Senior Manager, Legacy Giving
About the role
Position: Senior Manager, Legacy Giving
Location: Hybrid - Work from any WWF-Canada Office - Preference for Toronto, Ontario
Department: Development – Legacy Giving
Reporting to: Senior Vice President, Development
Direct Reports: Specialist, Legacy Giving and Associate Specialist, Legacy Giving & Estates
Position Type: Full-Time, 1 Year Contract
Salary: $90,700 to $98,500 annually (commensurate upon related skills and experience)
Position Description
The Senior Manager, Legacy Giving oversees the Legacy Giving program including staffing, strategy, stewardship and acquisition of legacy donors, and estate administration. The role works to manage a multi-channel mass marketing program to acquire and confirm new Legacy prospects and donors, and develop the donor pipeline as a whole. The Senior Manager also oversees the smooth and timely processing of legacy gifts, including estate administration and execution. The Senior Manager is an excellent donor relationship manager, providing best in class donor experience for Legacy donors, while continuing to foster new initiatives, and evaluate current programs in order to uphold the best-in-class reputation of the Legacy Giving program at WWF-Canada. This role provides strategic recommendations, ensuring clear messaging and deliverables are consistent with WWF-Canada’s vision, priorities, and conservation program work.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage, mentor, motivate, and develop direct reports; identifying opportunities, facilitating execution, and seeking solutions to challenges.
- Manage and/or provide guidance for the direct report’s workload, goal setting, career development and performance reviews.
- Plan, manage, and execute the Legacy Giving marketing program, including developing tactics, timelines and budgets.
- Lead the Legacy Giving strategy and execution, achieving milestones and targets related to revenue, gift expectancies, and donor pipeline development.
- Innovate and enhance the program to attract new donors into the Legacy Giving pipeline.
- Develop and monitor expenses against the annual Legacy plan.
- Alongside the Legacy Giving team, respond to donor inquiries, acting as one of the primary contacts for the program.
- Update donor database with relevant information including activity, status, proposals, track conversations, and other information vital to tracking a donor through the Legacy Giving process.
- Provide personalized stewardship to current confirmed Legacy donors.
- In collaboration with members of the Community Giving team, develop an annual communication plan to steward current donors, and attract new Legacy donors through direct marketing channels.
- Work with the internal events team to develop Legacy donor only events, as well leverage current donor events to include Legacy donations as appropriate.
- Collaborate with other members of the larger Development, Marketing & Communications (Marcom) team, and other departments and external stakeholders regarding Legacy Giving requests, inquiries, and events.
- Provide oversight to the estate administration process and work with the Donor Relations team to ensure excellent donor care and management through gift coding and receipting.
- Collaborate with the Philanthropy & Donor Engagement team on blended giving strategies for high-net-worth individuals.
- Develop and track KPIs, reporting on program metrics for internal stakeholders.
- Provide training on Legacy Giving and key initiatives to WWF staff, as needed, to enhance and expand organizational support for execution of legacy activities.
- As needed, provide overall support to the Development and MarCom teams, including but not limited to event support, campaign support, and Community Giving initiatives.
Other Information
- Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends to attend in-person events.
What We Are Looking For
- 5+ years of successful experience in the design and execution of Legacy Giving programs, or similar donor engagement/fundraising experience.
- 2+ years experience managing a team.
- Exceptional leadership, mentoring, coaching and team-building skills combined with the ability to drive effective results, using excellent judgement, discretion and decision-making.
- A donor-centric orientation and strong relationship management skills.
- Experience developing and managing budgets.
- Ability to set priorities, demonstrate a positive attitude, troubleshoot and problem solve independently using sound judgement.
- Experience with donor databases, Mission CRM preferred.
- Strong oral, written and presentation skills.
- Understanding of charity law and best practices in relation to legacy giving.
- A passion for detail and commitment to deadlines.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize effectively.
- Advanced level of proficiency in MS Office.
- Bilingualism (English/French) is an asset.
- Identify & align with WWF’s core values: Courage, Integrity, Respect, and Collaboration.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying for this exciting opportunity, please click , and ensure that your application is received on or before October 5, 2025 at 5pm EST.
Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility
Our vision is a Canada with abundant wildlife where nature and people thrive and we value and rely on diversity of thought, knowledge, expertise, and lived experience to help bring our vision to life.
We recognize that experience comes in many forms and skills are transferable. If you feel that your unique experiences can enhance our vision, we encourage you to apply – even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements.
We encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.
We are committed to a barrier-free and equitable recruitment & selection process. If you are contacted in relation an opportunity to join our team and require an accommodation at any point in the process, please advise the recruiter of your specific needs. We commit to managing these requests in a confidential manner.
About WWF-Canada
Founded in 1967, World Wildlife Fund Canada is the country’s largest international conservation organization, with the active support of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. WWF-Canada is part of the WWF global network, working in 100 countries worldwide.
Our head office — located in Toronto — is home to WWF-Canada’s operations and fundraising teams while our conservation staff are also based across the country from Nanaimo, B.C. to Iqaluit to St. John's.
Building on half a century of experience, and with an impressive track record around the world, WWF-Canada has the unique ability to drive large-scale change from local to global levels.
Together, in partnership with foundations, governments, businesses, communities, individuals and our supporters, we are working to conserve species at risk, protect threatened habitats and address climate change. We are drawing on Indigenous knowledge and implementing nature-based solutions that challenge the way we work and redefine humanity’s relationship with the planet.
Our long-term vision is simple: to create a world where people and nature thrive.
Senior Manager, Legacy Giving
About the role
Position: Senior Manager, Legacy Giving
Location: Hybrid - Work from any WWF-Canada Office - Preference for Toronto, Ontario
Department: Development – Legacy Giving
Reporting to: Senior Vice President, Development
Direct Reports: Specialist, Legacy Giving and Associate Specialist, Legacy Giving & Estates
Position Type: Full-Time, 1 Year Contract
Salary: $90,700 to $98,500 annually (commensurate upon related skills and experience)
Position Description
The Senior Manager, Legacy Giving oversees the Legacy Giving program including staffing, strategy, stewardship and acquisition of legacy donors, and estate administration. The role works to manage a multi-channel mass marketing program to acquire and confirm new Legacy prospects and donors, and develop the donor pipeline as a whole. The Senior Manager also oversees the smooth and timely processing of legacy gifts, including estate administration and execution. The Senior Manager is an excellent donor relationship manager, providing best in class donor experience for Legacy donors, while continuing to foster new initiatives, and evaluate current programs in order to uphold the best-in-class reputation of the Legacy Giving program at WWF-Canada. This role provides strategic recommendations, ensuring clear messaging and deliverables are consistent with WWF-Canada’s vision, priorities, and conservation program work.
Key Responsibilities
- Manage, mentor, motivate, and develop direct reports; identifying opportunities, facilitating execution, and seeking solutions to challenges.
- Manage and/or provide guidance for the direct report’s workload, goal setting, career development and performance reviews.
- Plan, manage, and execute the Legacy Giving marketing program, including developing tactics, timelines and budgets.
- Lead the Legacy Giving strategy and execution, achieving milestones and targets related to revenue, gift expectancies, and donor pipeline development.
- Innovate and enhance the program to attract new donors into the Legacy Giving pipeline.
- Develop and monitor expenses against the annual Legacy plan.
- Alongside the Legacy Giving team, respond to donor inquiries, acting as one of the primary contacts for the program.
- Update donor database with relevant information including activity, status, proposals, track conversations, and other information vital to tracking a donor through the Legacy Giving process.
- Provide personalized stewardship to current confirmed Legacy donors.
- In collaboration with members of the Community Giving team, develop an annual communication plan to steward current donors, and attract new Legacy donors through direct marketing channels.
- Work with the internal events team to develop Legacy donor only events, as well leverage current donor events to include Legacy donations as appropriate.
- Collaborate with other members of the larger Development, Marketing & Communications (Marcom) team, and other departments and external stakeholders regarding Legacy Giving requests, inquiries, and events.
- Provide oversight to the estate administration process and work with the Donor Relations team to ensure excellent donor care and management through gift coding and receipting.
- Collaborate with the Philanthropy & Donor Engagement team on blended giving strategies for high-net-worth individuals.
- Develop and track KPIs, reporting on program metrics for internal stakeholders.
- Provide training on Legacy Giving and key initiatives to WWF staff, as needed, to enhance and expand organizational support for execution of legacy activities.
- As needed, provide overall support to the Development and MarCom teams, including but not limited to event support, campaign support, and Community Giving initiatives.
Other Information
- Ability to work occasional evenings and/or weekends to attend in-person events.
What We Are Looking For
- 5+ years of successful experience in the design and execution of Legacy Giving programs, or similar donor engagement/fundraising experience.
- 2+ years experience managing a team.
- Exceptional leadership, mentoring, coaching and team-building skills combined with the ability to drive effective results, using excellent judgement, discretion and decision-making.
- A donor-centric orientation and strong relationship management skills.
- Experience developing and managing budgets.
- Ability to set priorities, demonstrate a positive attitude, troubleshoot and problem solve independently using sound judgement.
- Experience with donor databases, Mission CRM preferred.
- Strong oral, written and presentation skills.
- Understanding of charity law and best practices in relation to legacy giving.
- A passion for detail and commitment to deadlines.
- Ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritize effectively.
- Advanced level of proficiency in MS Office.
- Bilingualism (English/French) is an asset.
- Identify & align with WWF’s core values: Courage, Integrity, Respect, and Collaboration.
How to Apply
If you are interested in applying for this exciting opportunity, please click , and ensure that your application is received on or before October 5, 2025 at 5pm EST.
Commitment to Diversity and Accessibility
Our vision is a Canada with abundant wildlife where nature and people thrive and we value and rely on diversity of thought, knowledge, expertise, and lived experience to help bring our vision to life.
We recognize that experience comes in many forms and skills are transferable. If you feel that your unique experiences can enhance our vision, we encourage you to apply – even if you don’t meet 100% of the requirements.
We encourage applications from candidates who have been historically disadvantaged and marginalized, including applicants who identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuk (Inuit), Black, racialized, a person with a disability, women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.
We are committed to a barrier-free and equitable recruitment & selection process. If you are contacted in relation an opportunity to join our team and require an accommodation at any point in the process, please advise the recruiter of your specific needs. We commit to managing these requests in a confidential manner.
About WWF-Canada
Founded in 1967, World Wildlife Fund Canada is the country’s largest international conservation organization, with the active support of hundreds of thousands of Canadians. WWF-Canada is part of the WWF global network, working in 100 countries worldwide.
Our head office — located in Toronto — is home to WWF-Canada’s operations and fundraising teams while our conservation staff are also based across the country from Nanaimo, B.C. to Iqaluit to St. John's.
Building on half a century of experience, and with an impressive track record around the world, WWF-Canada has the unique ability to drive large-scale change from local to global levels.
Together, in partnership with foundations, governments, businesses, communities, individuals and our supporters, we are working to conserve species at risk, protect threatened habitats and address climate change. We are drawing on Indigenous knowledge and implementing nature-based solutions that challenge the way we work and redefine humanity’s relationship with the planet.
Our long-term vision is simple: to create a world where people and nature thrive.