Chief Philanthropy Officer

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the San Francisco Symphony in the search for a Chief Philanthropy Officer.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Philanthropy Officer will set the institutional vision for the San Francisco Symphony’s philanthropic efforts as it seeks to achieve its earned, contributed, and endowment revenue goals; expand its footprint in the Bay Area and beyond; and establish a superior patron experience. In partnership with the Chief Executive Officer, President, Board of Governors, and Senior Leadership Team, the Chief Philanthropy Officer will create and implement strategies that generate and maximize contributed income that supports the mission, strategy, and priorities of the San Francisco Symphony. The Chief Philanthropy Officer will identify, cultivate, and secure strategic gifts—engaging top donor prospects, inspiring volunteers, promoting the symphonic art form, and motivating a team to maximize donor growth. The Chief Philanthropy Officer will maintain open and ongoing communication with Board leadership, providing complete and accurate activity reports, revenue forecasts, and situation analyses on a regular basis. The Chief Philanthropy Officer also will lead efforts to support comprehensive capital campaigns and strategic funding projects. The Chief Philanthropy Officer will serve as an ambassador of the San Francisco Symphony, articulating clear and compelling cases for funding symphonic performances, arts education programs, and community engagement initiatives, ensuring the growth and vitality of one of San Francisco’s premier performing arts institutions.

The San Francisco Symphony is widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, active touring, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education programs. This relentless pursuit of progress is fueled by the vision of being a leader and catalyst for reimagining how people everywhere engage with orchestral music in deep and meaningful ways.  The San Francisco Symphony is driven by its mission to inspire and serve audiences and communities throughout the Bay Area and the world through the power of musical performance.

In October 2020, the San Francisco Symphony welcomed conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen as its twelfth Music Director, embarking on a new vision for the present and future of the orchestral landscape. Together, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Symphony introduced a groundbreaking artistic leadership model anchored by eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of cultural disciplines. This group of visionary artists, thinkers, and doers, along with Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony, have set out to explore and develop new ideas inspired by the Partners’ unique areas of expertise, including innovative digital projects, expansive and imaginative performance concepts in a variety of concert formats, commissions of new music, and projects that foster collaboration across artistic and administrative areas.

The San Francisco Symphony is a leader in music education, providing the most extensive education and community programs offered by any American orchestra. Through a variety of programs, the Symphony brings music into classrooms K–12 throughout the San Francisco Unified School District and the Bay Area, free of charge. Beyond the classrooms, the Symphony works to develop the next generation of groundbreaking musicians through the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra (SFSYO), which provides no cost, pre-professional training to gifted young musicians in the Bay Area. The SFSYO has been touring the world for the past few decades, earning a reputation as one of the finest youth ensembles in the world.

It is not only the devotion to promoting music and music education that sets the San Francisco Symphony apart. The San Francisco Symphony has won some of the world’s most prestigious recording awards, including Japan’s Record Academy Award, France’s Grand Prix du Disque, and Britain’s Gramophone Award. Plus, numerous Grammy® Awards—twelve with Michael Tilson Thomas, the Symphony’s first Music Director Laureate who completed his twenty-five-year tenure in 2020.

Candidates must have at least seven years of senior-level experience leading successful fundraising programs. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of the San Francisco Symphony as well as the responsibilities and qualifications stated in the prospectus.

To apply for this position, visit: https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/1129