Position Title: Major Giving and Campaign Operations Manager
Reports To: Capital Campaign Lead (Primary) and Sr. Director of Philanthropy
Location: Ford Island, HI; Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
FLSA Status: Exempt, Full-Time
About Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum
Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum preserves and interprets America’s first aviation battlefield, located on historic Ford Island in the heart of Pearl Harbor. Through authentic aircraft, artifacts, and personal stories, the Museum honors those who defended our freedom and inspires future generations to understand the enduring significance of December 7, 1941, and the Pacific battles that followed. Recognized by TripAdvisor as Hawaii’s #1 Historical Spot Worth Traveling For, the Museum is also a growing educational and community resource for Hawai‘i’s students, families, and visitors from around the world. Remember and Inspire Across Generations.
Our team is guided by collaboration, trust, mutual respect, and a shared passion for history, aviation, and service.
Position Overview
The Major Giving and Campaign Operations Manager Manager serves as the high-performance engine driving Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum’s capital campaign and long-term philanthropic growth. Reporting to the Capital Campaign Lead (primary) and the Senior Director of Philanthropy, this role combines the discipline of a strategic operator with the relationship-building skills of a frontline fundraiser. As the Museum’s primary on-island liaison for the national capital campaign. This individual converts strategy into action, manages the daily pulse of campaign execution, and personally cultivates and solicits a portfolio of high-capacity donors.
The ideal candidate is a disciplined closer who thrives in a collaborative One-Team environment and possesses the professionalism and judgment to engage effectively with executive leadership, board members, volunteers, and major donors. The ideal candidate is a strong operator who can convert strategy into action, manage details without losing momentum, and drive donor relationships toward results. This is a pivotal role that will provide the operational rigor, donor strategy, and moves-management discipline necessary to help secure the Museum’s future.
Key Roles and Responsibilities
I. Major Gift Execution & Campaign Operations
- Committee Command: Serves as the primary on-island liaison for the National Capital Campaign Committee; translates national strategic directives into actionable work plans.
- National Campaign Logistics: Supports the execution of all campaign events (on and off-island) as designed by campaign leadership.
- Capital Campaign Team Support & Pacing: Provides tactical guidance and daily support to the team to ensure moves-management milestones are met and the annual revenue goals are met.
- Campaign Accountability: In coordination with the Campaign Leadership and Admin Assistant, prepares and presents monthly progress dashboards for the Sr. Director and CEO, tracking gift velocity, pipeline health, and upcoming solicitation targets.
- Donor Pipeline Feed and Accountability: In coordination with the Sr. Director, tracks gift velocity, research and identify donors within the pipeline who, based upon research and/or donor action, are ready for actions that continue to feed/build the pipeline of giving, and upcoming solicitation targets.
- Campaign Coordination: Acts as the point of contact for the Capital Campaign Team, ensuring capital and annual prospects are appropriately filtered, designated, and protected, and to provide logistical support as needed for high-level outreach.
- Pipeline Strategy: Participates in weekly “pulse or moves-management" meetings orchestrated by campaign with all MGOs (staff, contractor, volunteer) to track proposal status, gift closing dates, and fulfillment requirements.
II. Portfolio Management & Strategic Giving
- Personal Portfolio: Directly manages a portfolio of high-capacity prospects as identified in collaboration with Campaign team and assigned based upon researched profiles and priorities, taking personal responsibility for cultivation and closing gifts.
- Proposal Development: In collaboration with the Sr. Director and Campaign Leadership, drafts and presents customized, high-impact digital and physical funding proposals and gift agreements, including multi-year pledge documentation
- Endowment Growth: Supports the Sr. Director with the strategy for the Museum’s endowment, identifying donors interested in or strategically appropriate for legacy giving and long-term institutional sustainability.
- Mid-Level Integration: Partners with the Individual Giving Manager to identify and "graduate" donors from the annual fund into the major gift pipeline.
- Moves Management Support: Participates in and supports the "Moves Management" process for all donors giving >$10K, ensuring every prospect has a clear "next step" and that no milestones are missed – working directly with campaign team to ensure effective communications that reach all donors and prospects; ensuring all donors have knowledge of all giving opportunities.
- Legacy Gift Program: In concert with the Sr. Director, develops strategies that build awareness and pipeline for planned gifts, including Qualified Charitable Distributions, donor advised funds and other long-term giving vehicles.
III. National & On-Island Stewardship & Events
- Event Logistics Leadership: Leads the planning and execution of all campaign cultivation events, both on-island and key mainland donor hubs.
- Administrative and Tactical Coordination: Takes lead on preparation of event briefing materials, travel logistics, and timely donor follow-up
- Local Donor Presence: Provides a consistent, physical presence for local donors, ensuring they feel connected to the Museum’s mission through high-quality, in-person engagement.
- Strategic Stewardship: Supports the Sr. Director in developing and executing a major donor stewardship plan for campaign and museum donors; working with Campaign team as appropriate, manage naming opportunities, recognition ceremonies, and personalized impact reporting to ensure donor retention.
IV. Institutional Integration & Data Strategy
- Data Integrity: Collaborates closely with the Database Specialist to ensure all field notes, pledge tracking, and wealth screenings are accurately captured in Raiser’s Edge, maintaining data integrity and facilitating the confidential sharing of key data points.
- Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Works closely with the CEO, Sr. Director, Campaign team, and Individual Giving and Corporate/Foundation Giving Managers to ensure a “One-Team” approach to donor relations, preventing duplicate solicitations and maximizing total giving capacity
- Post-Campaign Transitioning: Helps develop the strategy for transitioning capital campaign donors into long-term annual supporters of the Museum’s general operations and endowment.
V. Other Duties As Assigned
Qualifications
- Minimum 7-10 years of progressively responsible fundraising, business development, or comparable relationship-based revenue experience
- Demonstrated success securing commitments of $25K+; six-figure success preferred
- Experience with major gifts, campaign fundraising, or complex donor cultivation strategies preferred
- Strong moves-management discipline and donor lifecycle understanding
- Experience working with executives, boards, volunteers, and high-capacity individuals
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Familiarity with Hawai‘i community dynamics and relationship-based engagement
- Experience in nonprofit, museum, education, military, or aviation environments is a plus
Performance Expectations
- Owns and drives campaign moves management process, ensuring every prioritized prospect has a defined next step, accountable owner and timeline
- Maintains an active portfolio of approximately 70-100 highly qualified prospects
- Conducts 10-12 personal visits per week after ramp-up
- Adds 15-25 new qualified prospects annually
- Secures multiple gifts in the $25K-$100K range annually and helps build a pipeline of six-figure opportunities
- Ensures all assigned prospects have documented strategies and next steps
- Supports timely stewardship, donor follow-up, and campaign reporting
Compensation Range: $75,000 - $90,000 (Commensurate with qualifications and experience)
· Position is on-site; Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum; Ford Island; Honolulu, HI 96818
· Candidates must be locally based or willing to relocate independently prior to employment. No relocation assistance or sponsorship is available for this position.
For more informaiton, refer to Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum's Career Site. Candidates are expected to submit a cover letter, including salary expectations, current resume and Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum's Employment Application.
Pay: $75,000.00 - $90,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- What is your experience in Fundraising/Tracking/Reporting/Operations for Major Gifts
Experience:
- fundraising, bus. development/comparable : 7 years (Required)
Work Location: In person
