About:
Founded in 1924, Shedd Aquarium is the top‐attended paid cultural institution in Chicago and one of the most‐attended aquariums in the United States. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to animal care and welfare, conservation research, and public education, Shedd is known today as “The World’s Aquarium.” As Shedd approaches its 100th birthday, the organization has launched its Centennial Commitment. This ambitious plan prepares the Aquarium for its next 100 years by accelerating access and connection to nature for all and amplifying ways to care and conserve to ensure an equitable, sustainable, and thriving future for people and aquatic life. This bold vision is energizing the entire Shedd community and is a transformational investment in Chicago communities and aquatic ecosystems around the world.

Summary:
Shedd Aquarium is seeking a full time Manager of Membership & Annual Giving to join its Development Department and help advance the culture of philanthropy in support of our Centennial Commitment. In partnership with the Director of Individual & Planned Giving, the Manager will advance acquisition, retention, and revenue growth across our membership and annual giving programs. They are a key part of the Development team, leading the development of all direct response campaigns and managing key relationships across marketing, design, and external vendors to deploy them. By leveraging data-driven tactics and impactful storytelling, and shaping exceptional member experiences, they will increase the number of individual supporters giving up to $2,500 annually. As a motivated, innovative, and organized fundraiser, the Manager works entrepreneurially to help strengthen overall fundraising capacity during a period of rapid growth. A successful candidate will be a strategic thinker and self-starter with a natural curiosity to continually improve results and experiment with new tools, methods, and ideas.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Membership & Annual Giving

• Partner with Director of Individual & Planned Giving, Shedd staff, and external vendors to grow and meet membership and annual giving revenue of $3.1M+ annually.
• Manage all aspects of the direct response and onsite acquisition, renewal, and upgrade strategies, implementing innovative and creative approaches to grow our membership base from 24,000 active households.
• Oversee the creation and deployment of an integrated direct response calendar that includes membership acquisition and renewals; seasonal and year-end annual fund appeals; and cultivation campaigns for the Nautilus Society, Shedd’s planned giving program.
• Manage relationships with external vendors, including budgeting, vendor relationship, and negotiations.
• With the support of the Membership Liaison, lead project management for all external vendor deliverables, including audience development; campaign copywriting and design; printing and fulfillment; and routine campaign performance analysis.
• Develop growth plans for the annual fund to increase additional philanthropic support from members through direct mail, online, and recurring giving channels.
• Partner with Marketing to manage the strategy, content development, and deployment of all membership communications, including solicitations, stewardship messages, and event invites.
• Provide regular input on marketing and communications strategies to ensure that member retention and stewardship needs are integrated into appropriate communications, marketing channels and plans (i.e., website, newsletters, annual reports, etc.)
• Oversee and regularly refresh all operational policies and procedures of the membership program, in consultation with the Director of Individual Giving and Guest Relations team.
• Engage new audiences across the community spectrum and build our membership program working closely with the Development, Marketing, and Guest Relations teams.

Stewardship & Engagement

• Serve as primary point of contact for members and annual fund donors, providing a high level of customer service and advising members issues that need to be addressed.
• Collaborate with Development Operations and other Shedd departments to programmatically identify and qualify new donor leads and membership segments who have the inclination and capacity to increase their giving.
• Arrange onsite experiences for members and donors and leads tours as needed.
• Cultivate relationships with existing and new members and engage them as potential major donors and lifelong supporters.
• Guide the evaluation of membership benefits and engagement events (i.e. Member Open House, Oceanarium Sundays, and SheddTalks) that speak to the overall membership strategy.
• Develop programmatic stewardship outreach to deepen engagement with targeted membership audiences, including new and loyal members.
• Perform other duties at the request of supervisor or leadership team member.

Shedd Priorities

• Demonstrate commitment to Shedd’s vision, mission, and values.
• Maintain current understanding of Shedd’s Centennial Commitment strategic plan, focus areas, successes, and overall results to effectively communicate to supporters.
• Actively use Tessitura and SharePoint as central resources for managing fundraising activity, institutional knowledge, and progress towards shared goals.
• Commit to the Development team’s ongoing efforts to proactively become a more anti-racist fundraising operation.
• Incorporate Diversity, Equity, Accessibility & Inclusion (DEAI) principles in all planning and strategy efforts, to help build a member and donor base better reflective of our Chicago community.
• Contribute to a greater focus on the well-being of individual members of team, including a heightened emphasis on work-life balance.
• All other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 
 
Education: 
Minimum B.A. degree required, or combination of work and education experience.
 
Experience:  

• Minimum of 4 years of progressive fundraising experience in membership, annual giving, alumni relations, or similar.
• Experience at a cultural, educational, or environmental organization a plus.
• Strategic thinker with proven ability to implement innovative direct marketing tactics to successfully retain, upgrade, and grow individual support.
• Analytical mindset to identify and leverage data and trends to improve acquisitions, upgrade, and retention activities and engagements.
• Advanced experience with fundraising/CRM software required. Tessitura experience preferred.
• Ability to productively lead and engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside Shedd Aquarium, including cross-departmental partners and external vendors.
• Budget and fiscal management experience.
• Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills; effective verbal and written communication skills.
• Self-starter, detail-oriented, ability to meet stringent deadlines, and handle multiple priorities.

We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ community, veterans and active duty military, parents, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from all cultural backgrounds to apply. Shedd Aquarium is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes everyone to our team.

If you need a reasonable accommodation at any point in the application or interview process, please let us know. In your application, please feel free to select which pronouns you use (For example – she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs).