The National Women's History Museum seeks a driven and inspirational major gifts leader who is passionate about our mission to serve as our Director of Development (DoD). As a member of the senior leadership team, this person will work with leadership and the Chair of the Development Committee to create the annual fundraising plan to support our goals and operations. The DoD will create and maintain best practices to build trust and highly effective relationship-based donor management. The DoD will have a great opportunity to work with the executive team and lead a growing team of development professionals. Reporting to the CEO, the Director of Development will be a major contributor to NWHM’s future. Leadership gifts currently comprise approximately 33% of the Museum’s annual revenue, which will increase to support the Museum’s next phase of programming and growth.

The National Women’s History Museum is at a pivotal moment in its history as it expands its presence and impact opening its first multi-year, physical exhibition in Washington, D.C. in early 2023. Building on its mission to recognize the untold and under-recognized achievements of American women, NWHM is the leading virtual national women’s history museum and brings women’s stories to life through contemporary storytelling, education, and collaborative community building. NWHM will grow its extensive virtual programming along with innovative physical exhibitions, lectures, artistic performances and more.

ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND LEADERSHIP:

Conceptualizing and Leading Major Giving Strategy

In partnership with the CEO and Board of Directors:

• Create compelling fundraising initiatives in support of NWHM’s ambitious new vision and expansion.
• Identify, solicit, and nurture relationships with donors and prospective donors to secure and close major gifts.
• Design and implement annual and multi-year fundraising plans and KPI’s for leadership gifts, including NWHM’s signature Women Making History events.
• Develop metrics to monitor and evaluate performance level and annual donors and progress towards goals.
• Collaborate with the VP of External Affairs to develop an innovative voice for the Museum, creating a consistent and strong narrative around opportunities for future growth.
• Foster a culture of collaboration and trust within the team and among departments.
• Identify existing opportunities to engage the Museum further with the community; think creatively and continuously about how to build the Museum’s brand and relationships. 

Raising Funds

• Grow revenue from Founding investors to meet and exceed annually established targets for leadership gifts and planned giving.
• Expand the size and scope of the leadership gifts pool.
• Maintain a portfolio of major and principal donors and cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward new six-and seven-figure gifts.
• Write and edit content for a wide variety of communications, including proposals, emails, mailings, and reports.

THE CANDIDATE

The Director of Development & Leadership Gifts must be an accomplished fundraiser. They will have significant experience in designing successful giving programs, establishing fundraising goals, and working effectively with NWHM leadership and team to achieve annual revenue goals.

Key Qualifications: Fundraising Experience

• At least ten years of experience in non-profit development; leading a development team
• Experience building meaningful relationships with high-net-worth individuals (HNWI’s), engaging with corporate and foundation partners, and increasing donor support across a variety of giving vehicles;
• Capacity to work well and effectively with a wide range of people and motivation to build transformational relationships with donors;
• Track record in successfully soliciting and closing donor gifts on their own;
• History of using data to drive strategy and decisions and developing a case for support across a broad range of supporters and stakeholders;
• Bachelor’s degree is required.

Key Qualifications: Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to work independently while being proactive about pursuing new opportunities.
• Demonstrated self-starter that consistently shows initiative and follow-through; ability to see a task from conception, inception, and completion.
• Exceptional organizational skills and judgement are necessary to manage competing priorities.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to take high level concepts and synthesize them in an easy-to-understand manner.
• Ability to adapt voice and style for different writing projects, especially writing persuasively.
• Proficient with technology and able to learn new platforms and software.
• Strong attention to detail.

Key Qualifications: Relationship Building and Leadership Experience

• Ability to listen deeply, cultivate strong connections, foster collaboration, and build a culture of trust within a team, across the organization, and with external stakeholders.
• Strategist, team leader, and people manager with an ability to rally teams
• Ability to build, structure, staff, and lead a goal-oriented and successful team.
• Highest level of personal and professional integrity and quality standards.
• Comfortable managing multiple time-sensitive projects at once and ability to adapt quickly to new information.