What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations position at The New York Historical?
JOB TITLE: Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations
DEPARTMENT: Development
REPORTS TO: Vice President for Development
About The New York Historical
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution documenting over 400 years of American history through a peerless collection of art, documents, and artifacts. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the Reiss Family Graduate Institute for Constitutional History, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better.
Job Summary
The Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations is responsible for leading The New York Historical’s Individual Giving, Membership programs, and Development Operations. The Director will also manage a personal portfolio of major donors and prospects, and lead a team tasked with identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors of all giving levels; expanding the membership base; increasing revenue through continuous upgrades, and providing thoughtful stewardship to ensure rising renewal rates.
Essential Job Duties
The Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations works closely with the Vice President of Development and other key development and museum staff to conceive new contributed revenue strategies and achieve ambitious fundraising goals that support The New York Historical. The Director is responsible for meeting relevant program revenue goals, building prospect pipelines, providing and maintaining comprehensive revenue reporting/forecasting/projections, managing program expense budgets, and ensuring the entire department operates as efficiently as possible both internally and in collaboration with other departments and outside vendors. In conjunction with Vice President of Development, the Director will staff the Development Committee to activate and engage committee members in growth and retention strategies. Duties include:
Major Gifts
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
At times, this is a sedentary role using a computer; however, some filing or shelving is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stoop as necessary. The ability to lead tours through the museum is also required.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this position is $135,000 - $155,000. The successful candidate will be offered a salary within this range based on specific factors such as their individual qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.
The New York Historical provides a generous benefits package for eligible employees to support their health and wellbeing, which includes:
To ensure the overall health and safety of The New York Historical community, all newly hired employees of New York Historical are required to be fully-vaccinated with an FDA or WHO approved vaccine against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, absent qualifying exemptions for medical, religious, or other reasons in accordance with all applicable laws.
Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.
The New York Historical is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
DEPARTMENT: Development
REPORTS TO: Vice President for Development
About The New York Historical
New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution documenting over 400 years of American history through a peerless collection of art, documents, and artifacts. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the Reiss Family Graduate Institute for Constitutional History, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better.
Job Summary
The Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations is responsible for leading The New York Historical’s Individual Giving, Membership programs, and Development Operations. The Director will also manage a personal portfolio of major donors and prospects, and lead a team tasked with identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors of all giving levels; expanding the membership base; increasing revenue through continuous upgrades, and providing thoughtful stewardship to ensure rising renewal rates.
Essential Job Duties
The Director of Individual Giving & Development Operations works closely with the Vice President of Development and other key development and museum staff to conceive new contributed revenue strategies and achieve ambitious fundraising goals that support The New York Historical. The Director is responsible for meeting relevant program revenue goals, building prospect pipelines, providing and maintaining comprehensive revenue reporting/forecasting/projections, managing program expense budgets, and ensuring the entire department operates as efficiently as possible both internally and in collaboration with other departments and outside vendors. In conjunction with Vice President of Development, the Director will staff the Development Committee to activate and engage committee members in growth and retention strategies. Duties include:
Major Gifts
- Manage a portfolio of 25-50 donors and prospects to secure annual fund, high-level memberships, gala tables and ticket purchases, and designated gifts in the 5 to 6 figure range;
- Assist in the creation of donor and prospect meeting briefings for executive fundraisers;
- In partnership with the VP and other gift officers, conceive and drive strategies to cultivate, solicit, and steward annual sponsors for museum exhibitions, public programs, education initiatives, signature fundraising events, and other designated gift opportunities.
- Oversee the monthly acquisition/upgrade efforts across individual giving programs;
- Assist in setting and achieving annual program revenue goals;
- In collaboration with the Senior Individual Giving Officer, drive the acquisition strategy to convert members into Chair’s Council donors;
- Direct the team effort for individual stewardship initiatives including timely acknowledgements, thank you calls, special events, on-site tours, benefit fulfillment, and bespoke experiences;
- Manage the expense budgets and revenue projections for all relevant programs;
- Further develop the creation of portfolios and implementation of moves management processes in Tessitura.
- Manage and mentor the Membership & Annual Giving Manager, and Development & Membership Coordinator;
- Oversee the development and implementation of annual fundraising strategies including renewal, acquisition and upgrade campaigns for the general membership program (members contributing $75-$2,500/approximately 8,000 households); and drive the strategy and execution of two annual appeals, and intermittent crowdfunding efforts for exhibitions and special initiatives;
- Use data and metrics to benchmark efforts, inform strategic and tactical decision-making, and identify opportunities.
- Manage and mentor the Development Operations Manager;
- In coordination with Development Operations Manager, guide the departmental transition to Tessitura;
- Ensure the smooth running of the department through clear communication, organization, and logistical elements, including but not limited to facilitating weekly team meetings, onboarding of new staff, working with IT and Operations on logistics, training staff on new processes or procedures, etc.;
- Oversee the gift acceptance and acknowledgment processes;
- Work with the Development Operations Manager, gift officers, and program managers to develop and deliver donor analysis reports for all lines of individual giving;
- Enhance, expand and oversee Standard Operating Procedures for the department as a whole in connection with matters including, but not limited to, quality control for printed and online invitations and other documents, requesting and producing mailing lists, scheduling development staff assistance at internal events, etc.;
- Track and oversee donor crediting in terms of museum signage, printed materials, Website, emails, etc., in collaboration with Institutional Giving designee;
- Serve as departmental technology lead for all third-party integrations regarding solicitations and donations, including Shopify, Qgiv, Authorize.net, and similar platforms;
- Manage general department webpages and work with IT for updates and redesign;
- Serve as liaison to Marketing & Communications department regarding timing and processes for external communications;
- Serve as lead expert on email communications platforms, currently Mail2 and MailChimp.
- A combination of 7-10 years of increasing responsibility in frontline fundraising, team management, and fundraising program management experience;
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
- Proven ability to manage a portfolio of donors with experience personally closing 5-6 figure gifts;
- Experience developing team strategies for cultivation and solicitation of individual donors;
- Experience managing a large and dynamic membership program and annual fundraising appeals;
- Exceptional research, writing and oral communications skills;
- Experience mentoring and managing staff;
- Fluency and fearlessness in building donor relationships with cold prospects;
- Diplomacy, tact, and the ability to skillfully handle donor situations;
- Highly collaborative, communicative and transparent, with the ability to build strong and effective internal and external relationships;
- Ability to manage multiple projects as priorities change, nimble and tenacious work ethic with an exceptional eye for detail and accuracy;
- Demonstrated success in meeting all deadlines and performance goals;
- Experience with Tessitura, Raiser’s Edge or similar fundraising database.
- An enthusiasm for museum development work, humanities, and the arts.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.
At times, this is a sedentary role using a computer; however, some filing or shelving is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stoop as necessary. The ability to lead tours through the museum is also required.
Compensation & Benefits
The salary range for this position is $135,000 - $155,000. The successful candidate will be offered a salary within this range based on specific factors such as their individual qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.
The New York Historical provides a generous benefits package for eligible employees to support their health and wellbeing, which includes:
- Paid time off, including vacation, sick and personal days, and holidays observed by the Museum;
- Medical, dental, vision and life insurance;
- Short and long-term disability coverage options;
- 403(b) retirement plan with eligibility for employer contributions following one year of full-time service;
- Flexible spending accounts for health-related expenses, dependent care, and parking and transit expenses;
- Employee Assistance Program for all employees and their families;
- 20% discount at the NYHistory Store, café and restaurant, located within the Museum;
- Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions across the city.
To ensure the overall health and safety of The New York Historical community, all newly hired employees of New York Historical are required to be fully-vaccinated with an FDA or WHO approved vaccine against COVID-19 as a condition of employment, absent qualifying exemptions for medical, religious, or other reasons in accordance with all applicable laws.
Research shows that women and people from underrepresented groups often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the qualifications for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.
The New York Historical is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Salary : $135,000 - $155,000
