Vice President of Development

Lincoln Park Zoo inspires communities to create environments where wildlife will thrive in our urbanizing world. The zoo is a leader in local and global conservation, animal care and welfare, learning, and science. A historic Chicago landmark founded in 1868, the not-for-profit Lincoln Park Zoo, is a privately‑managed, member-supported organization and is free and open 365 days a year.

The Development Department at Lincoln Park Zoo oversees all fundraising, board relations and government affairs for the institution. The department supports the CEO in advancing the Zoo’s mission, vision and values within the organization and the greater community. The Vice President of Development will be a senior member of Lincoln Park Zoo’s administrative team working cohesively with senior leadership and departments across the zoo.

They should have a passion for wildlife conservation and experience leading a large department that raises $20‑25 MM in annual revenue comprised of membership, annual giving, major and planned giving, corporate, foundation and board relations including the Board of Trustees, Women’s and Auxiliary Boards. The new leader, in collaboration with the CEO, will take the zoo’s development department into a new era with enhanced board and donor engagement, sophisticated data and financial management and identifying new sustainable sources of revenue.

The Vice President of Development will lead all aspects of the department and serve as the chief strategist and ambassador for all fundraising initiatives including future campaigns to support programmatic, capital, and endowment needs. The Vice President will manage the team of approximately 20 professionals to meet annual revenue and donor engagement goals. They will work closely with other leaders to advance the Zoo’s fundraising to achieve short‑ and long‑term goals and support the Zoo’s ability to fulfill its mission both locally and globally.

• Provides strong, creative, energetic and strategic leadership for all fundraising activities including major gifts, annual giving, membership, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, government relations, special events and capital campaigns.
• Support the CEO and members of fundraising leadership team in donor and prospect management through prospect research, prospect strategies and recommended engagement plans.
• Lead a strategic approach to enhancing the Zoo’s fundraising and donor engagement strategies with emphasis on diversifying and growing sustaining revenue sources for the organization.
• Work closely with the CEO and CFO and other members of the senior leadership team to set and review annual Development Department revenue projections.
• Collaborate with Vice President of Marketing and Communications to plan, promote and execute an integrated and effective external engagement strategy for the Zoo. Ensure alignment across all messaging platforms to support increased engagement between the Zoo and its donor base.
• Support the Lincoln Park Zoo Board of Trustees in their fundraising roles with an emphasis on engaging their networks as well as soliciting and stewarding key donors. Manage a personal portfolio of donors and prospects related to the Board.
• Serve as Development staff liaison to Board committees as appropriate. Provide regular reports on key fundraising metrics.
• Assemble and nurture diverse teams. Proactively recruit, hire, train, supervise, coach and mentor the leaders and members of the department. Work creatively to ensure appropriate staffing levels for all projects. Evaluate, design and implement professional development plans for staff to demonstrate growth and improvement in identified areas.
• Oversee the management of the Zoo’s robust database (Salesforce) that drives identification, tracking and next steps around prospective donors. Ensure that the database is providing strategic, actionable data.
• Provide leadership to and cultivate relationships with members of the Zoo’s Women’s and Auxiliary Boards as they work to advance and support the mission of the institution.
• Support Senior Director of Government Affairs to ensure zoo…