Major Gifts Officer, Eastern Region
Center for Reproductive Rights
New York, NY, USA
USD 150k-150k / year
Posted on Sep 12, 2025
Description
Title: Major Gifts Officer, Eastern Region
Department: Development
Center Background: The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization working to ensure that reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights worldwide. With offices in New York City, and Washington, D.C.; Nairobi, Kenya; Bogota, Colombia; and Geneva, Switzerland, the Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization changing law and policy throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the United States. Our 270+ diverse professionals are committed to advancing the Center’s human rights mission through game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work. This has powered the Center’s exceptional growth to an operating budget of over $60 million and won the respect of law firms in countries around the world. Our global pro bono network includes over 2,000 lawyers across 6 continents, 64 countries, and 130 law firms. Last year, law firms contributed over $30 million USD in pro bono legal services. The Center’s Strategic Plan sets a high mark for impact: By 2030, half of the world’s population will be living under stronger protections for reproductive rights than they were in 2020. The Center has a record of success to back up this ambitious goal. Since our founding in 1992, the Center has transformed how reproductive rights are understood and applied by courts, governments, and human rights bodies worldwide on issues including maternal health, abortion, assisted reproduction, and adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights. We have won groundbreaking cases before national courts, U.N. Committees, and regional human rights bodies. The Center has also led development of historic, proactive legislation advancing robust protections for reproductive rights. It has built the legal capacity of women’s rights advocates in more than 65 countries and counting. To learn more about the Center, please go to www.reproductiverights.org
The Job: The Center is seeking an experienced professional to serve as a member of our frontline fundraising team and help build out our New York metropolitan area base of support and to serve as the primary fundraiser dedicated to developing donor relationships in the Southeastern US. The Major Gift Officer will be responsible for developing and maintaining a robust pipeline and implementing strategies to identify, qualify, cultivate, engage, solicit and steward a portfolio of 150+ major donors and prospects. She/he will work closely with the Major Gifts team to help manage and strengthen donor relations, evaluate various gift opportunities, and coordinate and facilitate communications to ensure a cohesive donor cultivation and stewardship effort.
The positions will be based in the Center’s New York City office.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Develop and manage a portfolio of 150+ donors and prospects in the New York metropolitan area and Southeastern U.S. capable of making gifts of $10,000 or more, with a goal of securing a significant number of new gifts and gift upgrades through a creative and proactive approach to personal cultivation and solicitation.
- Collaborate with the Major Gifts team on developing strategies to expand the major donor pipeline and upgrade mid-level ($5,000-$9,999) donors, achieving aggressive targets for an increase in number of donors and overall donor engagement in the New York metropolitan area.
- Implement high quality operational practices and systems to effectively manage her/his donor portfolio.
- Collaborate with the Development team on the successful planning and execution of the Center’s annual NYC gala and other special events and providing input and support for the recruitment and management of volunteer leadership for the event.
- Contribute to the development of strategy, briefing, and debriefing materials for face-to-face donor meetings and other donor communications.
- Build relationships with the Center’s legal program staff, communications staff, and others to acquire the information needed to solicit gifts and build donor relationships effectively.
- Work as part of the development team to develop and execute strategies to achieve annual departmental goals as well as the goals of the Center’s five-year strategic plan and fundraising campaign.
- Assist in team goal setting.
Compensation: The annual salary for this position is $150,000. This salary reflects a position based in New York City. This salary will be subject to a downward locality adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside the location listed in this posting. Note that most of the salaries listed on our job postings reflect New York, NY salaries, where our National offices are headquartered.
Union Status: This role is not covered by the Center’s bargaining unit.
FLSA Exempt Status: This is an exempt position.
Benefits:
- Health: The Center provides a comprehensive health insurance plan with no in-network deductible and best-in-class reproductive healthcare coverage, including infertility. The Center also offers Dental and Vision coverage.
- Well-being: The Center offers resources to help prevent and recover from burnout through different programs that enable mental, physical, and community well-being. The Center provides generous leave, including paid parental leave, personal days, vacation, and sick leave. We are closed the last week of December to allow staff to spend winter holiday time with their loved ones.
- Investment: After the first year of employment, the Center will contribute 7.5%* of your annual salary to a 401(k) (*applicable only in US and Kenya).
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Center is committed to inclusive hiring and dedicated to diversity in our work and staff. We strongly encourage people from all communities to apply. If you are excited about this role but unsure about whether your experience aligns with the job description, we encourage you to apply. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles. To learn more about the Center’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, please visit Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | Center for Reproductive Rights.
Center policy on visa sponsorship for U.S.-based positions: Applicants for employment in the U.S. must have valid work authorization that does not now and will not in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the U.S. by The Center for Reproductive Rights.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree required and portfolio management experience of 8 years.
- Commitment to the Center’s mission, purpose, and values.
- A successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors in a very fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently, build strong relationships, and develop and manage a robust pipeline for a major gifts program.
- Sophisticated fundraiser with a deep knowledge of major gifts and philanthropic trends in individual giving, with knowledge of the New York metropolitan area philanthropic community a plus.
- A team player with interpersonal savvy who understands how to collaborate effectively with internal stakeholders and work across team lines.
- Ability to effectively communicate the mission, goals, and needs of an organization in a compelling way and to tailor communications to different audiences and donor needs.
- Excellent verbal & written communication skills and demonstrated ability to articulate complex ideas clearly, accurately, and concisely.
- Strong organizational and project management skills and proven ability to thrive in a fast fast-paced, professionally rigorous setting, managing multiple assignments and quickly evolving priorities.
- Experience in reproductive rights a plus or familiarity with other issues relating to women’s equality, human rights, civil rights, or racial and social justice issues is highly desirable.
- Principled, ethical, professional, and committed to exceptional work quality and standards.
- English language fluency required; additional languages, especially Spanish, a plus.