Come join a team of dedicated staff at an exceptional time in Smithsonian history, as the Institution advances a comprehensive strategic plan, expands the programming, educational, and scholarly activity of its museums and research centers, and builds its very first Institution-wide fundraising campaign.  In planning for the campaign, the Smithsonian is building a model fundraising organization, one that will meet the growing needs of this unique organization and offer excellent professional opportunities. There is no better time to join this amazing Institution.

 

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access (ASEA) seeks an experienced and dynamic candidate to serve as Director of Advancement. This is an exceptional opportunity for an energetic professional with strong frontline fundraising skills to play a key role in building private support for educational and outreach activities, research, and endowment needs at the Institution.  The Director of Advancement will manage relationships with prospective and existing donors in all aspects of the gift cycle including: identifying, qualifying, and initiating contact with potential leadership and major gift donors; developing appropriate cultivation strategies; drafting and submitting funding proposals, moving potential donors toward solicitation and closure; and maintaining stewardship contacts. This position will supervise all ASEA advancement staff for all pan-ASEA projects and goals.

Job Requirements

The successful candidate will possess strong communications skills and a track record in building relationships across a spectrum of individual, foundation and corporate donors to achieve aggressive fundraising goals. The position reports to the Assistant Secretary as a key member of the team and liaison to the central Smithsonian Office of Advancement.  A minimum of six years of experience in major gift fundraising to include principle or leadership giving is required.

 

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Education and Access was organized to build a learning community dedicated to revitalizing education and broadening access, particularly through research and evaluation that lead to excellence. The Smithsonian has adopted four key goals to extend our external educational reach and bolster our internal capacity, with K–12 educators and learners as our priority. Under the leadership of Assistant Secretary Claudine K. Brown, the office and its five units brings focus to the great diversity that characterizes education at the Smithsonian.

 

Smithsonian Affiliations share the Institution’s resources with Americans in their own communities by developing collaborative partnerships with museums, cultural and educational organizations. There are approximately 200 Smithsonian Affiliates in more than 45 states, Puerto Rico and Panama.

 

The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access uses all the Smithsonian offers to empower young learners to explore their own interests and collaborate with others to bring ideas to life. The Center has thirty years’ experience publishing instructional materials, delivering professional development, hosting public events and workshops, producing online games and quests, and providing unified access to Smithsonian educational resources. More than one million people in over 100 countries and all fifty states have participated in our online and mobile programming.

 

The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) serves as the Institution’s ambassador and emissary through traveling and virtual exhibits that bring knowledge, discovery, and experiences to people across America and beyond. Wherever SITES goes, it stimulates conversations: between the national and local, between the expected and unexpected.

 

The mission of the Smithsonian Science Education Center is to improve the K–12 teaching and learning of science for all students in the United States and the world. This unique organization develops exemplary science instructional materials; builds awareness for science education among educational leaders; helps develop science education leadership for groups from school districts and states; and conducts programs that support the professional growth of teachers.

 

The Smithsonian Associates offers unparalleled access to the Smithsonian’s world of knowledge through innovative, engaging programming that promotes learning, enrichment, and creativity for people of all ages. The largest museum-based educational program in the world, The Smithsonian Associates annually offers more than 750 seminars, performances, lectures, studio art classes, and local and regional study tours.

 

The Smithsonian Institution is a unique complex of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and nine research centers.  The Smithsonian is a national and world treasure and is dedicated to its founding mission, “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”  Its exhibitions, programs, collections, and outreach touch the lives of millions of Americans every year, as well as many who visit us from abroad.

 

The Smithsonian Institution offers a competitive salary and a comprehensive package of benefits. This is not a Federal Position, but has similar requirements and benefits. Interested candidates should submit their resumes and a cover letter to oastaffing@si.edu by May 12, 2015.

 

The Smithsonian Institution is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.  Candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

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