Senior Director of Development

The Jacksonville Symphony Advancement Department raises funds through donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, the public sector, and special events to support artistic and educational programming and general operating expenses. The Senior Director of Development will be responsible for expanding the base of major gift donors, from individuals, and corporations, on a local, and regional level. The Senior Director of Development will work to increase support by cultivating and stewarding effective relationships by maintaining an active fundraising schedule that includes strategic visits, and ongoing cultivation and solicitation. They will maintain a portfolio of appropriate size including current and potential donors with five to six-figure plus capacity excluding board and honorary board. In addition, they will maintain an active schedule of cultivation and solicitation visits securing gifts averaging $10,000 and more. This position requires excellent people skills, data-driven portfolio management, and the demonstrated ability to meet fundraising goals. The ideal candidate will be initiative-taking, well-organized and possess a sales mentality. Knowledge of customer relationship databases and appreciation for music is a plus.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement strategies for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for new and existing donors through face-to-face meetings and regular donor communications.
• Actively manage a portfolio averaging one hundred major gift donors, corporate sponsors, and prospects with an emphasis on securing new gifts through timely and strategic action.
• Develop and pitch proposals for donors giving on average $10,000 and more annually. Identify, cultivate, and solicit donors and corporations supporting annual operating fund, concert/event sponsorship, capital, and endowment campaigns.
• Build a pipeline for Conductors Club and Business Partner membership programs for those who can support the program annually.
• Engage and manage current and potential funders with the goal of increasing future funding levels through community outreach, clear and compelling funding requests, accurate reporting, and branding and marketing activities.
• Manage relationships with prospective and existing donors in all aspects of the gift cycle including identifying, qualifying, and initiating contact with potential leadership and major gift donors; developing appropriate cultivation strategies; moving potential donors toward solicitation and closure.
• Collaborate with the Vice President & Chief Advancement Officer to identify needed funds, strategic approaches, and preferred funding targets.
• Formulate and execute strategic development plans in collaboration with the Vice President & Chief Advancement Officer, including strategically assessing funding requests and probabilities to meet set funding goals.
• Ensure consistent donor-focused service and benefit fulfillment at every touch point by collaborating closely with staff, attending concerts, engagement activities and events, and maintaining the professional and positive image of the Symphony.
• Network, prospect, and assist in presentations at selected internal and external events.
• Develop and administer regular reporting and analysis on data for revenue goals to review portfolio trends and patterns that inform giving program strategies.
• Serve as a collaborator of proposals, stewardship reports, and other fundraising collateral.
• Maintain donor records including touchpoints, donor plans, and related development material in the customer relationship database.
• Share information and resources with development team to enhance the effectiveness of coordinated fundraising efforts.
• Performs other responsibilities as requested or assigned by management.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree preferred or related experience.
• Demonstrated experience and success in nonprofit fundraising/development or for-profit sales and communications with a minimum of five to seven years’ experience.
• Demonstrated success soliciting and closing five and six-figure plus gifts.
• Must be able to communicate with a variety of audiences, be able to work as part of a high-functioning team and possess a passion for the Symphony’s role in the community, as well as the desire to share it with others.
• Ability to aggressively and consistently follow up and follow through, with determined self-motivation and autonomy.
• Ability to set goals strategically and oversee execution.
• Ability to maintain high level of organization and attention to detail, to create processes, to manage several projects at once, and to meet deadlines.
• Proven ability to interact and influence C-suite leaders in the community.
• Success in conveying experience, credibility, and confidence when engaging external audiences.
• Proven ability to create and successfully execute a multi-year strategic development plan to meet annual income targets.
• Elevated level of discretion and ethical approach to fundraising.
• Ability to establish and maintain good working relationships throughout the organization and with external constituencies.
• Experience in planning, leading, and managing development projects, including coordinating with peers to achieve desired outcomes, and tracking and reporting on progress to senior management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills compelling donors to action.
• Responsible, dependable, and able to work daytime, evenings, and weekends.
• Possess a valid driver’s license and have access to reliable transportation.
• Proficiency in database management, Microsoft Office Suite, and other computer skills.
• Knowledge of customer relationship databases and appreciation for music is a plus.

The Jacksonville Symphony offers a competitive salary. This position is eligible for full benefits including medical, vision, life insurance, long-term disability, and a 403(b)-retirement plan. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required.

About the Jacksonville Symphony:

Our mission is to enrich the human spirit through symphonic music.

As Music Director Courtney Lewis begins his seventh season on the conductor’s podium, the Jacksonville Symphony celebrates the 2021/22 season that promises another year of exemplary symphonic music. Each season, the Symphony reaches over 135,000 individuals through almost one hundred performances in Jacoby Symphony Hall and communities throughout Florida. The Jacksonville Symphony is also committed to the creation of original music and has embarked on an ambitious plan to commission five original compositions between the 2021/22 and the 2023/24 seasons.

The Jacksonville Symphony is one of Northeast Florida’s most important cultural institutions. Founded in 1949, the Symphony now enjoys a national reputation, regularly heard on more than 250 public radio stations across the country on Performance Today. Combined with performances aired on Jacksonville’s public radio station WJCT and the organization’s continually growing streaming program, the Symphony reaches over 60,000 individuals through these digital channels. The Symphony’s performance home, Robert E. Jacoby Symphony Hall, is an acoustic gem and offers an intimate and acoustically superior concert experience. Each year thousands enjoy the Symphony’s performances both at Jacoby Symphony Hall in the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts and at venues located throughout the state of Florida.

The Symphony is a crucial leader in the community for music education, serving four county school districts and over 35,000 students. In addition to offering free tickets to children under the age of eighteen for selected Florida Blue Classical concerts, and other special youth pricing, there are several programs to foster music education.

Led by Symphony Assistant Conductor Daniel Wiley, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras (JSYO) serves more than three hundred talented musicians from all over Northeast Florida. The six levels of ensembles enable the JSYO to serve the needs of all musicians with individualized, ability-specific instruction. JSYO enriches orchestral instruction by guiding young musicians with quality musical instruction, improving skills, and maintaining the highest standards. In June 2018, the Jacksonville Symphony Youth Orchestras embarked on its first national tour as one of only three student orchestras invited to perform in the Los Angeles International Music Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Over the years, the Jacksonville Symphony has hosted some of the most renowned artists of the music world including: Isaac Stern, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Marilyn Horne, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Kathleen Battle, Mstislav Rostopovich, Audra McDonald, Joshua Bell, Lang Lang, Alisa Weilerstein, Branford Marsalis , Renée Fleming and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

To Apply:

To apply for this position, please submit in PDF format a resume and cover letter of introduction outlining your specific experience and qualifications to Bryan de Boer, Vice President, and Chief Advancement Officer at HR@jaxsymphony.org. No phone calls, please.