Assistant Director for Development

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Job Summary

The University of Michigan Museum of Natural History is seeking an Assistant Director for Development to join our team. The Assistant Director for Development is responsible for the acquisition, stewardship, retention, and relational management of UMMNH donors, grantors and members This position will successfully accomplish goals by working creatively and strategically with UMMNH leadership and staff. 

Responsibilities*

KAR Percentage summary

  • Annual Giving Fundraising - 20%
  • Membership Acquisition, Retention and Relations - 20%
  • Grantor Identification, Acquisition, Retention and Relations - 10%
  • Donor Events - 15%
  • Donor and Grantor Stewardship - 10%
  • Corporate and Foundation Relations - 10%
  • Liaison to UMMNH Board of Advisors - 5%
  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility - 5%
  • Participate in UMMNH Culture and perform as a positive team member - 5%


Identify, solicit, and steward annual fund donors - 20%

  • Plan, develop, and implement the annual giving program, including annual appeals, and direct solicitations.
  • Collaborate with LSA Advancement and Office of University Development (OUD) colleagues on annual giving programs, including Giving Tuesday and Giving Blueday. 
  • Utilize donor database to identify strategic prospect pool.
  • Identify, cultivate, and steward Leadership Annual Giving opportunities.
  • Participate in goal setting and campaign priorities with LSA Advancement for U-M's Look to Michigan Campaign.
  • Write and produce meaningful and memorable stewardship correspondence.

Membership Acquisition and Retention - 20%

  • Prospect and cultivate members. 
  • Develop, write and manage membership campaigns including new member acquisition, monthly renewal and lapsed renewal mailings. 
  • Process memberships, send membership packets, issue digital membership cards.
  • Create and implement strategies to increase membership and retention. 
  • Evaluate, administer, and create member premiums and benefits. 
  • Conceptualize innovative ways of recognizing and engaging members.

Grant identification, cultivation, reporting and relations management - 10%

  • Prospect and cultivate grant opportunities for museum led projects
  • Liaise with the University's central grants team to ensure institutional priorities are met
  • Coordinate with the museum's leadership, operations, exhibits, education, marketing and communications teams in the development of museum led projects and proposals
  • Manage on-going relations with grant program officers

Donor Events - 15%

  • Plan and organize meaningful member and donor events that help deepen the museum's relationship with donors and members at all giving levels.

Donor Stewardship - 10%

  • Ongoing stewardship of donors at all levels via special events, impact reports, in-person visits, and phone calls. 
  • Create innovative ways of recognizing and engaging members and donors. 
  • Provide exceptional customer service to current and prospective members and donors.
  • Handle inquiries by phone, mail, and email. 
  • Ensure that all gifts are accurately acknowledged and membership benefits are fulfilled in a timely manner. 
  • Analyze membership and donor data, and maintain accurate and up-to-date reports, records, filing, and information management in donor database.

Corporate and Foundation Relations - 10%

  • Build relationships with community organizations, secure funding for museum events and programs. 
  • Organize and provide virtual or in-person updates with local businesses, building relationships and collaborations. 
  • Provide stewardship touch points to highlight the impact of their giving.

Liaison to UMMNH Board of Advisors - 5%

  • Plan and organize UMMNH Board of Advisors meetings and correspondence/updates throughout the year.

Diversity Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility - 5%

  • Attend and participate in staff DEIA meetings
  • Continually look for ways to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion principles into your everyday work to help build an inclusive and equitable membership and donor program.

Participate in UMMNH Culture and perform as a positive team member - 5%
 

Required Qualifications*

The ideal candidate is an energetic, enthusiastic individual with the ability to work both independently and as a collaborative team member on multiple time-sensitive tasks. The candidate should be a resourceful and creative problem solver, in addition to demonstrating self-reliance and excellent attention to detail. Must be flexible and able to prioritize projects with interruptions for time-sensitive tasks.

Technical skills:

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in education, museum, or non-profit setting.
  • 5+ years in annual giving, membership, grant management or development (or transferable field).
  • Familiar with organizing and researching appropriate donor/prospect information.
  • Excellent communications skills.
  • Significant professional experience developing and writing high quality original content for a wide variety of fundraising and communication purposes.
  • Professional experience in social media and digital fundraising management.
  • Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office.
  • Experience using customer relations management software.
  • Demonstrated ability and willingness to seek and incorporate feedback to ensure the highest quality, accuracy, and clarity of communications.
  • Experience in donor relations or transferable field such as customer service, interviewing, sales, etc.

General skills:

  • Demonstrated excellent verbal, written, presentation, interpersonal, listening, and networking skills.
  • Excellent project management, organizational, analytical, creative, and critical thinking skills involving multi-faceted initiatives, with a demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and strategy goals.
  • Strong collaborative working style with the ability to work both independently and as a member of a team.
  • Demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency through actions, interactions, and communications with others.
  • Professional working knowledge of current diversity, equity, inclusion, and access issues and approaches within STEM and/or museum fields.
  • Ability to occasionally work extended or flexible hours in support of museum needs and activities.
  • Provide supervision for temporary, student and project staff.

Desired Qualifications*

  • Background or education in philanthropy / science / natural history field.
  • Prior experience working in a natural history or other museum.

Modes of Work

Positions that are eligible for hybrid or mobile/remote work mode are at the discretion of the hiring department. Work agreements are reviewed annually at a minimum and are subject to change at any time, and for any reason, throughout the course of employment. Learn more about the work modes.

Additional Information

As one of the world's great liberal arts colleges, LSA pushes the boundaries of what is understood about the human experience and the natural world, and we foster the next generation of rigorous and empathetic thinkers, creators, and contributors to the state of Michigan, the nation, and the world.

To learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion in LSA, please visit lsa.umich.edu/lsa/dei. 

To learn more about LSA's Mission, Vision and Values, please visit lsa.umich.edu/strategicvision. 

Application Deadline

Job openings are posted for a minimum of seven calendar days.  The review and selection process may begin as early as the eighth day after posting. This opening may be removed from posting boards and filled anytime after the minimum posting period has ended.

U-M EEO/AA Statement

The University of Michigan is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.