Major and Planned Gifts Officer, Theatre Industry

POSITION: Major and Planned Gifts Officer

DEPARTMENT: Development

FT or PT: FT

CLASSIFICATION: Salary

SCHEDULE: Weekdays with some evening and weekend events

STATUS: Non-Exempt

PAY RANGE: 83,000-91,000

REPORTS TO: Director of Development

The Major and Planned Gifts Officer is a self-driven, goal oriented, front-line fundraiser responsible for cultivating and soliciting a robust portfolio of Major and Planned Gifts donors. This role conducts prospect identification, cultivation, one-on-one solicitation, stewardship, and direct appeals to support annual operations, capital campaigns, endowment, legacy, and special programs. Reporting to the Director of Development (DOD) and collaborating with the entire Development Team, he/she/they work closely with the DOD and Chief Development Officer to strategize on individual major giving and brings best practices and industry knowledge to broaden and deepen individual philanthropy and expand the planned giving program.

Due to the interpersonal nature of this role and interaction with staff across the organization, the majority of this role is in-person.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Acting as a major gift front line fundraiser, manage a portfolio of 150+ active individuals through the process of identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship; utilize an entrepreneurial approach to acquire, renew, and upgrade donors, increasing major gift support year over year
• Develop annual plans for the portfolio and successfully close gifts to support operations, education and community programs, capital campaigns, planned giving, and endowment
• Independently secure contributions representing roughly 10-15% of the departmental Annual Fund goal, currently $6 million and confirm planned gifts, plus, partner with board and staff leaders to secure six and seven figure gift commitments to the campaign and endowment
• Regularly collaborate with the Director of Development, Chief Development Officer and Associate Director of Individual Giving on “big picture” thinking regarding the Individual Giving program, strategizing on new major donors and board prospects, planned giving approaches, and other large-scale initiatives
• Report on and measure progress, re-evaluating plans each quarter to ensure progress is tracking for success and budgeted goals, keeping the DOD and CDO apprised and informed regularly
• Serve as principal fundraiser and stewardship officer for the Board of Advisors, who are advocates and ambassadors of The Huntington and who provide essential support for the theatre’s programs and productions
• Actively participate in the work of the Nominating & Governance Committee, identifying and cultivating new board prospects and supporting committee members as they do the same
• Track all donor interactions and research in database
• Be a leader within the Development team and serve as a public facing representative at Huntington events and activities

SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

A successful candidate will excel at many of these requirements and have the desire and capacity to learn the rest on the job.

• Excellent organizational, interpersonal, presenting, and networking skills with large and small groups and in 1:1 meetings
• Confident solicitor with a proven track record securing major gifts and stewarding donors with a respectful demeanor, to initiate, build, and sustain relationships with high-net-worth individuals over time
• Planned giving experience and demonstrated success implementing a planned giving program and securing legacy commitments
• Talented in written and oral communications, with an ability to write and speak in clear and compelling ways to articulate the goals, mission, vision, and values of The Huntington
• Take initiative, proactively managing multiple projects and priorities with concurrent and changing deadlines and work effectively both independently and collaboratively as part of a team
• Possess diplomacy and discretion to foster trust and confidence of Board and staff leadership, donors, other stakeholder, maintaining confidentiality
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, SharePoint, and PowerPoint, as well as knowledge of research tools; Tessitura or similar relational database experience is a plus.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

• 5-7+ years of demonstrated frontline fundraising experience with a focus on individual philanthropy, preferably in the arts and culture field
• Knowledge of the Boston funding community a plus
• A bachelor’s degree required; an advanced degree in related field a plus.