Lead Specialist, Audience Development & Fundraising (Contract)

About this role

Summary

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia – one of the most popular websites in the world, serving nearly half a billion users every month. It is the only non-profit in the top 50 websites, supported by a community of millions of individual donors around the world.

The Wikimedia Foundation is expanding its team and seeking an experienced fundraiser to support audience development. This role is responsible for driving donor growth and acquisition, while also supporting the team in retention, upgrade and reactivation initiatives to increase long-term value of donors.

The successful candidate will bring a creative, data-driven mindset, possess a holistic understanding of individual and recurring giving journeys, and is equally comfortable launching broad digital acquisition campaigns as they are stewarding donors to accelerate growth and deepen supporter engagement across email, direct mail, SMS, and other channels.

You are responsible for:

Program Strategy & Growth

• Coordinate robust donor acquisition initiatives through innovative digital outreach, multi-channel direct response, and strategic audience expansion.

• Lead 360-degree portfolio initiatives to maximize lifetime value, balancing donor retention and attrition-reduction strategies.

• Partner with Fundraising and Product teams to optimize donor experiences, audience segmentation, and lifecycle journeys across acquisition and retention funnels.

Donor Journey & Lifecycle Management

• Design tailored journeys to deliver an optimal experience that supports lead generation, donor conversion and retention among new and existing audiences.

• Develop upgrade and cross-sell strategies to increase donor lifetime value.

• Oversee end-to-end campaign implementation, conducting complex data selections and segmentation, ensuring strong execution.

• Continually refine supporter touchpoints ensuring all individual giving communications are donor-focused and aligned across channels.

Campaign Management, Reporting & Budgeting

• Monitor KPIs, produce reports, and adjust tactics to meet revenue and volume targets related to acquisition, retention, attrition, upgrade, and lifetime value.

• Support forecasting, performance projections, and ROI tracking across acquisition and specialized giving streams.

• Partner with the data team to ensure analysis supports strategic decision-making.

• Collaborate in donor research initiatives (e.g., user testing, surveys, focus groups) to inform program improvements.

Cross-Team Collaboration

• Support the Audience Strategy team in holistic initiatives aiming to enhance donor retention, upgrade opportunities and increase donor lifetime value.

• Work closely with colleagues across Fundraising to ensure activities are coordinated, strategic, and supporter-centric.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience managing and analyzing comprehensive individual giving programs, successfully balancing acquisition with retention and upgrading.

• Experience working with detailed audience segmentation, data analysis, and managing complex donor journeys across multiple audience segments.

• Comfortable working with donor KPI metrics and utilizing them to drive strategic decisions.

• Experience managing external fundraising agencies to execute complex marketing and development plans.

• Experience launching and managing paid acquisition and lead generation campaigns across multiple channels, utilizing integrated direct response tactics and applying growth marketing principles.

• Deep proficiency in donor retention, mid-level upgrade strategies, individual donation management, and techniques for growing donor lifetime value.

• In-depth knowledge of supporters, the market, and the charity sector to predict future trends across global fundraising markets.

• Understanding of tax-smart giving vehicles –for example, the operational and strategic nuances of Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)

• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks simultaneously.

• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and departments.

• A proactive and results-oriented approach, with a commitment to continuous improvement and learning.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the growth and success of the fundraising department at Wikimedia Foundation by driving audience development initiatives and optimizing direct response fundraising efforts. If you are passionate about fundraising, data-driven decision-making, and making a positive impact, we encourage you to apply.

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia free knowledge projects. Our vision is a world in which every single human can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. We believe that everyone has the potential to contribute something to our shared knowledge, and that everyone should be able to access that knowledge freely. We host Wikipedia and the Wikimedia projects, build software experiences for reading, contributing, and sharing Wikimedia content, support the volunteer communities and partners who make Wikimedia possible, and advocate for policies that enable Wikimedia and free knowledge to thrive.

The Wikimedia Foundation is a charitable, not-for-profit organization that relies on donations. We receive donations from millions of individuals around the world, with an average donation of about $15. We also receive donations through institutional grants and gifts. The Wikimedia Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization with offices in San Francisco, California, USA.

As an equal opportunity employer, the Wikimedia Foundation values having a diverse workforce and continuously strives to maintain an inclusive and equitable workplace. We encourage people with a diverse range of ba

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