Manager of Annual Giving

Job Highlights  

The Manager of Annual Giving is responsible for growing and sustaining Houston Grand Opera's base of philanthropic support through annual fund strategy, donor-centric communications, and data-driven decision-making. This role owns the full annual giving lifecycle and works across channels and teams to build a strong donor pipeline and maximize participation and revenue. As a critical entry point into HGO's philanthropic community, the annual giving program serves as the foundation from which deeper donor relationships are cultivated and major gift pipelines are built. 

Join Us! 

We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO. 

About the Houston Grand Opera 

The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors. 

Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences. 

Compensation and Benefits 

We offer robust benefits to full-time employees, including: 

• Comprehensive and affordable health benefits. 

• Generous paid time off. 

• 403b retirement plan with employer match. 

• Flexible work schedule. 

• Professional development fund and opportunities. 

• Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation. 

• Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Design and drive a results-oriented annual giving strategy built around three core priorities: growing donor participation, improving retention, and maximizing revenue — including campaign timelines, donor segmentation, messaging frameworks, performance targets, and budget allocation.  

• Lead every stage of the campaign lifecycle across acquisition, renewal, and upgrade segments, continuously monitoring real-time performance data (e.g., response rate, retention, average gift, upgrade rate) and making agile adjustments to keep campaigns on track and ahead of goal. 

• Craft compelling, donor-centric appeals across direct response platforms to drive acquisition and long-term loyalty, with tailored messaging for distinct donor segments. 

• Oversee the production and on-time delivery of communications across all channels, tracking all activity in Tessitura.  

• Serve as the point of contact for annual donors, helping to facilitate a seamless experience for all annual donors. 

• In collaboration with the Manager, Donor Experience, develop meaningful, mission-driven stewardship that strengthens retention and supports long-term pipeline development. 

• Partner with research and analytics colleagues to segment and profile incoming donors, enabling strategic qualification and smarter revenue growth across all giving programs. 

• Work closely with the Audiences team to integrate Annual Fund opportunities within subscription renewal campaigns. 

• Collaborate with the Director of Philanthropy Operations to maintain rigorous segmentation standards, data integrity, and comprehensive reporting. 

Qualifications 

Bachelor’s degree with two or more years of experience in direct response, marketing, philanthropy operations, or a related field. Must have demonstrated ability to implement and manage projects involving multiple departments. Requires proven excellent written and verbal communication skills. Requires some night and weekend work around performances and events.  

Special Job Characteristics 

We seek a resourceful, proactive, self-starter who can independently solve problems and prioritize key tasks in a fast-paced environment. Successful candidates will be natural motivators who encourage and empower others to meet ambitious goals. Must be highly organized with strong attention to detail. Knowledge of opera is not necessary, but a passion for the arts is a must. 

Physical Demands  

The physical demands described here are representative of those we consider important for an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job: extended periods of sitting and performing tasks such as typing and using a computer mouse, with strong visual and auditory focus, occasional lifting (not exceeding 20 pounds), reaching for items, effective communication skills, and fine motor abilities, being mobile within the office for activities like attending performances, events, and meetings. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. 

Equal Opportunity 

Houston Grand Opera is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at HGO are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws or regulations. HGO will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. HGO encourages applicants of all ages.