Overview:    

The Vice President of Development is a senior leadership role responsible for advancing DISCOVERY Children’s Museum’s fundraising and philanthropic growth. Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, this position serves on the Museum’s senior leadership team and leads all aspects of development strategy. The Vice President of Development oversees fundraising initiatives, including major gifts, campaigns, and strategic funding. This role works closely with the Board of Trustees and serves as the primary staff liaison to the Development Committee. A data-driven leader, the Vice President of Development builds and leads a high-performing development team and strengthens donor relationships. The position includes shared oversight of campaign planning and future staffing in preparation for growth. Through strategic philanthropy, the Vice President of Development supports the Museum’s mission and long-term sustainability.

Qualifications:

Proven experience in raising leadership and major gifts at the six-figure level or greater.

Proven ability to supervise, motivate, and retain a fundraising team that strives to achieve and exceed goals.

A warm, authentic, and humble executive presence with the confidence to convey credibility to high-level funders, donors, corporate executives, and other strategic stakeholders.

Result-oriented, flexible, ethical, and collaborative; a strong listener and consensus-builder who thrives in a collegial, team-oriented environment.

Strong interpersonal and motivational skills that establish trust and rapport, including ease and skill in conveying DISCOVERY’s mission to a variety of diverse constituencies.

Excellent communication skills with persuasive ability, including solid written, verbal and presentation skills.

Solid command of advancement technology and donor database management, ideally Bloomerang.

Ability to travel as necessary and attend activities as needed, including evenings and weekends.

Job Responsibilities:    

Supervisory Responsibilities: 

Lead and implement comprehensive fundraising strategies across multiple channels to support the Museum’s mission and long-term goals.

Build, cultivate, and steward strong relationships with donors, partners, and key stakeholders in collaboration with staff and the Board of Trustees.

Collaborate with the CEO to advance fundraising priorities, support key programs and initiatives, and drive organizational growth.

Responsibilities:

Lead, manage, develop, and mentor the development team in a manner that ensures a comprehensive and integrated fundraising program and campaign.

Oversee all aspects of the DISCOVERY’s development program, including annual giving, major giving, corporate giving and sponsorships, government and foundation giving, direct mail, fundraising events, and membership.

Build an effective philanthropy and campaign-focused infrastructure that optimizes DISCOVERY’s fundraising potential and leverages the strengths of the development team.

Plan, manage, and coordinate a collaborative campaign strategy that provides staffing and support to the CEO, Board of Trustees, and other key volunteers in their donor engagement activities.

Lead a targeted strategy that builds a pipeline for leadership and major gifts from new and existing high-capacity donors and prospects.

Manage a portfolio of approximately 50 to 75 leadership-level prospects, focusing on a pipeline of six-figure and greater prospects.

Supervise and support DISCOVERY’s signature annual fundraising events.

Work closely with the Marketing and Communications team on integrated strategies to attract and retain members, donors, and investors.