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Chief Development Officer

Employer
James A. Michener Art Museum
Location
Pennsylvania, United States
Salary
Competitive Salary
Closing date
May 1, 2021

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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