Stewardship Manager

Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We take on the biggest, most precedent-setting cases across the country. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health; to preserve magnificent places and wildlife; to advance clean energy; and to combat climate change. We partner with thousands of groups, supporters, individuals and communities to engage the critical environmental issues of our time, and bring about positive change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.  

Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protections. We achieve this by hiring people who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Los Angeles, Tallahassee, Honolulu, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Bozeman, Chicago, and Washington, DC. 

The Stewardship Manager is responsible for providing strategic leadership in growing and refining Earthjustice’s donor stewardship efforts, with a primary focus on major and principal gift donors. The Stewardship Manager oversees all aspects of the stewardship program including annual planning, budgeting, working closely with department and organization leadership to develop stewardship plans, identifying and negotiating contracts with vendors, and developing success metrics. This position requires a self‐starter who is able to work both collaboratively and independently and possesses strong interpersonal skills. 

The position requires excellent time management and analytical skills, project and people management, diplomacy and discretion, donor relations skills, and the ability to adapt and make timely and sound decisions. The Stewardship Manager must be able to manage multiple long-term projects simultaneously, meet deadlines, and be highly organized. 

The Stewardship Manager supervises a Stewardship Officer, and reports to the Deputy Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship.  

This role can be located in San Francisco, CA or remote. 

Responsibilities

Stewardship Program Management (50%)

• In coordination with the Stewardship Officer and key stakeholders, create and implement a comprehensive annual plan for the donor stewardship program to successfully recruit, acknowledge, recognize, and retain donors.
• Lead efforts with the Major Gifts team to develop stewardship and recognition strategies for top donors, including custom reports, microsites, naming opportunities, and leadership communications.
• Serve as stewardship partner to the Foundations, Planned Giving, Mid-level giving, and Membership Services teams, providing guidance and support as requested.
• Develop and monitor a calendar of donor stewardship activities across giving levels. Identify opportunities to leverage activities with different audiences and regularly review materials for quality and consistency.
• Support efforts to streamline the donor acknowledgment process across giving levels and implement acknowledgment strategies for major and principal gift audiences.
• Manage the review and finalization of gift agreements and naming opportunities.
• Manage annual stewardship budget and track expenses.
• Identify, establish partnerships, and negotiate contracts with vendors to support growing stewardship program.

Donor stewardship strategy (30%)

• Research and test out new ideas, activities, and projects to improve and scale the Development Department’s stewardship offerings.
• Collect and share feedback with stakeholders across Development to audit current stewardship offerings and achieve our shared goals of equitable engagement and stewardship activities for all donors.
• Provide stewardship program summaries and evaluations to key stakeholders.
• Coordinate with Stewardship Officer and Development Operations team to review and improve systems for tracking stewardship plans.
• Remain aware of the currents standards and best practices in the donor stewardship industry and nonprofit sector.
• Develop and implement donor recognition strategies and protocols for fundraising campaigns.
• Define benchmarks for measuring success of the stewardship program.
• Research and develop recognition standards and naming opportunities for the organization.

Staff Management and Development (10%)

• Supervise members of the Stewardship team.
• Working alongside the Deputy Director of Donor Engagement and Stewardship, support the development of annual work plans for members of the Stewardship team.
• Develop staff by providing career development opportunities with appropriate training, encouragement, and supervision.
• Provide staff with performance feedback and act as coach and mentor.
• Promote an inclusive work environment for the team and model inclusive behavior.
• Lead hiring for vacancies within the Stewardship team.

Management (Essential Functions)

• Percentage of time assumes dedication of approximately 10% of time for each direct report.
• Recruits and hires qualified candidates who fit position requirements and the work environment.
• Promotes change in terms of the expected benefits, as well as removing or lowering the impact of potential obstacles.
• Sets clear team direction that aligns with Earthjustice strategy, mission, and vision.
• Develops staff by identifying and encouraging training and professional development opportunities appropriate to role and creating development plans for all staff.
• Provides staff with consistent performance feedback – both positive and constructive -- and acts as a coach and mentor.
• Creates a learning culture, by encouraging debriefing after completion of significant stages of projects.
• Ensures that any direct reports who have supervisory responsibility are properly executing those functions.
• Creates a respectful and inclusive work environment for team and models respectful and inclusive behavior.
• Promptly addresses micro-aggressions and other concerns brought to their attention.
• Resolves interpersonal conflict among team members and brings in outside facilitators as needed.
• Communicates regularly with existing employees and encourages staff to raise concerns and to provide ongoing feedback.
• Creates or identifies strategic opportunities for team building and individual and overall staff engagement with one another in order to strengthen teamwork, interaction and collaboration.
• Values and uses individual differences and talents to improve employee satisfaction and the quality of collective work.
• Celebrates successes and helps team members to understand and manage setbacks.

*Supervisory Responsibilities: One direct report

Continued learning (10%)

• Participate in organization-wide initiatives and trainings that contribute to the creation of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive work culture that encourages and celebrates differences.
• Utilize internal and external resources to support a personal and professional development journey that increases awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and orientations.
• Attend departmental and organizational retreats for shared planning, team building, and professional development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 5 years’ experience working in a donor relations/stewardship capacity.
• Experience supervising staff.
• Familiarity with gift acceptance best practices.
• Experience creating and managing budgets.
• Experience with a fundraising database application, preferably Blackbaud CRM.
• Experience with campaign stewardship preferred.
• Self-starter, able to successfully lead multifaceted projects, timelines, competing priorities, and duties both independently and in collaboration with other people involved.
• Commitment to excellence and high standards.
• Acute attention to detail.
• Strong organizational, problem-solving, and analytical skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills required.
• Comprehensive knowledge of donor stewardship best practices.
• Experience with contract negotiation.
• Experience using a fundraising database required.
• Interest in environmental and conservation issues desirable.
• Demonstrates an awareness and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of individuals from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations.
• Contributes to the creation of a diverse, equitable and inclusive work culture that encourages and celebrates differences. 

Management (Essential Skills)

• Ability to effectively manage and lead a diverse team with emotional intelligence (self-awareness and understating of the impact of their behavior) and cultural humility (an understanding of the need for additional learning about different cultures, backgrounds and orientation and implementation of that learning daily management practices).
• Ability to give and receive regular formal and informal feedback in a timely, constructive, respectful, and consistent manner and to incorporate debriefing into the team’s operations.
• Strong team mentorship and communication skills
• Understands the individual and team strengths and areas for development and develops plans accordingly.
• Commitment to and experience in developing team skills and talents to meet the evolving needs of an organization.

We offer a competitive salary and excellent benefits that are comprehensive and competitive. We also offer an extremely congenial work environment and a casual dress code

Salary is based on experience and location.
Salary range in San Francisco, CA: $98,400 - $109,300
Salary range for a remote location will vary. 

Earthjustice is driven by a passion for justice, partnership, and excellence. Our core values lead us to seek a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds to achieve our mission and to maintain an inclusive environment where all staff are valued and respected. As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to employment practices that ensure that employees and applicants for employment are provided with equal opportunities without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, or any other factor that is not related to the position.

For positions located within the City and County of San Francisco Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment-qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

For positions located within the City of Los Angeles:We will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring.