The Director, Leadership Philanthropy provides strategic guidance and activation in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors who support the Academy with principal, major, legacy, and blended gifts of $25,000 and above, contributing to the overall Leadership Philanthropy team goal of $20M+ in annual support. This position connects funding priorities with the Academy’s most generous supporters, holding a portfolio of major donors and prospects to target six-figure and up gifts.

This position supervises a team of Leadership Philanthropy and Legacy Giving professionals. This role is a leader of a Development department of 30 fundraising professionals and collaborates closely with the wider team and with colleagues across the Academy, such as scientists and education specialists. This position reports to the Chief Philanthropy Officer.

Organizational Culture

Join a team dedicated to the Academy’s mission, vision and values ! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at https://www.calacademy.org/about-us/major-initiatives .

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are intrinsic to Academy culture and operations, from recruitment and retention to science and advocacy.

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every one of the qualifications for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. Staff are currently expected to work from the Academy offices at least 2 times per week, which may fluctuate based on business needs. Please do not apply if you are not able to work onsite. Candidates are required to have up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment, absent qualifying exemptions in accordance with applicable laws. Individuals receiving a conditional offer of employment from the California Academy of Sciences will be provided the full text of the vaccination policy. The California Academy of Sciences is committed to providing a safe and healthy workplace, to protect its employees, volunteers and guests.

About The Development Team

The Development team raises funds to advance the Academy’s mission through purposeful outreach, storytelling, and intentional relationships with individuals, businesses, and organizations. We build, inspire, and engage a diverse community to solve the planet's most pressing challenges and create a more hopeful future for all. The Development Division evaluates established priorities and creates an annual fundraising strategic plan that is in alignment with the Academy’s strategy. The Division is comprised of 30+ individuals in the departments of Leadership Philanthropy, Direct Response, Donor Experience, Institutional Giving, and Development Operations.

Key Responsibilities

• Develops short- and long-term strategic plans for Leadership Gifts program; prepares and manages income and expense budgets; creates annual plan for fundraising activities; manages team to achieve objectives; evaluates outcomes.
• Focus giving strategies for the team on $25,000+ annual gifts with an Leadership Philanthropy goal around $20M annually.
• Along with Development leaders, acts as a strategic advisor to Academy leadership on structuring programs and projects effectively to maximize donor engagement and philanthropic impact.
• Partners with the Executive Director and key stakeholders and may represent the Academy at appropriate public venues/conferences/convenings to amplify the mission, the work of Academy scientists and educators, and further the goals of the Academy’s strategic vision and priorities.
• Oversee legacy giving program and staff and ensures it is well integrated into Leadership Gifts and blended gift opportunities division wide.
• Personally stewards a portfolio of 65-70 prospective and current individual and family donors, focused on securing six figure+ gifts and multi-year commitments.
• Partners with Trustees and other volunteers on activities related to individual and leadership gifts.
• Supports Chief Philanthropy Officer and other Senior Leaders with high level donors.
• Directs, manages, and evaluates the major gifts program, including identification, cultivation, solicitation, upgrades, and annual gift renewals.
• Engages in stewardship activities and collaborates on donor events.
• Oversees Leadership Gifts activities to ensure the success of a strategic and integrated fundraising program.
• Collaborates with other Development Directors in strategies related to individual donors.
• Attends and hosts Academy events, and represents the Academy at outside functions, as required.
• Evaluate needs and resources to meet team goals and partner with Development leadership on integrating outside solutions.
• Understand importance of donor metric and status tracking and ensure team is using Academy CRM for donor management (Tessitura)
• Follows all Academy safety regulations.
• Other duties as assigned.
  
  

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Manages a Leadership Philanthropy team currently consisting of a coordinator, gift officers, and Senior Manager, Leadership Philanthropy and Senior Manager, Planned Giving.
• Guides team to understand Academy fundraising priorities and importance of annual planning to review donor strategies that will meet Academy fundraising needs and goals.
• Advocate for team partnership and collaboration with Development division colleagues to ensure alignment for information sharing efficiencies.
  
  

Qualifications: A successful candidate will have the following:

Education And/or Experience

• 12+ years in Individual and Major Gifts within the development non-profit field, including extensive work in major gifts, planned giving, and endowment/capital/growth campaigns.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Experience in cultural, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), or academic institutions is desirable.
• At least 7 years of supervisory experience is required.
  
  

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Advanced personal metrics in securing six-figure+ gifts with philanthropists in the Bay Area and beyond.
• Proven success in collaborating with executive-level leadership, trustees, philanthropists, and social leaders.
• Extensive knowledge of fundraising techniques, including major and planned gifts, campaigns, stewardship, and non-profit policies and procedures.
• Deep commitment to scientific research, education, and environmental sustainability.
• Superior communication skills with the ability to confidently articulate the Academy’s mission, goals, funding priorities, and giving opportunities; excellent writing and public speaking skills.
• Strong supervisory, leadership, and management abilities in motivating staff and volunteers to achieve goals.
• Proficiency in developing and managing budgets, as well as addressing financial and audit questions.
• Strong internal collaboration and communication skills with colleagues.
• Competence in Tessitura (preferred) and Google Suite.
• Ability to travel throughout the Bay Area and beyond, when necessary.
• Flexibility in work hours and availability some evenings and weekends.
  
  

Physical Environment

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, use a computer, and communicate on the phone, in person, and online meetings/calls. Must be able to perform repetitive motions 80% of the time.

Compensation And Benefits

The salary range for this position is $175,000 - $190,000 . Actual compensation will be commensurate with experience, skills/knowledge set, and internal equity. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Please scroll down to "Other details" for this position's hiring range.

Schedule : Full Time, 40 hrs/wk

Application Deadline

Review of applications will begin on August 19, 2024, and will continue until the position is filled.

Application Process

Please upload your resume, cover letter, and complete the brief online application

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).

We are committed to ensuring that all employees and applicants shall receive equal consideration and treatment. All terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, placements, transfers, promotions, compensation, benefits, terminations, training, and social and recreational programs, will be on the basis of qualifications of the individual for the positions being filled. The Academy does not discriminate against qualified applicants or employees with respect to any terms or conditions of employment on account of any characteristic protected by state or federal law or local ordinance. Read our full Equal Opportunity Statement here .

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