Senior Major Gifts Officer

The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), founded in 1869 with a dual mission of scientific research and education, is one of the world’s preeminent scientific, educational, and cultural institutions. The Museum encompasses more than 40 permanent exhibition halls, galleries for temporary exhibitions, the Rose Center for Earth and Space, including the Hayden Planetarium, and the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation.

The Museum’s scientists draw on a world-class permanent collection of more than 30 million specimens and objects, some of which are billions of years old, and on one of the largest natural history libraries in the world. Through its Richard Gilder Graduate School, the Museum offers two of the only free-standing, degree-granting programs of their kind at any museum in the U.S.: the Ph.D. program in Comparative Biology and the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Earth Science residency program.

Visit amnh.org for more information.

The AMNH Advancement team is seeking a full-time Senior Major Gifts Officer (SMGO) to secure five- and six-figure gifts from individual donors and prospects in support of the broad scope of the institution’s work in science and education. Reporting to the Director, Major & Individual Giving, the SMGO identifies, qualifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards their own portfolio of donors and prospects, developing and carrying out targeted strategies that lead to gifts at maximum levels of support.

They will also partner with the Vice President, Advancement to support strategic major gift efforts.

The SMGO supervises two Gift Officers, each of whom manages their own large portfolios of 250-275 mid-level donors and prospects. In this role, the SMGO oversees the Museum’s mid-level individual giving effort with the goal of building its pipeline. This is an exciting opportunity to oversee a robust array of donors as they move through the mid-level and major gift process at the Museum.

• Manage and strengthen a portfolio of 125-150 major gift donors and prospects with the capacity to make 5-6 figure gifts to deepen their engagement and relationships with the Museum, and ultimately increase their giving.
• Create customized short-, intermediate-, and long-term strategies for the existing donor/prospect portfolio.
• Partner with Gift Officers on mid-level giving to develop customized portfolio strategies to deepen ties to the Museum and grow year-over-year revenue.
• Maintain current and accurate records in the Raiser’s Edge

Prospect Development & Cultivation

• Conceptualize and implement strategies to engage new prospects, including identifying and researching prospective donors as needed.
• Craft effective proposals, reports, acknowledgments, and other related communications, in partnership with the Donor Relations and Donor Communications teams.
• Plan, manage, and host various cultivation and stewardship activities, including one-on-one and volunteer council meetings, tours, and other small gatherings.
• Manage a schedule that includes local travel and occasional evening and weekend work.
• Manage two Gift Officers, providing guidance, coaching, and professional development opportunities to ensure individual targets are met.
• Foster a results-oriented “out-the-door” fundraising culture that effectively moves prospects through the development cycle, identifies new prospects, and re-engages lapsed prospects to advance and grow fundraising opportunities and results.
• Coordinate and collaborate with Museum colleagues, including Museum leadership, fellow Advancement staff, scientists, educators, and exhibition.

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Minimum of seven years of professional experience in fundraising,…