Head of Major Gifts

About the Museum

The Rubin is a global museum dedicated to presenting Himalayan art and its insights. Founded in 2004, the Rubin serves people internationally through exhibitions, participatory experiences, a dynamic digital platform, and partnerships. Inspired and informed by Himalayan art, the Rubin invites people to contemplate the human experience and deepen connections with the world around them in order to expand awareness, enhance well-being, and cultivate compassion. The Rubin advances scholarship through a series of educational initiatives, grants, collection sharing, and the stewardship of a collection of nearly 4,000 Himalayan art objects spanning 1,500 years of history—providing unprecedented access and resources to scholars, artists, and students across the globe.

Summary Description

The Head of Major Gifts is part of a six-member Development team (Major Gifts, Institutional Philanthropy, and Annual Fund & Development Operations) and will lead the Museum’s frontline fundraising efforts to deepen, broaden, and increase support from major donors ($5,000 and above).

This senior position serves as second in command for the Development department. This position offers a strong path for growth and leadership continuity. The incumbent partners closely with the Director of Development as a strategic partner and frontline fundraiser to develop, lead, and execute a major donor strategy, and manage the portfolio of major donors, major donor prospects, and family foundations.

Major gift fundraising is a crucial pillar of support for the Rubin Museum’s multiyear initiatives, capacity building strategies, traveling exhibitions and collaborations, educational programs, digital content expansion, collection sharing, and additional funding priorities.

As the Rubin has transformed into a new global museum model with projects in New York City, nationally, and internationally, this position will build upon the successful and growing major donor program and drive the Museum’s efforts to deepen, broaden, and increase support. The Head of Major Gifts supervises the Assistant Manager, Major Gifts & Institutional Philanthropy.

The Head of Major Gifts interfaces with all levels of the organization, including the Executive Director (ED) and leadership team, works closely with the Development team and across organizational departments, and also with members of the Board of Trustees to lead in identifying cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding current and prospective major donors.

This is a full-time, hybrid eligible and exempt position with a workweek schedule of Mondays through Fridays, with core work hours from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and some flexibility required as needed.

The incumbent reports to the Director of Development (DOD).

Responsibilities:

• Develops and works closely with the DOD on a multiyear strategy to expand the donor pool, to build a pipeline for the Board of Trustees, and to increase philanthropic major donor support for the Rubin from $1 million to $2 million annually.
• Leads rigorous prospecting, using a recent wealth screening and our research platform, iWave, to identify national and international donor prospects.
• Supports Trustees and donors in engaging their networks of philanthropists.
• Guides the Annual Fund team to increase mid-level donors ($1,000+) and to strengthen a moves management approach to engaging, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding relationships.
• Creates a strategy, plan, and timeline to incorporate Planned Giving into the major donor campaigns.
• Set up meetings and manages a portfolio of approximately 125+ donors and prospective donors per year.
• Builds both financial and non-financial goals and measurable outcomes and cultivates a team approach toward reaching those goals.
• Prepares/directs and works with team members to prepare briefings and research.
• Creates engagement strategies, gift ideas, messaging, fundraising materials/presentations, and cases for support.
• Supervises and manages an Assistant Manager, and builds an effective team through collaboration, guidance, and coaching.
• Leads sponsorship fundraising for select events and represents the Rubin Museum at events and on other occasions.
• With the Development Operations team, tracks, analyzes, and prepares reports on progress of major gifts.
• Builds and manages campaign budgets and goals, and the departmental budget and revenue targets.
• Maintains a high quality of quantitative and qualitative information in our CRM Salesforce.
• Keeps abreast of the Rubin Museum’s goals and projects and accurately communicates the museum’s ideas and achievements to donors and prospects.
• Helps shape an internal culture of philanthropy.
• Assumes other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• • Bachelor’s degree required. MA preferred.
  • 10+ years of experience in a non-profit setting, preferably with organizing and conducting major donors, individual giving, and blended campaigns which include significant planning, proposal preparation, and solicitation experience as well as managing teams and budgets.
  • Must have passion for frontline fundraising and the commitment to build one-on-one relationships with current and new donors.
  • Familiarity and/or experience in planned giving, family foundations, as well as institutional philanthropy are essential.
  • Must have exemplary written, verbal, and interpersonal skills and be experienced in strategic and capital case development and capacity building.
  • Demonstrated supervisory and project/campaign budgetary skills.
• Must have superb time management skills; be detail-oriented; highly organized; and be able to handle multiple tasks, adhere to deadlines, and work independently and as part of a team.
• A motivated self-starter who is flexible, courteous and tactful in dealing with staff and others.
• Creative, resourceful, entrepreneurial mindset, with roll-up-your-sleeves attitude.
• Must be able to act with diplomacy and discretion at all organizational levels and across departments, including maintaining confidentiality.
• Knowledge of MS Office Suites, project management software such as Asana, Salesforce, or other donor databases, and iWave or other research platforms, preferred.
• Knowledge of the Rubin Museum, Himalayan art, New York City cultural organizations, Buddhism or Asian philosophies and worldview is a plus.

The Rubin offers a generous and competitive compensation and benefits package. This includes the Rubin’s Work from Home (WFH) Policy, which allows employees to work offsite three (3) days per week based on their job responsibilities.

All hybrid eligible employees are required to work onsite every Wednesday, the designated onsite workday, and one additional day as determined by department head.