Membership Experience & Strategy Manager

A Day in the Life

The Membership Experience & Strategy Manager leads the strategic direction, growth, and overall experience of the Garden's membership program. This position drives acquisition, retention, and upgrade strategies; develops and executes membership communications; oversees member events and engagement programs; and ensures a high-quality, consistent member experience across all touchpoints. This role also holds programmatic oversight of Alpine, ensuring accurate member records, running data reports, and leveraging analytics to inform membership strategy. The manager works closely with the Development Operations Manager to ensure smooth coordination between member experience and backend operations.


This non-exempt, full-time (40 hours per week) position, reports to the Director of Development.


The Team

We love native plants and more importantly, we love talking about plants to encourage and cultivate support for our mission! We are fortunate to have diverse development team including folks just starting out and experienced development professionals. All of us understand that our interactions and relationships with our guests, members, and constituents build our support base - we create native plant enthusiasts and consequently, future donors! You will join an amazing team.

What You'll Do

Membership Strategy & Program Leadership

• Lead the development and execution of strategies to grow membership through acquisition, retention, upgrades, and enhanced member benefits.
• Drive and maintain the membership program plan, including annual goals, KPIs, and member engagement priorities.
• Advise the Director of Development on membership trends, growth opportunities, and data-driven decision-making.
• Track membership performance and recommend improvements based on data insights.
• Ensure Guest Service Associates (GSAs) are trained and informed on membership goals and acquisition drives.
• Prepare Guest Service Associates (GSA) incentive program for each pay period
• Track and nurture community membership programs (SB, Goleta, and Carpinteria Libraries).

Member Experience Oversight

• Ensure prompt, positive, and accurate membership interactions via website, phone, and email, setting quality standards for member communication and service.
• Oversee member fulfillment workflows (packets, digital cards, benefit distribution), in partnership with the Development & Membership Operations Manager.
• Resolve complex member inquiries and support high-level member communications.

Membership Communications, & Marketing

• Compose and execute acquisition campaigns, and monthly Member Digest emails in Mailchimp, in collaboration with Marketing & Communications.
• Establish the strategy and timeline for all membership mailings and email communications,
• including acquisitions, renewals, upgrades, and invitations.
• Design and update membership print and digital materials using Canva; coordinate production with mail houses, as needed.

Events, Engagement, & Cross-Department Collaboration

• Work with the Director of Development and Senior Donor Relations Manager to create the annual calendar of membership events and programs.
• Coordinate membership initiatives with all departments.
• Lead planning and execution of member events, such as previews, receptions, and programmatic experiences.
• Prepare invitation lists with support from Development Operations; oversee registration, check-in flow, and follow-up workflows after events.

Alpine Programmatic Oversight

• Run membership reports, segment lists, and update member/donor records.
• Ensure data accuracy related to membership processing and engagement tracking.
• Collaborate with the Development Operations Manager on data standards and record maintenance best practices.
• Must have or develop proficiency in Alpine, ACME Ticketing, and digital membership card software; serve as a trainer for membership-related functions.

Gift Processing & Data Integrity

• Accurately process and record high volume of gifts (online, mail, in-person, in-kind) in Alpine while adhering to Garden confidentiality and compliance policies.
• Log incoming daily gifts related to membership, contributions, and/or events received by mail.
• Create daily gift batches, deposit files, and weekly stewardship reports to associated email lists.
• Scan gift documentation materials and maintain digital recordkeeping standards.
• Ensure timely, accurate donor and member acknowledgements, paying special attention to designations and gift details.

Development Collaboration

• Support donor cultivation and stewardship activities by identifying notable member engagement trends and sharing insights with the Development team.
• Attend Development Committee meetings and prepare relevant membership updates.

You Must Be Able To :

• Lead membership strategy and experience design.
• Use Alpine to track membership activity, run reports, and update records.
• Manage projects, attend inter-departmental meetings, write reports, and serve as the key membership contact across the organization.
• Problem-solve, manage time, and multi-task to meet deadlines and priorities
• Work comfortably in a fast-paced environment that requires quick turnaround and flexibility
• Work independently and as part of a team to further the goals of the organization
• Lift and carry 20 lbs., bending, squatting and walking stairs and the SBBG trails
• Stand/walk for up to 2 hours at a time, and using a computer or phone for lengthy periods

You Will Definitely Need:

• Database experience
• Excellent organizational and proofreading skills, with attention to detail and accuracy
• Strong interpersonal communication skills and sensitivity - both verbal and written - with diverse audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, with an emphasis on Excel.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent knowledge and experience.

It Would Be Nice if You Had:

• Experience in non-profit office administration
• Fluency in Spanish (not necessary, but we would love this!)
• Public garden or museum experience

More About Us

The Garden is a beautiful place to work! And in this role, you are often outdoors. In addition to beautiful views, outdoor work environments also include exposure to extreme temperature fluctuations, rain, dust, allergens, poison oak, insects, small wild animals, and sun exposure.

Disclaimer:

The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily, and if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship.


Santa Barbara Botanic Garden retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position.