Job Opening
Individual Gifts & Expeditions Officer
Terms of Reference
Introduction
Individual Giving & Donor Engagement
- Cultivate and steward relationships with individual donors, including mid-level and major gift supporters.
- Support the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual donors.
- Maintain regular communication with donors through updates, reports, and mission-driven storytelling.
- Assist in developing and implementing individual giving strategies and donor engagement plans including wildlife adoptions.
- Track donor interactions, contributions, and engagement activities using Salesforce and internal databases.
- Prepare donor briefings, reports, and impact updates.
- Coordinate donor meetings, events, and virtual engagement opportunities.
Expeditions & Experiential Fundraising
- Collaborate with program and communications teams to position expeditions as a premier conservation engagement and revenue platform.
- Coordinate donor and supporter participation in MarAlliance expeditions and field experiences.
- Work with local teams to ensure smooth logistical planning for expeditions, including travel coordination, itineraries, accommodation, and field schedules.
- Liaise with scientific and program teams to ensure expedition activities align with research and conservation priorities.
- Provide participants with expedition briefs, preparation materials, and post-expedition follow-up.
- Ensure participant experiences are safe, well-organized, and aligned with MarAlliance values and conservation messaging.
- Assist in developing expedition opportunities as a platform for donor engagement and fundraising.
Communications & Storytelling
- Work closely with the ED, Development and the Communications team to align messaging, campaigns, and storytelling with fundraising priorities.
- Translate MarAlliance science and conservation work into compelling communications for donors , wildlife adopters and expedition participants.
- Contribute to newsletters, donor updates, social media content, and fundraising materials highlighting MarAlliance’s work.
- Work with local teams to capture stories and experiences from expeditions to support fundraising and outreach efforts.
- Contribute to marketing strategies that convert interest into participation and giving.
- Support production of donor-facing materials, digital campaigns, and expedition promotional content.
Operational Support
- Serve as a primary Salesforce user for individual donor and expedition pipeline management.
- Maintain up to date, accurate donor records, communications, expedition participation, engagement tracking, and reporting dashboards using Salesforce.
- Leverage AI tools to automate donor communications, task scheduling, prospect research, and track performance metrics and continuously refine approaches based on results.
- Demonstrate strong time management and prioritization across multiple campaigns and deadlines.
- Ensure disciplined follow-through on donor engagement and expedition planning.
- Coordinate with Coordinators to ensure consistent messaging and donor stewardship.
- Support the planning and delivery of fundraising events and donor engagement activities.
Purpose of the Role
MarAlliance seeks a high-performing Individual Gifts & Expeditions Officer to drive growth in unrestricted funding through strategic individual giving and the diversification and expansion of MarAlliance’s conservation expedition portfolio. This role will strengthen donor pipelines, deepen relationships with high-value supporters, and transform expeditions into a flagship revenue and engagement platform. The Officer will combine strong fundraising acumen, sophisticated communication skills, operational discipline, and marketing innovation to cultivate, steward, and convert individual donors while ensuring expeditions are strategically positioned, professionally managed, and financially optimized.
Key Responsibilities
Individual Giving & Donor Engagement
- Cultivate and steward relationships with individual donors, including mid-level and major gift supporters.
- Support the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual donors.
- Maintain regular communication with donors through updates, reports, and mission-driven storytelling.
- Assist in developing and implementing individual giving strategies and donor engagement plans including wildlife adoptions.
- Track donor interactions, contributions, and engagement activities using Salesforce and internal databases.
- Support the preparation of donor briefings, reports, and impact updates.
- Help coordinate donor meetings, events, and virtual engagement opportunities.
Expeditions & Experiential Fundraising
- Collaborate with program and communications teams to position expeditions as a premier conservation engagement and revenue platform.
- Coordinate donor and supporter participation in MarAlliance expeditions and field experiences.
- Work with local teams to ensure smooth logistical planning for expeditions, including travel coordination, itineraries, accommodation, and field schedules.
- Liaise with scientific and program teams to ensure expedition activities align with research and conservation priorities.
- Provide participants with expedition briefs, preparation materials, and post-expedition follow-up.
- Ensure participant experiences are safe, well-organized, and aligned with MarAlliance values and conservation messaging.
- Assist in developing expedition opportunities as a platform for donor engagement and fundraising.
Communications & Storytelling
- Work closely with the ED, Development and the Communications team to align messaging, campaigns, and storytelling with fundraising priorities.
- Translate MarAlliance science and conservation work into compelling communications for donors , wildlife adopters and expedition participants.
- Contribute to newsletters, donor updates, social media content, and fundraising materials highlighting MarAlliance’s work.
- Work with local teams to capture stories and experiences from expeditions to support fundraising and outreach efforts
- Contribute to marketing strategies that convert interest into participation and giving.
- Support production of donor-facing materials, digital campaigns, and expedition promotional content.
Operational Support
- Serve as a primary Salesforce user for individual donor and expedition pipeline management.
- Maintain up to date, accurate donor records, communications, expedition participation, engagement tracking, and reporting dashboards using Salesforce.
- Leverage AI tools to automate donor communications, task scheduling, prospect research, and track performance metrics and continuously refine approaches based on results.
- Demonstrate strong time management and prioritization across multiple campaigns and deadlines.
- Ensure disciplined follow-through on donor engagement and expedition planning.
- Coordinate with Coordinators to ensure consistent messaging and donor stewardship.
- Support the planning and delivery of fundraising events and donor engagement activities
Required Qualifications & Experience
- Minimum of 5 years’ professional experience in fundraising, individual giving, or donor development.
- Demonstrated success in securing and growing unrestricted funding from individual donors.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage high-net-worth and mission-aligned audiences.
- Proven, advanced proficiency in Salesforce for donor pipeline management, reporting, and analytics.
- Demonstrated ability to automate workflows using AI tools and integrate them into development operations.
- Experience using project and task management platforms such as Monday.com or similar systems.
- Strong marketing instincts and experience supporting donor acquisition or campaign strategies.
- High level of diplomacy, discretion, and emotional intelligence in donor engagement.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
Core Competencies
- Data-driven decision-making, systems thinking and workflow optimization
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to cultivate meaningful relationships with donors, partners, and supporters.
- Professional and confident engagement with diverse audiences including high-net-worth individuals.
- Understanding of individual giving strategies, donor stewardship, and relationship-based fundraising.
- Strong organizational and logistical planning skills for coordinating travel, field activities, and participant experiences.
- Ability to communicate complex conservation science clearly and compellingly for non-technical audiences.
- Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and meeting deadlines.
- Ability to work effectively with international teams, coastal communities, and diverse partners.
- Experience using donor databases, Salesforce, spreadsheets, and communication platforms.
- Ability to work in dynamic environments and respond to logistical challenges in remote field settings.
- Demonstrates discretion and professionalism when handling donor information and organizational strategy.
- Commitment to MarAlliance’s mission to Explore, Enable, and Inspire the conservation of marine megafauna and tropical ocean ecosystems.
Personal Attributes
- High level of integrity, highly dependable and proactive.
- Creative thinker with a willingness to propose new systems and innovative approaches.
- Proactive, self-directed, strong problem-solving mindset and initiative demonstrating adaptability, resourcefulness, and resiliency in a fast-moving and multi-cultural and lingual environment.
- A sense of humour.
Terms and Conditions
- This position is remote, in the Americas time zones of PST to EST.
- MarAlliance does not currently offer employer-sponsored health benefits. This position accrues paid holidays, PTO, and paid sick time monthly in accordance with organizational policy.
- Compensation commensurate with experience and qualifications.
Application Process
Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, two writing samples (successful grant proposal/report), and contact information for three references in a single PDF with the subject line “IGO– [Your Name]” by the 24th of March 2026.
MarAlliance is an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates from diverse backgrounds to apply. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. Please do not call or email to request feedback.