Lort Smith Animal Hospital – North Melbourne VIC
Permanent full-time position onsite in North Melbourne with the opportunity to work from home up to two days per week
Become part of a growing fundraising team working alongside fellow animal-lovers
Make a difference to securing the future of Australia's largest not-for-profit animal hospital
Gifts in Wills Relationship Lead
Permanent full-time position onsite in North Melbourne with the opportunity to work from home up to two days per week
Become part of a growing fundraising team working alongside fellow animal-lovers
Make a difference to securing the future of Australia's largest not-for-profit animal hospital
About Lort Smith
Lort Smith is Australia's largest not-for-profit animal hospital, dedicated to keeping pets and their people together.
For over 90 years, we've championed the powerful impact of the human-animal bond by providing accessible, compassionate care to more than 15,500 animals each year.
Our services include world-class veterinary care, rehoming programs, and community initiatives that make a meaningful difference in thousands of lives.
We're committed to ensuring that no one is left behind, offering flexible financing options to help low-income individuals access the care their pets need.
About the Role
Our Gifts in Wills Relationship Lead is a newly created role responsible for developing, growing and maintaining great relationships with Lort Smith's Gifts in Wills supporters and inspiring animal-lovers to support the charity throughout their lifetime.
In this vital new role you'll be inspiring our existing supporters to remember Lort Smith in their Will and contribute to growing interest and commitment amongst our supporters through engagement activities and proactive relationship building.
Most of this interaction with our supporters will take place over the phone, email and in written correspondence, with the occasional opportunity to meet our supporters in-person through personalised tours, visits and donor events.
Your day-to-day responsibilities
Inspiring more animal-lovers to remember Lort Smith in their Wills.




Developing authentic relationships with our existing Gifts in Wills supporters.
Responding to all new Gifts in Wills enquiries and leads generated by direct marketing and campaign activities.
Nurturing positive relationships with regular telephone or personalised written contact and face-to-face engagement where appropriate.
Maintaining accurate records in our donor management database (Rasier's Edge).
Contributing towards promoting Gifts in Wills across all channels and identifying opportunities to inspire higher levels of support through sharing great stories and developing campaigns.
Overseeing a small team of volunteers to deliver personalised relationship touchpoints, such as thanking animal lovers for their donations, sending them birthday, Christmas and other greetings cards.
Planning and managing personalised tours of the hospital, supporter engagement events and personalised visits to establish loyalty, connection and trust with our existing supporters.
Inspiring Gifts in Wills supporters to donate during their lifetime and to encourage them to support the charity in other ways.
Providing some support to the Head of Planned Giving for estate management administration.
About You
You will be someone who has excellent interpersonal skills, loves talking to people over the phone and the natural ability to build and maintain positive relationships with people from all backgrounds.
We are looking for someone who has a genuine interest in animal welfare and who can use their passion for animals to inspire others to remember Lort Smith in their Wills.
You bring a supporter-first mindset and understand the importance of being the welcoming face of the charity.
With strong communication skills, both in-person and over the phone, you're approachable,



proactive, and able to build trust and rapport with people quickly.
Your empathy and compassion shines through in every interaction, ensuring our Gifts in Wills supporters feel connected and understood.
You're adaptable and open-minded, radiating confidence, authenticity, and warmth to create a truly exceptional supporter experience.
You take ownership of your decisions, always considering their broader impact.
Thriving in a fast-paced environment, you're energised by variety and enjoy engaging with a diverse range of people and situations, where no two days are ever the same and filled with plenty of conversations about people and their pets!
You'll have:
Demonstrated experience in a Gifts in Wills supporter or donor relationship management role.
Experience in developing and maintaining great relationships with people, often older Australians, using a high degree of empathy.
Ideally experience of talking comfortably and passionately about Gifts in Wills fundraising or working closely with donors and high value supporters.
Ability to contribute effectively to a team environment, managing volunteers and working autonomously.
Well-developed written and verbal communication skills with the ability to positively inspire support from people.
High level of computer literacy and positive attention to detail.
Interest and passion for animal welfare and veterinary healthcare.
Experience using supporter relationship management systems in a fundraising environment (ideally Rasier's Edge).
We offer:
A diverse, inclusive and supportive team environment
Rewarding work that provides community-based veterinary and animal welfare services
Discounted veterinary treatment and pet products
In-house grief support for clients in distress
Access to a highly regarded Employee Assistance Program, delivered by one of Australia's leading centres for psychology
Pet friendly policies
Lort Smith is a great place to work.
We are an equal chance employer and actively support workplace diversity, equity and inclusion.
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📌 Gifts In Wills Relationship Lead (Melbourne)
🏢 Lort Smith Animal Hospital
📍 Melbourne