[Hiring] Key Relationships Officer @water

Role Description

Main areas of focus:

• Stewarding existing mid-level donors and building meaningful relationships to qualify and cultivate future major gift supporters.
• Curating a portfolio of engaged and inspired charity: water donors.

Location: Remote - U.S. only

Eligibility: At this time, we are only considering candidates who are eligible to work in the United States without the need of company sponsorship now or in the future.

Job Highlight

You’ll build relationships with our supporters to curate a portfolio of engaged, inspired charity: water donors.

Job Summary

As a Key Relationships Officer: Mid-Level Program, you’ll be responsible for:

• Cultivating, pitching, and stewarding both existing and prospective mid-level donors, identified as annual giving between $6K and $10K.
• Building meaningful relationships by visiting supporters virtually by phone or video, communicating organizational priorities and donor impact, and growing their giving over time.
• Reporting to the Vice President of Key Relationships and working closely with other members of the Key Relationships team and the wider organization to directly contribute to revenue targets and the organization’s bottom line.
• Working within a system to build strong relationships, which will be critical to this role’s success.

Responsibilities

• Managing a robust portfolio of approximately 350-600 mid-level gift supporters capable of donating $6-10K annually and raising $1-3M in total annual revenue within 12–18 months of onboarding.
• Moving donors up the pyramid: identifying the 100 +/- donors most likely to respond to personal engagement and establishing and nurturing a one-to-one personal connection with them.
• Cultivating long-term relationships with individuals and families, encouraging participation at increased levels, involving their networks, and optimizing their lifetime value.
• Personalized but scalable stewardship: building a rhythm of conversations, both virtually and via phone, with donors to deepen understanding of their philanthropic goals and potential at major giving levels.
• Developing a metrics-driven strategy for your portfolio, including number of conversations, invitations, retention and upgrade rate, and keeping your CRM records current.
• Segmentation and portfolio management, often using wealth screening or engagement scoring to prioritize outreach.
• Innovating ways to show donors the return on their investment and finding creative avenues to show appreciation.
• Becoming an expert on charity: water’s programmatic work and staying up to date on international Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) issues.

Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree.
• 3+ years of frontline fundraising experience and a proven track record of closing gifts of $6,000 to $10,000.
• A passion for charity: water’s mission that invigorates and excites the people you share it with.
• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; articulate and persuasive.
• Well-honed relationship-building skills and the ability to connect with all types of people.
• Drive and sophistication; excited by the opportunity to help shape the future of the development department and the organization as a whole.
• Proficiency with Salesforce as a CRM tool.
• A team-oriented mentality, enthusiastic work ethic, and openness to continually improve.
• Highly developed interpersonal skills and strong EQ.
• The ability to travel within the U.S. regularly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience successfully planning and executing large and small-scale events.
• Familiarity working cross-departmentally with creative, design, and event teams.

Success Factors

• Uniquely people-oriented; capable of cultivating productive relationships.
• Strong track record of participating in successful fundraising initiatives with measurable results.
• Driven, organized, and detail-oriented; a self-starter capable of working independently.
• Understanding the value of supporters; able to get anyone excited about the mission through articulate storytelling.
• Innovative approach; familiar with traditional fundraising methods while staying on top of new trends.

Key Relationships

The Key Relationships team cultivates lasting and meaningful relationships with our most generous supporters. They work directly with our community to engage and steward donors who either sponsor an entire water project or join the group of constituents who cover our operational costs.

Hiring Timeline

This role was posted on September 15, 2026, and will remain open for approximately 90 days.

Salary Range

This is an exempt role with a range of $85,500 - $92,000 a year.

Benefits

• Unlimited PTO.
• Summer Fridays.
• 6-week paid sabbatical leave after 5 years of employment.
• Annual bonus potential through The Pool.
• 401k plan + employer match.
• Medical covered at 85% + Dental/Vision contributions.
• FSA + dependent day care FSA.
• Employer-paid life insurance, STD, LTD.
• 16-week paid maternity and paternity leave for new parents.
• Stipends for Home office, Professional Development, and a You-do-You Perk.
• TSA Pre-check reimbursement.
• Flexible working hours; team members are expected to be online 10am - 4pm ET regardless of location, plus three hours per day asynchronously.
• 2-4 annual travel requirements that foster team alignment, connection, and in-person collaboration.

Organizational Overview

At charity: water, we believe that water changes everything. We work with local implementing partners to fund sustainable solutions that provide clean and safe drinking water to people around the world. Since 2006, we’ve brought clean water to more than 20 million people worldwide.

We value every background, identity, and experience. We believe that a diverse team, informed by different cultures and perspectives, makes us stronger. We are committed to providing genuine opportunities for all people to thrive.