Vice President, Membership

The Advancement team cultivates, solicits, and stewards individuals, as well as foundation, government and corporate partners who invest in the Society to drive impact through science, technology, education, exploration, and storytelling. The team collaborates with Society teams – and often works closely with NGP/Disney – to build transformative and impact-driven strategic partnerships. The team also produces global events that deepen connections and leverage the Society’s power to convene, and directs robust annual, major and planned giving programs empowering the Society with a broad base of public support.

The Membership team is responsible for acquiring, retaining, and upgrading donors in support of the National Geographic Society mission to use the power of science, exploration, education, and storytelling to illuminate and project the wonder of our world.

The Vice President, Membership (VP) is a senior leader within NGS Advancement and is responsible for the leadership, management, and execution of a high impact membership program. We are seeking an inspirational leader with a proven track record of managing high performing teams that execute donor strategy, volunteer leadership, membership, marketing and communications. The Vice President will manage the day-to-day operations of the NGS membership program and grow the Society’s annual giving program through comprehensive marketing and communications campaigns as well as strategic member and donor centric solicitation strategies. They will manage the overall strategy to facilitate recognition of donors, communicate gratitude, demonstrate impact of gifts, and ensure donor intent is followed. The VP will be the primary source of knowledge, intelligence and decision making as it relates to donor strategy, membership and marketing related functions. They will be responsible for data collection, analyses and systems integration as it pertains to membership as well as strategy to shore up retention and recruitment. The VP will also be responsible for governance by ensuring the proper volunteer alignment, training, onboarding and infrastructure to engage members and cultivate volunteer leaders.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO), the VP will devise strategies for meeting Society-wide objectives; will work closely with the CAO to create and implement metrics to measure membership program performance, perform data analysis to drive strategy and create reporting to track progress toward goals. They will be an exceptional communicator and relationship building with the creativity and skills to develop an effective membership strategy to drive results.

• Implement member surveys and metrics to measure annual revenue and participation performance; perform data analysis to drive strategies that acquire, retain, and reactivate members; and create a reporting process to track progress toward Advancement goals. Conduct regular segmentation analyses to help inform new strategies to increase member engagement and manage annual giving volunteers as needed. Work with the CAO and the senior Advancement leaders to determine and set long- and short-term goals that drive membership success and meet Society-wide objectives. (30%)
• Lead and inspire the Membership team to develop manageable workloads, clear goals and expectations, professional development plans, and the tools and resources needed to be effective in their roles. Execute portfolio reviews for giving officers, provide direction for portfolio management, and ensure the overall growth of the individual donor pipeline. (20%)
• Work collaboratively with the Engagement and Marketing Strategy team to create and manage a comprehensive, fully integrated membership communications plan and appeal schedule for annual giving, including dollar, participation, and qualitative goals. Create and manage a calendar of multidimensional marketing appeals that leverage a variety of media to communicate with potential and current donors. Create and execute a communications plan aligned with the overall communications efforts of the Society including messaging themes, print, electronic, and social media strategies, as well as the development and implementation of support materials that best position and promote the benefits of supporting the Society. (20%)
• Establish a clear vision and growth strategy for the Membership program, and measure progress against data-based revenue goals that align to the NGS strategic plan. Deliver services that provide value, leverage member expertise and excitement, improve retention, and support NGS membership.Through successful staff management, clear goal setting and project oversight, meet and exceed annual revenue and participation targets, minimize expenses, and ensure quality and professionalism in NGS materials and customer service. (10%)
• Work closely with senior Advancement leaders in major, principal and planned giving to develop and execute crowdfunding opportunities and matching gift programs that support ambitious fundraising strategies and upgrading opportunities. Design and deliver new member value initiatives by leveraging unique engagements or innovative products and services. (10%)
• Prepare annual budgets for the annual giving team to ensure efficient and effective use of Society resources and manage vendors related to membership services. (10%)

• Demonstrated success in growing an annual giving and membership program, as well as long-term donor engagement and retention.
• Prove track record delivering member services that provide value and leverage member expertise and excitement.
• Understanding of current trends in philanthropy, annual giving, membership, crowdfunding, marketing and communications.
• Experience and expertise in strategic planning and campaign fundraising.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate and manage individuals and teams. Sound judgment, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail with the ability to think strategically and act decisively
• Proven ability to attract, mentor, motivate, and lead a strong, cohesive, and high-performing team; the managerial skills to establish a team -and goal-oriented environment, providing and encouraging innovation; and the ability to empower staff through active communication and delegation, building confidence and celebrating achievements.
• Has a strong work ethic and the ability to develop and implement the policies, practices and systems necessary for the execution of a significant membership campaign.
• Skill in exercising a high degree of initiative, judgment, discretion, and decision-making to achieve organizational objectives.
• Ability to work effectively with, delegate to, and provide direction and leadership for a team under stringent deadline requirements; ability to coach and evaluate professional team members, including training and skills evaluation.

• Experience developing data-based revenue goals and strategic planning for annual giving and membership revenue streams.
• Ability to excel during change management and guide a team through a transformational growth phase.
• Ability to oversee priority projects, partnerships, campaigns, and strategies, providing clear input on some and leading on others.
• Desire to work in a highly motivated, dynamic, and expanding Advancement team.
• Ability to collaborate and influence at a very high level all members of the Advancement office and senior administrators in a complex setting.
• Skill in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with donors, volunteers, staff, and the public.
• Ability to respond quickly to changing business needs and priorities; ability to balance strategic thinking with tactical implementation.
• Excellent writing skills with demonstrated ability to communicate information to the public.
• Proficiency with Raiser’s Edge, or other fundraising database preferred.

Hybrid - At the Society, we believe in the advantages of coming together to build community, mentor and learn from colleagues, and connect more deeply with our mission. As a result, the majority of our staff are Hybrid. Our Hybrid category requires that staff work at Base Camp two days each week: every Tuesday and Wednesday. Hybrid staff are also always welcome to come in additional days each week if they prefer.