Manager, Principal & Major Gifts Operations

About MSF USA | Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an independent international organization that provides medical care to the people who need it most. The organization cares for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, and social exclusion in more than 70 countries. MSF offers medical humanitarian assistance solely based on need, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or politics. Our international project teams include medical, logistical, and administrative staff, most of them hired locally and working with their own communities. Our actions are guided by medical ethics and the principles of independence, impartiality, and neutrality. We also bear witness and speak out about the experiences of our colleagues and patients.

MSF USA is one of 24 sections supporting the global movement, primarily through staff recruitment, fundraising, advocacy, and communications. We welcome candidates who bring a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences to join us in working toward MSF’s social mission.

• ROLE OVERVIEW
• The Manager, Principal and Major Gifts Operations leads the operational systems, reporting, and process effectiveness of the Principal and Major Gifts team. Reporting to the Senior Director, Principal and Major Gifts, this role owns key operational initiatives that strengthen data quality, prospect management discipline, performance visibility, and day-to-day team operations.

Working closely with frontline fundraisers and cross-functional partners, the Manager develops and implements plans that improve efficiency, accountability, donor stewardship, and overall team effectiveness. This role ensures gift officers have the tools, processes, and information needed to manage donor portfolios successfully.

The Manager supervises operational support staff, builds team capability through training and documentation, and provides functional leadership over Principal and Major Gifts operational processes, standards, and cross-team initiatives. The Manager also maintains strong partnerships with the Data Analytics, Donor Services, Finance, and Integrated Channel Marketing teams, as well as other internal stakeholders

• DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTABILITIES
• Prospecting
• Pursue strategic opportunities in coherence with MSF-USA´s strategy, that create long-term value for the movement by identifying and developing new audience segments or donors for its mission.

• Donor Cultivation, Engagement and Management
• Build trust and loyalty with potential and existing donors. At the simplest level, update donors on activities. At a more complex level, build long-term relationships with key donors and key donor segments. Take overall responsibility for designing, developing, and delivering the donor engagement strategy. May be through channels or through personal relationships.

• Fundraising
• Secure reliable, sustainable, and efficient resources in alignment with MSF-US commitments.

• Brand Positioning
• Drive awareness and consideration through brand positioning based on the brand strategy and implement brand plans.

• Best-in-Class Fundraising Systems and Capabilities
• Deploy and champion the latest technological systems and capabilities that push the boundaries of what Development can produce for its donors.

• ROLES SPECIFIC OUTCOMES
• Insights and Reporting
• Execute the data and analytics reporting plan for Principal and Major Gifts. Create templates and standards to report data in a meaningful way. Communicate insights and recommendations to internal and external stakeholders.

• Improvement and Innovation
• Identify and implement new business practices for Principal and Major Gifts Operations. Develop and deliver operational change initiatives that improve efficiency, accountability, and team effectiveness.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Data
• Ensure the Principal and Major Gifts team maintains high-quality donor information. Partner with Development Operations on prospect management discipline, data integrity, and reporting standards specific to major gifts. Provide input into CRM enhancements that meet the major gifts business needs.

• Training, Development and Delivery
• Design and deliver training content and resources to fill capability gaps for the Principal and Major Gifts team. Deliver training that improves gift officer effectiveness and operational performance.

• Project Management
• Deliver cross-functional projects and operational initiatives in partnership with Data Analytics, Donor Services, Finance, and Integrated Channel Marketing. Coordinate resources, priorities, timelines, and dependencies to achieve business objectives.

• COMPLEXITY AND PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
• •Brings professional knowledge of fundraising operations, data management, and major gifts to the role. .
• •Responsible for moderately diverse activities across reporting, prospect management, data integrity, training, and operational improvement, with awareness of related fundraising functions to operate effectively over short to medium timeframes.
• •Uses judgment to develop new and improved procedures and translates Development strategy and policy into operational plans for the Principal and Major Gifts team.
• •Delivers medium-term results, with outputs reviewed against targets.
• •Advises and facilitates services upon which gift officers and cross-functional partners take action.•

• BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES
• THOUGHT: How MSF USA staff understand the organization, manage complexity, and contribute by creating the new and different.

• People Focus
• Builds strong relationships and delivers solutions geared to aiding others. Solicits feedback and data; conveys a clear understanding of the level of service the team is providing; takes action when standards are not met by team; aligns processes with organizational needs.

• Manages Complexity
• Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems. Consistently looks at complex issues from many angles; obtains a rich and deep understanding; swiftly cuts to the core issue; skillfully separates root causes from symptoms.

• Global Perspective
• Takes a broad view when approaching issues, using a global lens. Shows global thinking at work; adjusts organizational practices to meet the unique needs of different regions or countries. Uses a broad perspective when addressing issues and challenges.

• Cultivates Innovation
• Creates new and better ways for the organization to be successful. Approaches professional work in unique or innovative ways. Offers original ideas. Appreciates others' creative ideas and solutions and provides helpful input to enhance them.

• Strategic Mindset
• Sees ahead to future possibilities and translates them into breakthrough strategies.

RESULTS: MSF USA staff achieve results by cultivating a forward-thinking environment that produces solutions for changing stakeholder needs.

• Drives Results
• Consistently achieves results, even under tough circumstances. Regularly pushes self to achieve outstanding outcomes; consistently establishes bold goals for own performance; is passionate about excellent results and significant contributions. Shows great tenacity to complete goals/initiatives in a timely way.

• Ensures Accountability
• Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments.

PEOPLE: MSF USA staff understand their impact on others through collaboration and inclusion of different perspectives to achieve common goals.

• Collaborates
• Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. Readily involves others to accomplish goals; stays in touch and shares information; discourages "us versus them" thinking; shows appreciation for others' ideas and input.

• Communicates Effectively
• Develops and delivers multi-mode communications that convey a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences. Listens attentively and takes an interest. Keeps others well informed; conveys information clearly, concisely, and pro