Senior Donor Stewardship Manager

Position Overview

This is a twelve-month termed position.

About Rare

Rare inspires change so people and nature thrive. For 50 years, across 60 countries, we have inspired and empowered millions of people and their communities to shift their behaviors and practices to protect our shared planet. We are a global leader in driving social change for people and nature and believe that the cumulative power of individual and community action is a vital pathway to safeguarding and restoring our shared waters, lands, and climate.  Rare’s organizational culture is results-oriented and entrepreneurial, and our global programs prioritize work climate change, fisheries and marine conservation, sustainable agriculture, and food security.

Position Summary

Rare is seeking a collaborative, highly organized Senior Donor Stewardship Manager to lead content strategy, development, and stewardship communications for our Individual Giving program. Sitting on the Marketing & Communications (MarComm) team and reporting to the Director of Content, this role partners closely with Development to design and execute thoughtful, consistent, and high-quality donor stewardship — from mid-level donors to multimillion-dollar investors.

The ideal candidate is an exceptional writer and relationship-oriented collaborator, a strong project manager, a systems builder, and a skilled storyteller who can translate complex program work into compelling narratives, updates, and stewardship touchpoints.

Key Responsibilities

Donor Communications & Stewardship Strategy

• Develop and execute annual stewardship plans for various donor tiers, from recurring givers to major donors and prospects.
• Maintain a scalable system of updates, reports, and personalized touchpoints aligned with donor expectations.
• Serve as a strategic partner to Individual Giving colleagues who own donor relationships, providing tailored materials and timely content to support their outreach.
• Proactively identify opportunities to share relevant, real-time updates, including media coverage, announcements, and field stories, aligned with donor interests.
• Ensure all donor communication reflects Rare’s brand, values, and voice.

Writing and Content Development

• Collaborate with program, field, research, and communications teams to source stories, data, and insights for donor-facing content.
• Write and edit impactful and high-quality updates, project summaries, donor reports, emails, proposals, and narrative inserts.
• Manage the development of donor-specific digital assets in partnership with the broader MarComm team.
• Translate programmatic, scientific, and behavioral insights into compelling narratives that inspire philanthropic investment.
• Maintain a repository of up-to-date donor language, case statements, and organizational messaging.

Project & Systems Management

• Build and maintain content pipelines and a structured intake process from program teams.
• Develop templates, toolkits, and workflows to improve efficiency and consistency in donor communications.
• Track deliverables and ensure timely completion of stewardship materials.
• Manage multiple stewardship and writing projects simultaneously, ensuring deadlines and quality standards are met.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Serve as the primary communications partner to the Individual Giving team and other Development segments.
• Coordinate with MarComm colleagues to align donor communications with organizational storytelling.
• Support Development and Rare leadership with messaging for donor meetings and briefings.
• Support broader development and communications initiatives as needed.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years (Senior Manager) in donor communications, development communications, content strategy, or related fields.
• Familiarity with major donor fundraising and cultivation strategies.
• Experience in stewarding mid-level and major donors.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills with experience tailoring content for donor audiences.
• Strong project management skills and experience building systems and workflows.
• Ability to translate technical or programmatic work into accessible, compelling narratives.
• Strong ability to synthesize complex program information into clear, donor-centered narratives.
• Experience working in a matrixed environment with multiple stakeholders and priorities.
• Comfort working cross-functionally and with senior leaders.
• Experience in conservation, environment, climate, or international development organizations.

Preferred

• Expertise with CRM systems and project management tools; Salesforce a plus.

Commitments

• Committed to Rare's mission and values.
• A commitment to addressing important environmental issues such as climate change, overfishing, sustainable agriculture, etc., is required. Experience working on these issues is not required (in fact, sometimes experience working outside them drives the kind of innovation needed most).

Rare is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, gender, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic.