Head of supporter engagement

Job Purpose
The Head of Supporter Engagement is a 18-month fixed term senior leadership role within Fundraising, accountable for the strategic leadership, income performance, people leadership and ongoing development of Dogs Trust Ireland’s largest sustainable income portfolio. The postholder will set direction for individual giving and supporter engagement, with particular accountability for Regular Giving and Digital Fundraising performance, ensuring the organisation acquires, retains and develops supporters at scale and delivers long‑term income growth.
Overview of the Department/Team
The Supporter Engagement function is the backbone of the wider Fundraising Directorate and is responsible for delivering 8M+ fundraising income through individual giving across regular giving, digital fundraising, legacy marketing, direct mail, retail and customer experience (CX) and other activity. The role works closely with the Group Head of Fundraising & Development and Head of Partnerships to deliver 10M+ total income and ensure aligned supporter journeys, insight‑led decision making and integrated fundraising across digital and offline channels. This role requires proven senior expertise in regular giving and digital fundraising at scale. Candidates must be able to evidence direct accountability for significant income targets, measurable supporter acquisition and retention growth, and successful leadership of managers and specialist teams.
Key areas of accountability
Strategy, income performance and portfolio growth

Set and deliver the Supporter Engagement strategy across Regular Giving, Digital Fundraising, legacy marketing, direct mail, retail and wider individual giving channels, ensuring clear targets, plans and accountability.
Own delivery of income, expenditure, OKRs and performance recovery plans for the portfolio, using robust forecasting and evidence‑based investment decisions.
Drive donor acquisition, retention, upgrade, reactivation and cross‑sell into legacy and other giving products to maximise supporter lifetime value. Regular Giving and Digital Fundraising expertise.
Provide expert leadership for the Regular Giving programme, including proposition development, recruitment quality, retention, attrition reduction, upgrade, reactivation, average gift and long‑term value growth.
Lead digital fundraising growth across paid digital acquisition, audience segmentation, journeys, conversion optimisation, testing frameworks, attribution and digital ROI.
Ensure digital, telemarketing, direct mail and legacy journeys are integrated with the support of the CX team to create consistent, insight‑led and donor‑centred supporter experiences.

People leadership, development and performance management

Lead, develop and performance‑manage a multi‑disciplinary Supporter Engagement team, including managers, specialist fundraising and digital staff, agencies and contractors.
Set clear objectives, standards and accountability frameworks for direct reports, ensuring individual and team goals are aligned to income targets, OKRs and organisational priorities.
Build a high‑performance culture through coaching, structured one‑to‑ones, regular feedback, development plans and robust performance conversations.
Identify capability gaps across regular giving, digital fundraising, supporter journeys, data, reporting and campaign delivery, and implement targeted development plans to strengthen performance.
Hold managers, agencies and suppliers accountable for the quality, timeliness and impact of work delivered promptly and constructively.

Insight, reporting, finance and operations

Develop performance reporting across all channels, with clear KPIs for CPA, ROI, conversion, retention, attrition, average gift, lifetime value, net income and supporter engagement.
Manage multimillion income and expenditure lines, including forecasting, reforecasting, budget control, risk mitigation and corrective action for under‑performing streams.
Use data insight and supporter behaviour analysis to improve decision making, campaign performance, donor journeys and long‑term income sustainability.

Stakeholder, supplier, compliance and donor experience

Influence and collaborate with internal departments and partners to ensure integrated planning and delivery.
Lead supplier and agency performance management, ensuring contracts, outputs, service standards and ROI are actively managed.
Act as a brand and donor experience guardian, ensuring high‑quality supporter care and compliance with fundraising regulation, GDPR, consent and data protection requirements. Any other reasonable duties.

Person Specification Essential skills, qualifications, experience, and attributes

Significant senior leadership experience in individual giving, supporter engagement, donor marketing or fundraising growth, with direct accountability for multi‑million‑euro income targets.
Proven expert‑level experience leading a substantial Regular Giving programme, including acquisition, retention, upgrades, attrition reduction, supporter journeys and lifetime value growth.
Proven senior‑level experience in Digital Fundraising or digital donor acquisition, including paid digital, audience targeting, conversion optimisation, testing and performance reporting.
Demonstrable experience leading managers and multi‑disciplinary teams, with a strong track record of developing people, improving capability and managing performance.
Evidence of setting objectives, holding teams accountable, addressing underperformance and building a high‑performance culture.
Advanced understanding of fundraising metrics including CPA, ROI, retention, attrition, conversion, average gift, lifetime value, net income and supporter engagement.
Experience working cross‑functionally, collaborating with internal departments to ensure fundraising initiatives are integrated and aligned with broader organisational goals.
Strong CRM, segmentation, data‑quality and supporter journey experience, with the ability to translate insight into income growth and improved donor experience.
Expertise in customer experience (CX) and donor care, with a focus on building and maintaining long‑term donor relationships across various fundraising channels.
Experience managing agencies and suppliers to deliver measurable fundraising and digital performance outcomes.
Excellent stakeholder influence, communication and presentation skills, with the ability to challenge constructively and explain complex performance information clearly.
Strong knowledge of fundraising compliance, GDPR, donor care and ethical supporter engagement; commitment to Dogs Trust values and mission.
A passion for supporting the organisation's mission, with a strong understanding of how fundraising drives its broader objectives.

Desirable skills, qualifications, experience, and attributes
Experience with change management, particularly in guiding teams through organisational change, new strategic initiatives, or evolving business environments.
Additional information

This is a senior specialist management role. Applications without substantial, senior performance management, regular giving and digital fundraising experience are unlikely to meet the requirements of the role.
Roles based at our Dublin office operate a smarter working model, which includes regular working from the Dublin office and from home, depending on the task.
Flexible to attend events outside normal hours, overnight travel within Ireland and UK as required.

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