Director of Direct Response

Description

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE
POSITION DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE: Director of Direct Response
CLASSIFICATION: Professional 6
SALARY: $93,000 – $102,000
FLSA: Exempt
DEPARTMENT: Integrated Marketing
LOCATION: Headquarters, Washington, DC
REPORTS TO: Vice President for Integrated Marketing
NUMBER OF DIRECT REPORTS: 3
LAST REVISED: June 2024

Position Summary

The Director of Direct Response is responsible for developing strategies to cultivate, retain, and upgrade Defenders’ supporters. This individual will actively develop short- and long-term plans to retain and upgrade donors while meeting revenue goals for direct mail, canvassing, and telemarketing channels. The ideal candidate will be a creative thinker, embrace continuous process improvement and innovation, and be detail-oriented and data-driven. This position requires coordination across departments to ensure campaign alignment, exceptional donor stewardship, and fundraising best practices.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Partner with the Vice President of Integrated Marketing to establish membership performance goals and priorities, including the development of an annual budget for fundraising programs.
• Collaborate with stakeholders in Integrated Marketing to maximize ROI, donor conversion, and retention.
• Optimize omnichannel messaging, testing, and design strategies to enhance the donor journey and improve retention.
• Lead fundraising campaigns via direct mail, email, mobile, telemarketing, paid digital advertising, and canvassing.
  • Manage internal fundraising team members and external vendors to ensure campaigns meet best practices.
  • Define messaging priorities, campaign strategies, testing plans, and audience segmentation to achieve goals.
  • Execute campaign and testing plans to meet annual budgets.
  • Identify key audiences and ensure processes for appropriate stewardship.
  • Evaluate campaign performance against benchmarks.
• Oversee Defenders’ mid-level giving program, developing strategies to meet budget goals and maintain program efficacy.
• Manage strategy and execution for non-traditional and emerging channels:
  • Event Conversion: Promote membership at Defenders’ in-person and virtual events.
  • Workplace Giving: Oversee workplace giving efforts, including EarthShare, ensuring proper brand representation.
• Lead member stewardship across all channels, addressing member needs and coordinating welcome and acknowledgment processes.

Qualifications

Education: Bachelor’s (B.A./B.S.) degree or equivalent
Experience: 10 years of relevant experience; 5 years in a supervisory role
An equivalent combination of education and experience may be accepted.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

For All Defenders:

• Strong communication, critical thinking, and administrative skills.
• Proficiency in diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies.
• Effective project management and leadership abilities.

For the Director of Direct Response:

• Expertise in donor conversion strategies, including segmentation, copywriting, and creative development.
• Strong understanding of direct response metrics and KPIs.
• Experience in vendor and staff management.
• Multichannel marketing experience.

Physical Activities, Environmental Conditions, and Physical Demands

Physical Activities

• Remaining stationary for prolonged periods: Constantly
• Communicating with others: Constantly
• Repeating motions (wrists, hands, fingers): Constantly

Environmental Conditions

• No adverse environmental conditions expected: Constantly

Physical Demands

• Sedentary work involving sitting/standing.

Application Instructions

Visit www.defenders.org to apply.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Defenders of Wildlife provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, personal appearance, family/parental status, political affiliation, genetic information, or other protected characteristics.

Additional Notes

• All employees must perform the essential duties and responsibilities listed above satisfactorily.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for individuals with disabilities.
• This position is non-union eligible.