Vice President For Institutional Advancement

SUMMARY

The Vice President for Institutional Advancement is responsible for advancing the mission of the RMSC (Rochester Museum & Science Center) through planning, leadership, and the formation and execution of a comprehensive fundraising strategy. As a member of the Museums' executive leadership team, the Vice President for Institutional Advancement builds strong relationships with the Museums' stakeholders and donors and develops, prioritizes, and implements fundraising marketing and PR strategies.

The Vice President for Institutional Advancement’s primary responsibility is to raise operational, campaign, and major gifts for the RMSC’s programs, facilities, exhibitions, and services through grants, individual donors, and government support. They report to the President and CEO and works closely and in partnership with program managers and Board of Trustees. The Vice President for Institutional Advancement creates and implements a fundraising program that raises $2 million in private operational support from individuals, foundations, corporations; and $2 million in public fundraising from city, state, and federal sources annually.

This position also oversees a major Capital Campaign in support of exciting new additions to the RMSC Museum & Science Center, Planetarium and Nature Center. The Vice President for Institutional Advancement directly supervises the Institutional Advancement team. A key member of the senior leadership team, this position works closely with the Museum management, Education, Marketing, Exhibits, and Collections departments to identify funding priorities and develop new funding proposals.

Work schedule includes flexible hours, weekends, weekdays, evenings, holidays, and extended hours in order to meet the needs of the organization.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage and grow a robust portfolio of current and prospective individual, corporate, and foundation donors. Build, cultivate, solicit, and steward the portfolio of donors. Create strong and meaningful relationships that advance the RMSC through annual, major, and capital campaign giving.

• Build, guide, and supervise an Institutional Advancement team that achieves goals by creatively and resourcefully mentoring, inspiring, leading, and managing the team in the successful implementation of strategic fundraising plans and events. Oversee the Capital Campaign, providing support and guidance to staff and board members.

• Develop and implement a comprehensive strategic fundraising plan consistent with the Museum’s strategic plan, mission, and programming. Ensure a balanced mix of philanthropic sources, including a diversified donor base of individuals, foundations, and corporations as well as public/government funding.

• In close collaboration with the President and CEO, provide the tools and support critical to their, and Board of Trustees members’ successful engagement in fundraising. Strategize and track progress in major and leadership giving involving Board of Trustees members. Collaborate with the President and CEO to secure annual Board member contributions.

• Participate on Board Committees as assigned. Lead development and campaign committees and provide quarterly fundraising reports.

• As a member of the Museums' senior management and leadership team, contribute to and participate in overall organizational decisions as appropriate.

• Develop and manage a reasonable and balanced department budget, including projection of fundraising revenue.

• Other duties as assigned

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Directly supervises and leads the Institutional Advancement team including RMSC membership, events & hospitality, major gifts, and corporate & foundation giving positions. Supervision includes all responsibilities for interviewing, hiring, and providing staff training and onboarding.

• Develops and implements customer service standards.

• Completes performance appraisals, sets goals for direct reports, and recommends further action (pay adjustments, additional training, disciplinary action, etc.)

• Monitors employees’ attendance, approves excused absences, and verifies and approves timesheets.

COMPETENCIES

Informational/Technical: Appropriate use of the internet, intranet, email, payroll system, phone system, and computer systems. RMSC uses the Gsuite platform. Working knowledge of Altru or other donor database solutions and wealth screening tools is essential.

Communication: Ability to communicate effectively, politely, professionally, and comfortably with donors, trustees, guests, and staff. Speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations; listens and gets clarification; responds well to questions; demonstrates group presentation skills; and participates in meetings. Extremely high proficiency for clear and informative written communication and nonprofit financial understanding. Ability to read complex written information and budgets and be able to interpret data from multiple sources.

Decision-Making and Reasoning Ability: Must be dependable, organized, and able to adapt to changing demands and environments; the ability to apply common sense and understanding to carry out instructions delivered in written or verbal form. Ability to maintain confidentiality.

Time Management: Ability to set priorities and to meet established deadlines without direct supervision. Ability to effectively transition between multiple duties. Ability to take initiative and identify projects in need of completion.

QUALIFICATIONS

A Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent and 8 to 10 years of related experience with proven success in major gifts; experience in fundraising in education, arts and culture is preferred. Experience with capital campaigns of over $10m is preferred. A minimum of 5 years in a supervisory role with demonstrated ability to mentor, inspire, lead, and manage a professional fundraising team in the successful implementation of strategic fundraising plans and goals. Knowledge of Google and Microsoft systems required. Familiarity with CRM solutions preferred; Altru knowledge is a plus.

Deadline to apply: June 23, 2023. Please visit rmsc.org/careers to see the full job description & apply.