Chief Advancement Officer

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the Lieber Institute for Brain Development in the search for a Chief Advancement Officer.

Reporting to the Director and Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Advancement Officer will be responsible for the Institute's overall short- and longer-term fundraising, philanthropic co-investment, and communications strategy and execution. As the most recent addition to the Institute’s Leadership Team, the Chief Advancement Officer role provides the potential to both embed fundraising thinking into every part of the organization and simultaneously change the way fundraising can be done by challenging notions of traditional fundraising, utilizing flexibility, agility, and novel thinking, and focusing on the integration of fundraising opportunities across the Institute's activities. The Chief Advancement Officer will create significant sources of revenue by driving philanthropic joint ventures that achieve impact and, in a peer-to-peer manner, cultivate opportunities for the Institute.

The World Health Organization found that four of the ten most disabling diseases of world societies are psychiatric. These diseases create a large economic burden, but more importantly, they involve enormous personal cost for affected individuals and their families. Treatment for these disorders is largely inadequate and prevention is almost nonexistent. The Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) was created eleven years ago from the need for a new approach to finding opportunities to accomplish the critical goal of helping affected individuals and their families. The Institute's goal is to transform the research landscape in two ways: by providing new tools for scientific discovery in the fields of neurobiology, pharmacology, genetics, and neuroscience, and by developing new collaborative approaches to achieve its ambitious mission.

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development translates the understanding of basic genetic and molecular mechanisms of schizophrenia and related developmental brain disorders into clinical advances that are changing the lives of affected individuals. Conceived as a hybrid of an academic institution and a biotech company, the Institute brings scientists with diverse experience and perspectives together in a common space, with a common mission and purpose, to work together without many of the financial pressures of academic life. The expectation of deliverables and milestones exists in a culture of innovation, creativity, and flexibility. This is a unique institutional environment where scientists work together to achieve progress in mental illness research that has eluded more traditional academic and industry research models.

In the unique environment of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, with its dedication to collaborating with academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies, and other private research institutions around the globe, advances in brain disease research and treatment continue to improve the outlook for individuals suffering from devastating psychiatric disease.

A bachelor's degree or commensurate experience to command the trust and respect of donors, staff, and Board members is required for this position as is at least seven years of fundraising experience, with an emphasis on senior leadership roles. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development as well as the responsibilities and qualifications presented in the prospectus.