The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world’s largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you’re a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.
Job Overview:
The IRC’s External Relations team comprises colleagues and teams delivering marketing, fundraising, brand stewardship and communications to support this work. As part of External Relations, the Mass Markets USA (MMUSA) program is responsible for raising $70+ million in unrestricted revenue annually in the U.S. market and plays a meaningful strategic role in the creation of the IRC’s brand, awareness and support for its advocacy goals.
The Director, Audience and Donor Strategy will develop and implement strategies to maximize lifetime net revenue from key Mass Markets retention audiences in the United States. These audiences include mid-level donors, bridge donors, sustainers, and planned giving prospects. This role will collaborate with global Mass Markets leaders and colleagues, champion innovative initiatives, oversee budgets for audience-driven programs, and lead a team of talented fundraisers to achieve ambitious revenue growth.
Key Responsibilities:
Team Leadership:
• Lead and inspire a team of fundraisers by cultivating a collaborative, results-oriented culture that empowers each member to reach their full potential, with a strong emphasis on innovation, equity, and inclusion.
• Operationalize fundraising objectives and provide mentorship to support the professional growth and success of direct reports.
Strategy and Planning:
• Meet an annual revenue budget in excess of $50 million annually while developing a stronger planned giving marketing program to secure future funding.
• Partner with fellow leaders and fundraisers across the mass marketing team to design and execute audience-led strategies that improve donor retention, deepen engagement, and align with organizational objectives.
• Lead the development of a comprehensive omnichannel strategy to engage key audiences—mid-level donors, bridge donors, sustainers, and planned giving prospects—through personalized, multi-channel approaches, fostering long-term relationships, maximizing donor lifetime value, and driving sustained growth.
• Continuously optimize unrestricted revenue growth by upgrading current donors, reactivating lapsed supporters, expanding sustainer and multi-year donor bases, and securing funds for innovation.
Operations and Budget:
• Lead annual budgeting and reforecasting for the Audience & Donor Strategy team in collaboration with internal and external partners.
• Build and champion investment cases to expand audience-led programs and drive growth.
• Collaborate with internal teams such as marketing technology, finance, and analytics to ensure alignment and synergy across all fundraising initiatives.
Performance Analysis:
• Work closely with internal and external partners across multiple channels to develop and track KPIs for mid-level, sustainer, bridge, and planned giving prospect audiences.
• Regularly analyze fundraising performance metrics to identify areas for improvement and implement optimizations to increase fundraising effectiveness.
• Develop data-driven and actionable insights to enhance donor journeys and elevate the overall performance of audience-led strategies.
Cross-Functional Collaboration:
• Partner with the Senior Director to advance audience-led goals with senior leadership and contribute to cross-functional collaboration within the mass marketing team.
• Foster collaboration across departments—Philanthropy, RAI (Resettlement, Asylum, and Integration), Planned Giving, Corporate Partnerships, and others—to unlock the potential of mass market donors as major and planned giving prospects.
Compliance and Ethics:
• Ensure compliance with all relevant regulations and ethical standards governing fundraising activities.
• Uphold the highest level of integrity and transparency in all interactions with donors and stakeholders, fostering the “IRC Way” in all interactions.
Job Requirements:
Education and work Experience
• Bachelor’s Degree (fundraising, marketing, communications, or liberal arts background preferred) or at least 10 years of non profit mass marketing fundraising experience in progressively more advanced roles
• Demonstrated experience managing a donor audience or one more fundraising channels, with experience in monthly giving highly desirable.
• At least five years of experience managing staff, with a focus on team building and talent development.
Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:
• Strong collaborator who can work well with colleagues across the organization
• Passionate about fundraising, as well as our cause, and seeks to help transform the lives of people affected by humanitarian crises
• Experience in developing strategies, work plans, and business cases
• Entrepreneurial mindset
• Shown experience developing and monitoring fundraising department budgets, both revenue and expenses
• Shown CRM experience, Salesforce experience preferred
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to track, analyze, and summarize performance results
• Creative problem solver who’s able to navigate complexity and ambiguity
• Ability to partner with colleagues in a distributed, multicultural professional environment
Working Environment:
• Standard office working environment
• Some domestic and international travel as needed up to 20%
• This role may require working remotely full or part time and part time remote employees may be required to share workspace.
Compensation:
Posted pay ranges apply to US-based candidates. Ranges are based on various factors including the labor market, job type, internal equity, and budget. Exact offers are calibrated by work location, individual candidate experience and skills relative to the defined job requirements.
US Benefits:
The IRC offers a comprehensive and highly competitive set of benefits. All US employees are eligible for sick time, a 403b retirement savings plans: up to 4.5% immediately vested matching contribution, plus an 3-7% additional IRC contribution, and an Employee Assistance Program which is available to our staff and their families to support in times of crisis and mental health struggles.
In addition, full-time employees are eligible for 10 US paid holidays, 20-25 paid time off days, disability & life insurance, medical, dental, and vision insurance (employee contribution starting at $135, $7, and $5 per month respectively) and FSA for healthcare, childcare, and commuter costs. Part-time employees are eligible for a proportionate amount of paid time off. These additional benefits apply to employees who work at least 6 months within a 12 month time period.
Standard of Professional Conduct: The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.
Commitment to Gender, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion: The IRC is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive, respectful, and safe work environment where all persons are treated fairly, with dignity and respect. The IRC expressly prohibits and will not tolerate discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or bullying of the IRC persons in any work setting. We aim to increase the representation of women, people that are from country and communities we serve, and people who identify as races and ethnicities that are under-represented in global power structures.
How to apply
https://careers.rescue.org/us/en/job/req56082/Director-Audience-Donor-Strategy