Chief Development Officer
- Employer
- James A. Michener Art Museum
- Location
- Pennsylvania, United States
- Salary
- Competitive Salary
- Closing date
- May 1, 2021
View more
- Position Type
- Executive, Fundraising, Fundraising Administration, Major Gifts, Other Fundraising
- Fields
- Arts, Museum
- Employment Type
- Full Time
The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the James A.
Michener Art Museum in the search for a Chief Development
Officer.
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Chief Development Officer
will join the Museum at a pivotal moment in its history, as a newly
expanded leadership team begins to define an ambitious strategic
plan for the institution. In partnership with the Executive
Director, Senior Executive Team, and Board of Trustees, the Chief
Development Officer will set the overall direction for the Museum
and assure its sustainable future. The Chief Development Officer
will play a leadership role in strategic planning; lead all aspects
of a comprehensive development program; maintain a genuine and deep
commitment to diversity and inclusion; ensure the organization is a
thought leader in social justice, social access, and full social
inclusion; and make substantive recommendations for policy changes
and new program directions. The Chief Development Officer will
manage all aspects of a forthcoming capital campaign and will
systematically identify and build relationships with new sources of
support and develop an expanded donor constituency. The Chief
Development Officer will be an inspiring fundraiser and brand
champion for the Michener Art Museum and an advocate for the
Museum’s culture of philanthropy.
In 1988, with the support of many dedicated citizens, the Michener
Art Museum opened as an independent, nonprofit cultural institution
dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and exhibiting the art and
cultural heritage of the Bucks County region. The Museum is named
for Doylestown’s most famous son, the Pulitzer-Prize winning writer
who first dreamed of a regional art museum in the early
1960s.
Both his Quaker heritage and his own impoverished youth led
Michener to a remarkable “second” career in philanthropy. A
lifelong supporter of the arts, he and his wife donated more than
$117 million to universities, libraries, and museums. When it was
proposed that the former Bucks County Jail in Doylestown be
transformed into a museum site, Michener agreed to lend his name to
the project that would become—with extensive renovation and
rebuilding—the James A. Michener Arts Center. It was later renamed
the James A. Michener Art Museum. Michener donated $1 million as
the first endowment gift, and continued to provide endowment gifts
for the rest of his life.
The Museum has evolved from a modest facility with a locally
derived mission to an accredited world class-facility with a broad
vision. A stellar collection of Pennsylvania Impressionist
paintings and special exhibitions showcasing a wide range of
historical and contemporary work attract annually more than 135,000
visitors from around the world. Surrounded by historic prison
walls, the Patricia D. Pfundt Sculpture Garden and terraces, and a
landscaped courtyard, the Michener Art Museum encompasses 40,000
square feet of public space that includes seminar and conference
facilities, a Museum shop and cafe, an art research library, and
gallery space. The dynamic glass-walled Edgar N. Putman Event
Pavilion provides a dramatic space for Museum programs as well as
weddings, conferences, and special events and celebrations.
Throughout the year, the Michener Art Museum hosts a wide range of
programs open to the public, including lectures, artist
conversations, gallery talks, artist studio tours, dance
performances, concerts and other musical performances, Ladies
Nights Out, family-themed activities, and other events. The Museum
also offers art classes for children and adults, which include
instruction in drawing, painting, sculpting, and printmaking as
well as programs designed to enhance artistic awareness.
A bachelor’s degree is required for this position as is at least
five years of development experience, including a strong track
record in major gifts fundraising. All applications must be
accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be
responsive to the mission of the James A. Michener Art Museum.
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