communication style. Strong on asynchronous communication and decision making in a highly collaborative environment.
• Strong writing and presentation skills in English, for audiences of all levels, including peers, technical audiences, and executive leaders. 
• Seasoned team management experience; ability to creatively solve a wide range of challenges and build trust with the team.
• Coach and mentor mindset with the capacity to cultivate and manage strong interpersonal relationships: evidenced by humility, tact, compassion, high levels of integrity, and good listening skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and judgment.
• Ability to anticipate risks and resolve conflicts.
• Demonstrated commitment to, and belief in equity, inclusion, and diversity.
• Equivalent in relevant work experience or Bachelor’s degree

Additionally, we’d love it if you have:

• Experience working in a global organization that has a distributed workforce.
• Comfort and experience in a dynamic and mission-driven organization.
• An international perspective with experience in cross-cultural communication.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive. 

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of backgrounds to apply. We do not discriminate against any person based upon their race, traits historically associated with race, religion, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy or related medical conditions, parental status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or any other legally protected characteristics.

If you are a qualified applicant requiring assistance or an accommodation to complete any step of the application process due to a disability, you may contact us at [email protected] or +1 (415) 839-6885.

More information

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