Chief Development Officer

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Milwaukee Art Museum in the search for a Chief Development Officer.

Reporting to the Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director, the Chief Development Officer will develop and implement key fundraising programs and establish both short- and long-term development plans that sustain Milwaukee Art Museum's (MAM) growth. The Chief Development Officer, an innovative and strategic thinker, will make optimal requests of the existing donor base while guiding the cultivation of new relationships that will serve as the seeds of new donors. The Chief Development Officer will serve as the primary conduit to the Director’s office and to the Board on major gift related issues, deploying these key organizational leaders in strategic and well thought out ways to cultivate significant targeted prospects and to ultimately close leadership gift opportunities.

The Chief Development Officer will build upon the MAM’s current success to create and implement strategies that increase and achieve ambitious fundraising targets, including a programmatic and endowment campaign, currently in the planning process. The Chief Development Officer will direct the five program areas of the Development team: Institutional Giving, Membership, Individual Giving, Stewardship and Events, and Development Information Systems, and will work with other Museum departments and with Board committees to ensure that donor and membership interests are properly stewarded. This is an opportunity to join a vibrant, committed, and talented senior leadership team at a pivotal moment in the Museum’s history.

Since 1888, Milwaukee Art Museum has grown to be an icon for Milwaukee and a resource for the entire state. The 341,000-square-foot Museum includes permanent collection galleries in the War Memorial Center (1957) designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, the Kahler Building (1975) by David Kahler, and the Quadracci Pavilion (2001) created by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Central to the Museum’s mission is its role as a premier educational resource, with programs that are among the largest and most vibrant in the nation, including classes, tours, and a full calendar of events for all ages.

Milwaukee Art Museum has always collected art for and shared art with the people of Milwaukee. Over the next phase of the Museum’s life, it is taking bold steps to further extend its welcome mat, presenting art as a way for all individuals to better understand themselves, each other, and the world. MAM is reaching a diverse audience across Milwaukee and beyond, meeting people where they are and offering various access points for engagement with the Museum.

The Museum is activating its iconic campus in multiple ways, offering experiences that variously meet the personal needs, desires, and moods of its guests—from reflective and solemn to interactive and celebratory. Above all, its collection and featured exhibitions are highlighting cultural and social aspects of the works on view and play a central role in Museum programming, allowing visitors to see themselves and their lives in the Museum and to experience the transformative benefits of art, no matter their previous experience.

Art transforms and inspires people. Through art, the Milwaukee Art Museum seeks to reflect, challenge, and bring together the community, enabling diverse audiences to see and understand themselves and others on deeper levels, fostering empathy for other cultures, encouraging dialogue around and respect for differing perspectives, and establishing a connection to our common humanity, past to present. In doing so, the Museum allows people to discover something in themselves which cultivates open-mindedness and appreciation for one another.

A bachelor's degree is required for this position as is at least ten years of relevant experience. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Milwaukee Art Museum as well as the responsibilities and qualifications presented in the prospectus.