Director of Sponsorships

DEPARTMENT SUMMARY:

Holt International finds and supports permanent, loving families for children who are orphaned, abandoned, or at serious risk of separation from their family. Holt’s model of child-centered care provides services for vulnerable children to ensure they will grow and develop to their fullest potential.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Sponsorships is a member of the Philanthropy and Communications team who is responsible for providing strategic direction for all Holt programs related to sponsorships. From acquisition, retention, stewardship and identifying and handing off appropriate sponsors to mid and major gift officers. This position will oversee all aspects of Holt’s sponsorship program, and partner across the department and teams to ensure comprehensive, appropriately segmented and aligned programs that will continue to drive revenue and support for Holt.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Provides Strategic Direction for Giving Programs by: Developing and implementing strategies aimed at increasing donor participation, retention, and contributions. Utilizes analytics and data-driven insights to shape programs targeting donor lifecycle stages (acquisition, segmentation, retention, and escalation). Innovates approaches to meet evolving donor expectations and market trends.
• Stewardship Program Oversight: Leads efforts to thank and engage donors meaningfully through personalized acknowledgment letters, impactful reporting, and engagement touchpoints. Ensures quality and timeliness in donor communication, including inbound and outbound calls. Designs recognition events and materials that foster long-term relationships. Tracks program success and identifies areas for improvement. Provides financial and impact reports, including budgeting and forecasting.
• Donor Acquisition Efforts: Guides programs like the Christian artist partnerships, leveraging music and artists as platforms for donor outreach. Explores alternative acquisition channels (e.g., radio advertising, street teams, and social media campaigns) to diversify methods and increase reach. Pilots new approaches to tap into untapped donor bases.
• Donor Segmentation: Incorporates segmentation strategies to customize donor engagement based on demographic, behavioral, or financial giving patterns. Implements segmentation tools to prioritize efforts on high-impact donor groups while engaging a broad base effectively.
• Coordination with Staff, Vendors, and Partners: Collaborates with internal teams to align plans with organizational goals. Engages external vendors and strategic partners for campaigns, events, or specialized outreach programs. Monitors project timelines and budgets to ensure seamless execution.
• Information-Tracking and Cultivation: Establishes systems to track donor touchpoints, from acknowledgment and recognition to impact reporting. Develops a cultivation pipeline to deepen relationships with sponsors, targeting increased contributions. Ensures robust data tracking for transparency and strategic insight.
• Awareness of Industry Best Practices: Continuously researches trends and methods in sponsorship programs, adapting successful practices to the organization’s context. Attends industry conferences, webinars, and training sessions to stay ahead of changes. Benchmarks performance against other successful programs in the sector.
• Team Management: Provides leadership and guidance to a team of contributors, ensuring alignment with organizational strategy. Balances strategic direction with tactical oversight, ensuring operational goals are met. Coordinates and supports professional development and training to enhance team capabilities. Encourages collaboration and innovation within the team for continuous improvement.
• Contributes to the team effort by Actively engaging with team members to build trust and achieve shared goals, fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and support. Approaches new tasks and problem-solving with enthusiasm and flexibility, maintaining a solution-oriented mindset even under pressure. Supports cross-functional requests and projects, recognizing the value of collaboration in achieving broader organizational objectives. Contributes ideas during brainstorming and planning sessions, offering constructive input and innovative solutions. Maintains a big-picture perspective, ensuring their work aligns with and supports the organization’s mission and goals.
• Contributes to a positive, productive work environment by Adhering to work schedules and guidelines, ensuring reliability and accountability for their role. Plans time off in advance to minimize disruptions to team operations. Treats colleagues, stakeholders, and partners with fairness and respect, fostering inclusivity and professionalism in all interactions. Demonstrates active listening by engaging with others’ perspectives, ensuring mutual understanding, and integrating feedback into work practices. Maintains professionalism and clarity in email and phone communications, tailoring messages to the audience for maximum impact. Embraces organizational growth and shifting priorities by learning new skills, taking on unfamiliar projects, and remaining flexible in evolving circumstances.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

The successful Director of Sponsorships will be a strong leader with the ability to prioritize and manage the team’s voluminous and multi-faceted workload in a fast-paced environment. Must have strong interpersonal skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and staff effectively and concurrently. The successful candidate will have the ability to utilize a variety of technology platforms and must demonstrate the ability to analyze options and use sound judgment when decision-making.

KNOWLEDGE (MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS):

A minimum of five years in philanthropy, including direct experience in sponsorships or stewardship roles. Supervisory experience and ability to work collaboratively are highly desirable. Bachelor’s degree required. Thorough knowledge of and experience with stewardship and donor engagement practices and membership models. Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious, productive working relationships, both within and outside the organization.

INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: Works well with other employees to obtain compliance with organizational policies. Exercises good judgment, courtesy, and tact in interaction with employees and the public.

SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY: Responsible for a team of philanthropy professionals who maintain effective two-way messaging with high volumes of current and prospective Holt donors. Develops and manages strategies and activities to achieve fundraising goals and donor recognition and acknowledgement.

IMPACT OF RESULTS:

Activities contribute to Holt’s ability to meet or exceed adoption and fundraising revenue objectives. Improves donor conversion to increase Holt’s revenue streams. Works to effectively recruit, retain, and upgrade donors.

REPORTS DIRECTLY TO: Chief Philanthropy and Communications Officer

WORKS DIRECTLY WITH: Philanthropy and Communications Department, Finance, Policy and External Affairs, International Programs and Adoption Services staff, external consultants and vendors.