Donor Engagement Specialist

Socket.dev; Edmonton; On-site; CAD 45,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Pilgrims Hospice Society is seeking a Donor Engagement Specialist to deepen relationships with donors through personal conversations, visits, and meaningful mission experiences. Reporting to the Director of Fund Development, you will cultivate existing donors and grow foundational supporters, ensuring donors feel valued, connected to the mission, and inspired by the impact of their giving.

Strong listening, strategic thinking, and discretion are essential as you coordinate stewardship events and

Qualifications

• Build and nurture personal donor relationships through calls, meetings, and visits.
• Create stewardship experiences that demonstrate impact of giving.
• Cultivate foundational donors toward deeper engagement and sustained giving.
• Maintain consistent donor contact beyond mass emails.
• Collaborate with fundraising and leadership to align relational strategy.
• Identify opportunities for mission-driven, investment-led conversations.
• Maintain donor confidentiality and professional discretion.
• Be proactive in creating donor engagement opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain strong donor relationships via phone, meetings, and visits.
• Develop personalized stewardship and growth plans.
• Track donor interactions and next steps to ensure progression.
• Support donor retention and long-term loyalty.
• Coordinate donor-focused events with the team.
• Collaborate with fundraising and leadership on relational strategy.

Skills

Active listening

Initiating conversations

Strategic relationship planning

Donor stewardship

Event planning

CRM systems

Confidentiality

Tech-savvy

Proactive mindset

Empathy and warmth

Tools

CRM software

Job description

Donor Engagement Specialist

Permanent, Full-Time

POSITION DESCIPTION

Pilgrims Hospice Society (PHS) is a registered charity that provides supportive and compassionate family-centred care to enhance the quality and dignity of life for those diagnosed with a progressive, life-limiting illness as well as support to those who are grieving the death of a loved one, from any cause.

Reporting to the Director of Fund Development, the Donor Engagement Specialist is a relationship-focused position responsible for building meaningful, lasting connections with donors to Pilgrims Hospice Society. This role goes beyond traditional stewardship and mass communication by prioritizing one-to-one engagement, personal conversations, phone calls, meetings, visits and meaningful mission experiences.

The Specialist will ensure existing donors feel genuinely valued, connected to the mission of Pilgrims Hospice Society, and inspired by the impact of their support. At the same time, the role will intentionally cultivate foundational donors and create a pathway for them to grow into significant, sustained supporters.

Key Focus Areas

• Build and maintain strong, personal relationships with Pilgrims Hospice Society donors through phone calls, face-to-face meetings, visits and unique personal interactions.
• Create stewardship experiences that help donors understand the human impact of their giving and their connection to the mission.
• Develop donor relationships from initial or foundational support toward deeper engagement, increased investment and sustained giving.
• Identify opportunities for mission-driven, investment-led conversations that invite donors to see how their support can create meaningful impact.
• Maintain consistent personal contact with key donors rather than relying primarily on mass emails, newsletters or passive communications.
• Work closely with fundraising and leadership team to keep the relational strategy top of mind, using critical thinking to connect donors to their preferred areas of interest.
• Recognize donor milestones, interests and motivations and use that knowledge to create personalized stewardship and growth plans.
• Support donor retention and long-term loyalty by ensuring donors experience genuine appreciation, transparency and connection.
• Help create a culture where donors are viewed not simply as contributors, but as partners in the mission of Pilgrims Hospice Society.
• Track donor interactions, interests and next steps to ensure relationships are intentionally and consistently developed over time.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role is measured not only by donor satisfaction, but by relationship growth and sustained movement. Donors becoming more connected to the mission, more engaged with Pilgrims Hospice Society, and increasingly willing to invest in its future.

The ideal candidate understands that major giving is built through relationships. They are comfortable picking up the phone, sitting across the table from a donor, asking thoughtful questions, listening deeply, sharing the mission and ultimately creating opportunities for donors to make meaningful investments in the future of hospice care.

SKILLS REQUIRED

• Strong listening and discovery skills.
• Confidence initiating conversations.
• Strategic Thinking and Relationship Planning
• The ability to identify next steps and create sustained movement in donor relationships.
• Event engagement and support, including helping plan and execute donor-focused events, welcoming and engaging donors, facilitating personal connections, and identifying opportunities for follow-up and continued relationship development.
• Collaborative approach, working effectively with fundraising, leadership, health care team and community to create meaningful donor experiences.
• Professional judgment and discretion when working with confidential donor information and sensitive hospice experiences.
• Comfort with technology and donor databases/CRM systems, including recording interactions, tracking relationship activity and supporting donor reporting.
• Proactive and self-directed, with the initiative to create opportunities for donor engagement rather than relying on passive communication.
• Warm, empathetic and authentic presence, with a genuine ability to make people feel valued, heard and connected to a shared purpose.

Posting will remain open until September 18, 2026.

Mandatory Employment Requirement: Successful candidate will be required to provide a current satisfactory Vulnerable Sector Criminal Record Check prior to employment start.