Director of Institutional Advancement

ByalaSearch LLC is pleased to announce that our firm has been retained by the Katonah Museum of Art to identify candidates for the position of Director of Institutional Advancement.

ABOUt THE Katonah Museum of Art

Established in 1954, the Katonah Museum of Art is a non-collecting institution accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. Dedicated to the promotion and understanding of visual art and cultural heritage through exhibitions and education programs, the KMA is committed to presenting exceptional art from across cultures and time periods, from pre-modern to contemporary. The KMA mounts three to four exhibitions annually, covering a broad range of art and humanities while responding to the most critical issues of our time through a bold and vigorous lens. The institution offers lectures, films, workshops, concerts, and other events for a general audience and presents innovative and substantive programs for over 100 member schools and its 30,000 annual visitors.

The Pollack Family Learning Center is the only interactive space in Westchester County where children can come on a daily basis to explore and create art. Designed by eminent Modernist architect Edward Larrabee Barnes, the intimate museum building is nestled in the surrounding landscape, inviting light and natural beauty to its atrium and galleries. It perfectly ascribes to Barnes’s ideals of simplicity and functionality. The Katonah Museum of Art serves as a welcoming and anchoring cultural institution within its local community, for all ages and backgrounds, as well as for frequent visitors from New York City, Westchester County, and the Tri-State Area.

About 50 miles north of New York City, on the Metro North Harlem Line, the KMA is located in Katonah, New York, a hamlet in the Town of Bedford with a rich historical past and a vibrant present. Katonah is a walkable town with main street vitality, a burgeoning gallery scene, and an abundance of community-organized cultural programming. It is also home to the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts and the John Jay Homestead, and is positioned as a gateway to the Hudson Valley.

PRIMARY FUNCTION

Reporting to Michelle Yun Mapplethorpe, the Director and Chief Curator of the Katonah Museum of Art, the Director of Institutional Advancement will partner with her in stewarding all aspects of the organization’s philanthropic, cultivation, communications, and marketing efforts. A successful candidate will have a strong fundraising background, excellent interpersonal and written communication skills and a keen ability to prioritize within a dynamic work environment. They will serve as a key member of the Museum’s leadership team and as an important liaison to the community.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Role and Responsibilities:

Development and Board of Trustees

• Develop and implement creative strategies to achieve an annual fundraising target of $3.5 million, mostly across Individual and Institutional sources.
• In partnership with the Director and Chief Curator, manage annual Trustee, Emeriti, and Director’s Circle giving goals and related programming, including cultivation of new members, planning and execution of annual study trips, and other monthly program offerings.
• Manage Trustee, Committee, and Emeriti meetings and events.
• Cultivate and steward upper-level donors. Oversee research to identify prospective donors.
• Manage and track revenue. Work with ED and Deputy Director to create annual Museum budget.
• Work with a freelance grant writer to oversee and maintain the Institutional Grants calendar and to identify new opportunities. Craft and edit funding proposals, track reporting deadlines, and submit grant applications and reports. Set up opportunities for the Director and Chief Curator to engage with Foundation program officers and leadership.
• Work with Administrative, Curatorial, and Education staff to find opportunities to maximize fundraising.
• Lead appropriate stewardship and reporting for funded projects .

Marketing and Membership

• Oversee the Membership Program and work with development and marketing staff to conduct an audit of current Membership offerings.
• Oversee planning and execution of all Member events and benefit fulfillment.
• Create elevated offerings for Members that reflect current trends and best practices.
• Oversee writing of copy for the website and marketing.
• Collaborate with Curatorial and other Museum staff to write press releases.
• Support and attend public programs and events, including on nights and weekends.
• Perform other administrative responsibilities as needed.

Management

• Mentor and manage development and marketing staff of 2 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees to achieve heightened levels of success
• Oversee Development staff as they organize and maintain the eTapestry donor & member database and conduct a database assessment
• Work with Marketing staff to create an overarching plan for electronic and print-based marketing, including a plan for e-newsletters, social media, calendar listings, and print-based advertising.
• Strategize needs and future hires within the department

Events

• Work with colleagues across the Museum to create a calendar for cultivation events and rental opportunities.
• Supervise fundraising events, including the KMA’s annual Gala and Himmel Award and Lecture.
• Work with colleagues to plan a robust slate of other cultivation events.

Critical Competencies for Success:

• Track record of setting strategy to moving individual members, donors and family foundations along the giving continuum
• Experience raising the profile of an organization within its community as well as nationally
• History of managing and modeling behaviors to maximize team performance

Ideal Skills and Experience:

• B.A. in related field and minimum of ten years of philanthropic and development experience at a nonprofit institution, with demonstrated track record of securing major gifts from Individuals, Foundations, and Government entities as well as experience leading and mentoring a team.
• Strategic thinker with excellent verbal and written skills.
• Familiarity with art world, its donors and institutional funders
• Facility with donor database management and reporting, preferably eTapestry.
• Collegial team player: ability to balance multiple projects simultaneously.
• Exceptional project management skills, including budgeting and planning.

Other Characteristics:

The successful candidate will be dedicated to the mission of the KMA with the experience to lead its philanthropic, marketing and membership programs. The placement will be entrepreneurial with the desire to lead and work in a transparent team environment, partnering with other members of the staff to enhance the philanthropic function of the Katonah Museum of Art and to create a consistent communications strategy for philanthropy and the organization. The Director of Institutional Advancement will be passionate about the cultural opportunities KMA offers to the community of the region and will be able to effectively communicate this enthusiasm to peers and funders, thereby expanding KMA’s relationships.

The placement should work well with others, modelling collaboration and exercising good judgment in terms of leveraging resources and targeting communications channels and donors. The Director of Institutional Advancement will be savvy about forming new partnerships and deepening relationships with existing partners and donors. The candidate will be at ease with collaborating both internally with staff and externally with public entities, thereby deepening donor connectedness and loyalty while advancing the organization’s larger mission and programmatic goals. The ability to troubleshoot, think creatively, and represent KMA effectively are key attributes. The Director of Institutional Advancement will be a team player who understands the dynamics of working within a small, well-established and productive team that is constantly dependent on and accountable to one another. The placement will be confident and know how to enable and mentor a team to perform at the highest level and achieve the best possible outcomes. The Director of Institutional Advancement will be a sharp, sophisticated leader with a sense of humor who can articulate KMA’s mission to external audiences and have the strategic capacity to design a fundraising and communications plan to successfully advance the mission and grow the support of the Katonah Museum of Art.