Vice President, Development

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION POSITION SUMMARY

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is seeking a visionary Vice President, Development to lead a comprehensive fundraising strategy that advances discovery and innovation in Earth and space sciences worldwide. As a key member of AGU’s senior leadership team, you will cultivate transformative partnerships with foundations, corporations, government agencies, and individual donors to secure resources that power AGU’s programs.

Our employees are our most valuable assets! You will feel welcomed and supported from the moment you join our team, and you will take part in strengthening and evolving our workplace culture.
We offer work-life balance and innovative benefits.

Work-life balance: remote-first organization, flexible work hours, unlimited PTO, Summer Fridays off, paid holidays, military leave.
Benefits:
Medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability coverage, employee assistance program, wellness, tuition reimbursement, 403(b) plan, FSA, HSA, theft protection, wellness, pet care, personal and professional development, Parental leave and much more.

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) supports a global community of more than half a million professionals and advocates in the Earth and space sciences.
Through broad and inclusive partnerships, AGU aims to advance discovery and solution science that accelerates knowledge and creates solutions that are ethical, unbiased, and respectful of communities and their values. Our programs include serving as a scholarly publisher, convening virtual and in-person events, and providing career support. We live our values in everything we do, such as our net‑zero energy renovated building in Washington, D.C., and our Ethics and Equity Center, which fosters a diverse and inclusive geoscience community to ensure responsible conduct.

As the VP, Development, you are critical to growing the revenue that enables AGU to deliver its mission: “To support and inspire a global community of individuals and organizations interested in advancing discovery in Earth and space sciences and its benefit for humanity and the environment.” Reporting to the EVP, Strategic Leadership, you forge positive relationships with external funders and with internal staff partners.

Through these relationships, you are accountable for securing external funding for AGU programs and strategic initiatives, and producing significant, positive return on AGU’s investment in Development functions. As the VP you positively embrace personal accountability for revenue generation while working collaboratively within a matrixed organization.

You will develop and implement strategies to grow a pipeline of revenue opportunities in support of AGU’s fiscal stability and growth, and will engage appropriate team members (both AGU staff subject matter experts and select volunteer leaders) to convert pipeline opportunities into active funding relationships. You will be a credible voice for AGU mission and programs, and able to effectively tell the story of AGU’s value to funding partners.

You will be adept at building relationships with decision‑makers and securing funding from grant‑making institutions (foundations and government organizations) and from corporate organizations. You must also guide AGU’s engagement with individual donors from within our scientific community and high‑net‑worth individuals interested in supporting AGU’s mission. With direction from and in partnership with AGU executive leadership, you will help to engage AGU volunteer leaders in support of AGU’s fundraising goals.

• Develop strategies and tactics for multi‑year fundraising efforts.
• Plan and coordinate the work of a team of three development staff, including supervision and evaluation, training and team building.
• Partner with senior staff and programmatic leaders across the organization to define realistic funding strategies and compelling business cases for engaging external funders.
• Partner with executive leadership to engage key volunteers from AGU’s governance structures and membership community in support of fundraising efforts.
• Develop annual…