Managing Director, Direct Response

Unicef USA; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

UNICEF USA is seeking a seasoned leader to guide offline direct response fundraising, including direct mail and telemarketing, with oversight of the monthly giving program. The Managing Director will drive donor acquisition, retention, and revenue growth through strategic channel investments, measurement, and optimization.

You will lead a cross-functional team, manage vendor partnerships, and shape emerging offline opportunities, ensuring alignment with organizational priorities and donor

Qualifications

• The candidate should have extensive experience leading a multi-channel direct response program.
• Proven ability to drive donor acquisition, retention, and revenue growth across offline channels.
• Strong vendor management and contract governance skills.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction for UNICEF USA's offline direct response program across active channels (direct mail, telemarketing) and potential expansion into new offline channels.
• Provide senior oversight of integrated multi-channel campaigns with clear, measurable goals.
• Lead planning, segmentation, testing roadmaps, and ensure data-driven decisions across channels.
• Oversee vendor relationships, contracts, budgets, and performance benchmarks.
• Mentor and develop a high-performing DR team and collaborate with cross-functional partners.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Direct response fundraising

Channel management

Vendor management

Data-driven decision making

Team leadership

CRM familiarity

Education

Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, nonprofit management, or related field

CFRE designation

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Blackbaud CRM

Job description

Location:

Hybrid/New York City

FLSA Status:

Exempt

Position Description

The Managing Director, Direct Response serves as UNICEF USA's senior leader responsible for driving donor acquisition, retention, upgrade, and reactivation through offline direct response channels and the monthly giving program. Reporting directly to the Vice President, Donor Marketing & Journeys, this role leads UNICEF USA's direct response fundraising efforts and ensures that all offline campaigns, channel investments, vendor partnerships, and giving programs are strategically deployed, rigorously measured, and continuously optimized to support broader donor growth and revenue goals.

The Managing Director provides leadership across the full offline channel mix, including direct mail and telemarketing as the team's current active channels, with an eye toward evaluating and potentially expanding into additional offline channels such as face-to-face fundraising and other emerging offline opportunities as the program grows. This role provides senior oversight of the monthly giving program, managing a dedicated Manager of Monthly Giving who will handle day-to-day program management across both traditional direct response and digital channels, ensuring a coordinated and cohesive sustainer strategy regardless of channel. Additionally, the Managing Director oversees UNICEF USA's presence on third-party giving platforms, spanning both workplace giving and employer match programs as well as consumer-facing charitable giving aggregators where donors give to nonprofits through an intermediary platform.

This role works closely with cross-functional partners across Philanthropy, Finance, Technology, and Philanthropy Insight to ensure direct response programs align with broader donor engagement strategies and organizational priorities.

The Managing Director also plays an important role in shaping UNICEF USA's direct response capabilities, helping identify new channels, vendors, and performance approaches that strengthen the organization's long-term offline growth, and in managing and mentoring a team of direct response professionals.

• Set the strategic direction for UNICEF USA's offline direct response program across all active and emerging channels, including direct mail and telemarketing, with the potential to expand into face-to-face fundraising and other offline channels over time
• Provide senior oversight of integrated multi-channel direct response campaigns that drive acquisition, retention, upgrade, and reactivation across mass market and leadership giving segments, with day-to-day execution managed by direct reports and vendor partners
• Guide campaign planning, segmentation strategy, and testing roadmaps, ensuring the team and agency partners are aligned on priorities and working toward clear, measurable goals
• Ensure channel mix decisions are informed by data, long-term donor value analysis, and a rigorous test-and-learn approach
• Review and approve campaign strategies, creative briefs, and performance recommendations brought forward by the team and agency partners, providing strategic guidance and direction rather than driving execution directly
• Serve as the primary relationship lead for all direct response agency partners and vendors, including direct mail agencies, telemarketing vendors, and fulfillment partners
• Establish performance benchmarks and accountability frameworks for all vendor relationships, ensuring partners are delivering against agreed targets and continuously improving
• Lead regular performance reviews and planning sessions with vendor partners and internal stakeholders
• Manage vendor contracts, SOWs, and budget allocations in partnership with Finance and Legal

Monthly Giving Program (15%)

• Provide senior oversight of UNICEF USA's monthly giving program, managing a dedicated Manager of Monthly Giving responsible for day-to-day program management across direct response and digital channels
• Set strategic direction for sustainer acquisition, upgrade, retention, save, and reactivation efforts, ensuring the program is coordinated and cohesive across all touchpoints
• Set and track KPIs for monthly giving program health, including retention rate, average gift, and net sustainer growth
• Manage and mentor a team of direct response professionals, providing day-to-day direction, support, and accountability
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous learning, and data-driven decision making across the direct response team
• Invest in the professional development and growth of team members, helping them build skills and advance their careers over time

Performance, Analytics & Optimization (5%)

• Translate business goals into actionable campaign and channel strategies with measurable outcomes tied to revenue, donor file growth, retention, and long-term donor value
• Lead test-and-learn strategy across all direct response channels, applying rigorous testing methodologies to continuously optimize channel mix, messaging, offer strategy, and segmentation
• Develop and own channel-level dashboards and performance reports in collaboration with Philanthropy Insight and Technology
• Utilize advanced segmentation and data modeling to identify the highest-potential audiences for each channel and optimize investment allocation accordingly

Performance, Analytics & Optimization (5%)

• Establish scalable processes for campaign planning, briefing, production trafficking, quality assurance, and reporting across all direct response channels
• Improve planning cadence and cross-team collaboration across Philanthropy, Finance, Technology, and agency partners
• Strengthen operational clarity around campaign development, performance monitoring, and optimization cycles
• Work closely with the Managing Director, Digital Fundraising and the VP, Donor Marketing & Journeys to ensure offline and online channels are coordinated, sequenced appropriately, and working together toward shared revenue goals

Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, nonprofit management, or a related field preferred, or equivalent professional experience. Master’s degree and/or Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive experience at a complex, large-scale nonprofit organization in direct response fundraising or marketing, with demonstrated expertise across multiple offline channels including direct mail and telemarketing; experience with face-to-face fundraising, DRTV, insert media, or other offline channels is a plus
• Proven track record of driving multi-year revenue growth across a sophisticated multi-channel direct response program, with direct experience managing a multi-million-dollar fundraising budget
• Deep expertise in direct mail strategy, production, and vendor management at scale, including list strategy, package development, print production, and co-op partnerships
• Significant experience managing telemarketing at a program level, not just oversight level, including sustainer acquisition, recapture, and upgrade programs, with a strong working knowledge of compliance requirements, FTC regulations, and state-level telemarketing laws
• Experience managing workplace giving programs and relationships with third-party giving aggregators such as Benevity, PayPal Giving Fund, YourCause, Pledgeling, GoFundMe Giving Fund, and similar platforms
• Strong senior-level understanding of monthly giving program management, including sustainer acquisition, retention, and upgrade and reactivation strategies across both offline and digital channels, with experience making program-level decisions
• Experience managing complex agency and vendor ecosystems, including negotiating multi-year contracts, structuring SOWs, setting performance benchmarks, and managing accountability for results across multiple partners simultaneously
• Strong analytical skills with experience in segmentation, data modeling, and direct response testing methodologies, and translating data into actionable program strategy
• Demonstrated experience managing, developing, and mentoring staff building and developing high-performing teams, with a leadership approach that fosters growth, accountability, and collaboration
• Familiarity with CRM platforms and analytics tools; experience with Blackbaud CRM is a plus
• Strong cross-functional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Commitment to UNICEF USA’s mission and values