Senior Advancement Officer [Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, New York, NY]

Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian – New York

Senior Advancement Officer

Lower Manhattan, New York, NY

A diverse and multifaceted cultural and educational enterprise, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is an active and visible component of the Smithsonian Institution, the world’s largest museum complex. The NMAI cares for one of the world’s most expansive collections of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego.

A museum with “three front doors,” the National Museum of the American Indian operates three state-of-the-art facilities. The museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. offers exhibition galleries and spaces for performances, lectures and symposia, research, and education. The George Gustav Heye Center in New York City houses exhibitions, research, educational activities, and performing arts programs and is one of the leading institutions in the cultural fabric of New York City, attracting nearly 600,000 visitors each year. The Cultural Resources Center in Suitland, Maryland, houses the museum’s collections as well as the conservation, repatriation, digital imaging programs, and research facilities. The NMAI’s off-site outreach efforts, often referred to as the “fourth museum,” include websites, traveling exhibitions, and community programs.

As part of the Smithsonian’s first Institution-wide campaign ($1.5 billion goal overall, the largest campaign ever for a cultural organization), the Campaign for the National Museum of the American Indian seeks $75 million to provide global leadership in education and scholarship on Native America; to protect and expand its collections; and to enhance its exhibitions.

The role of Senior Advancement Officer for NMAI in New York/the George Gustav Heye Center (NMAI-NY) 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 Smithsonian. The Senior Advancement Officer will serve as the principal fundraising authority at NMAI-NY, overseeing and coordinating the work of the five-member advancement staff that includes three direct reports. The Senior Advancement Officer holds principal responsibility for planning, directing, implementing, and evaluating annual and long-range activities regarding NMAI-NY’s fundraising. The Senior Advancement Officer is charged with creating an integrated, ambitious, and sustainable fundraising program – including individual major and planned giving, institutional giving (corporate and foundation), membership programs, special events, advancement communications, donor relations and stewardship operations, and grants initiatives, resulting in a broad base of support to realize NMAI-NY’s goals. S/he will craft donor cultivation and solicitation plans, and will collaborate with other museum staff on ways to enhance donor relations. The Senior Advancement Officer serves as a primary liaison to NMAI’s New York Board of Directors, conducting all annual solicitations thereof and outlining strategies for any special gift initiatives, participating in designing meeting agendas, and supporting both the cultivation and governance committees. S/he is the primary liaison for funding opportunities from city and state government and oversees administration of corresponding grants. The Senior Advancement Officer serves as NMAI-NY’s senior executive overseeing activities related to the Smithsonian Campaign and the Campaign for the National Museum of the American Indian. S/he also oversees events and visitor services, capitalizing on opportunities to engender strong individual and institutional connections to NMAI-NY and effectively expand its prospect pool. The demonstrated ability to be a strategic creative thinker and to achieve results in an efficient fashion is essential for success. S/he must be passionate about NMAI, its history, and its important role in illuminating Native history and contemporary contributions to humanity, in order to deliver a persuasive message about investment in the museum’s programs and collections.

A key member of the NMAI management team and liaison to the central Smithsonian Office of Advancement, the Senior Advancement Officer reports to the associate director for museum advancement, who is based at NMAI’s Washington, D.C. location.

Required qualifications and experience: bachelor’s degree; a minimum of six years of experience in major gift fundraising, including principle or leadership giving, preferably within a major cultural institution, non-profit organization, educational institution, or other environment of similar complexity; a practical knowledge of all functional areas of a comprehensive development program, and participation in a major capital campaign is preferred; a demonstrated ability to provide management oversight, leadership, and direction with at least three years of supervisory experience; hands-on major gift experience with a proven track record of fundraising success, including cultivation through solicitation and stewardship, as well as experience working with planned giving, grant writing, and membership or annual fund strategies for grooming the next generation of donors; experience in securing and administering grants from city government is strongly preferred; strength in developing strategic and comprehensive fundraising plans, executing against those plans to achieve goals and objectives, developing fundraising strategies, and creating and managing a budget is critical; experience working directly with the most senior levels of an organization; significant experience identifying, working with, supporting, and motivating volunteers; significant knowledge of the players, strategies, and trends in giving within the New York City metropolitan region’s philanthropic community, and demonstrated fundraising success therein; strong technology and innovation acumen; demonstrated ability to extract and analyze data to make effective, efficient decisions about program strategy and process; experience preparing and communicating analysis and reporting on revenue and growth trends to a variety of audiences.

The National Museum of the American Indian has retained Diversified Search to assist in this confidential search process. Inquiries, nominations and applications (current resumes and cover letters) should be directed electronically to:

Gerard F. Cattie, Jr.

Managing Director

Practice Leader – Development & Philanthropy

Diversified Search

275 Madison Avenue, 39^th Floor, New York, NY 10016

gerard.cattie@divsearch.com

212.542.2587

PI91991066