Advancement Director - Year Round

Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership

Job Posting: Advancement Director - April 2026

Hurricane Island Center for Science and Leadership (Hurricane Island) is a transformative education and research community located twelve miles off the coast of Rockland, Maine in an exquisite Penobscot Bay setting. The position of Advancement Director is based out of Rockland, Maine and leads the organization’s fundraising and marketing efforts to build on the successful growth trajectory of a relatively young and dynamic organization. The Advancement Director plays a central role in moving our innovative science education and marine research programs forward while positively impacting the local and regional marine ecosystems.

The Advancement Director reports to the Executive Director and is supported by a motivated leadership team to achieve our mission: “ Integrating scientific research and education on a Maine coastal island to develop leaders prepared to address environmental issues in a rapidly changing world.” The Advancement Director leads a skilled development and marketing team focused on growing the organization’s vision. This position is an exciting opportunity to join an organization that is building programs to challenge students and researchers to create innovative solutions for a sustainable world.

This is an exempt year round position reporting directly to the Executive Director and is supported by an engaged Board of Directors who actively support advancing the organization’s goals. This position will lead all fundraising, donor cultivation, grant identification, event planning, internal and external messaging, and overall management of Hurricane Island’s development and marketing efforts. The Advancement Director oversees the organization’s visual, print, and social media marketing and works in close collaboration across all departments and with the Board of Directors to grow program revenue. The Advancement Director is integrated into the day-to-day operations and helps Hurricane Island maintain our collaborative and intentional community.

A successful candidate must be well-organized, flexible, and able to function in a dynamic working environment. Additional responsibilities to what is described here may be required, as needed.

Responsibilities & Expectations

• Work in partnership with the Executive Director and an engaged Board Advancement Committee on all fundraising initiatives. This team will grow our annual appeal from its solid foundation, raise extensive capital funds to improve our island campus facility, and expand our successful grant program to support an ambitious research agenda.


• Oversee communications and storytelling efforts that support Hurricane Island’s fundraising and program visibility.


• Clearly articulate the mission and vision of Hurricane Island to our supporters, highlighting our work with students, educators, scientists, researchers, and the wider community. 


• Develop and implement a strategic approach for organizational growth that leverages both fundraising and marketing efforts.


• Supervise an Advancement team composed of an Advancement Specialist, Outreach Manager, Grants & Events Manager, and seasonal staff charged with expanding our donor relations.


• Expand a robust pool of annual fund and capital donors through distributing regular organizational updates, writing personal letters, donor visits, and extending invitations to visit Hurricane Island island.


• Steward Hurricane Island's established planned giving program while creatively expanding the effort to include a robust range of participants.


• Oversee the organization’s grant writing, submission, acknowledgement, and tracking processes.


• Create budgets, manage expenses, and reconcile gift and financial reports.

Essential Qualifications

• Experience working for a non profit organization in an advancement (development, marketing) leadership position managing both people and processes.


• Employment history of successfully developing and implementing fundraising campaigns and planned giving programs.
  


• Success conceptualizing and producing marketing campaigns across multiple platforms (print, online, in person meetings, advertising, etc.).


• Experience managing a portfolio of large donors including individuals, private foundations and corporations.


• Skills creating presentation materials and delivering in person or online presentations.


• Experience producing special events.


• Background in interviewing, hiring, managing, developing staff with a demonstrated understanding of general human resource requirements and related administrative tasks.


• Proficiency with Google Office suite (calendars, shared drives, docs, sheets), Excel, organizing and facilitating meetings (in person and online), and creating financial reports.


• Demonstrated initiative to identify and complete projects and work independently or as part of a team with minimal supervision.


• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills.


• Travel on boats to/from and work from Hurricane Island, as well as travel throughout New England, including overnights when necessary.


• Authorized to lawfully work in the United States.

Preferred Additional Qualifications

• Proficiency with donor database platforms.


• Experience working in non profit organizations that are focused on education, marine science, research, or climate-driven concerns.


• Experience working and/or living in remote locations and shared office spaces.


• Wilderness medical certification such as Wilderness First Responder (WFR) is helpful, but not required. Hurricane Island pays for any staff who take WFR certification or re-certification courses.


• Experience working with diverse communities, including racial and ethnic minority groups, English language learners, urban youth, low-income and immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with special needs, and other groups underrepresented in environmental education.

Compensation

The Advancement Director is a year round salaried exempt position with benefits. Starting pay is commensurate with experience ($70,000-$95,000). Hurricane Island offers a competitive compensation package that includes paid time off, sick days, paid holidays, and a matching retirement package. Hurricane Island also covers 100% of the costs for employee medical, dental, life, and short term disability insurance. Rustic housing and meals on Hurricane Island are provided when working from or attending on-island meetings, overnight events, and training during the island season (April - October).

Required Application Materials: All interested applicants must apply online via Hurricane Island’s application portal on the employment page of our website: https://www.hurricaneisland.net/employment We will review applications until the position has been filled. The online application process will require the following materials:

• Cover letter explaining your interest in this position and your relevant experience.


• Resumé or CV, which includes contact information for at least three references.


• Copies of any relevant certifications or training experience.

Hurricane Island provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Hurricane Island is licensed with the State of Maine as a Limited Purpose private school working with middle and high school students. Any employment with Hurricane Island is contingent on fingerprinted background checks through the Maine Department of Education for all employees.