Senior Director, Development

The Senior Director works in close partnership with the Assistant General Manager, Development, and is responsible for leading the work of four key areas that together raise over $30 million: the Patron Program and Young Associates, Membership and Individual Giving, Foundations and Government, and Corporate giving. With an eye toward elevating and enhancing the fundraising capabilities of all these programs, the Senior Director works as a right-hand partner to the Assistant General Manager of Development and also in close coordination with the three other senior leaders of the department for Major Gifts, Planned Giving, and Special Events.

• Develop strategic plans to increase overall contributed revenue for the Met with a focus on areas that are challenged by shifting demographics and investment strategies. The aging donor base in individual giving requires focused work to expand these programs; corporate giving continues to face headwinds that the Met is uniquely poised to counteract
• Work closely with the Director, Patron & Young Associates Giving to manage the activities of the Patron Chairman and National Patron Chairman.
• Manage and mentor full time staff of 17 and 2 part-time member room associates.
• Work closely with Director of Membership & Individual Giving to plan a strategy for direct marketing, web, and text channels to acquire, renew, and retain donors
• Collaborate with marketing team to integrate membership and contributions appeals into ticket brochures, marketing emails, and on the website.
• Work closely with the Chairman, Corporate Special Projects and the Director, Sponsorship & Corporate Relations to cultivate and pitch proposals to current and prospective corporate sponsors to fund new productions, revivals, capital projects, media programs, PR and marketing programs, audience development programs, and education programs
• Manage the Director, Foundation & Government Relations and select lobbyists to identify, cultivate and prepare proposals for current and prospective foundation grants.
• Manage portfolio of individual donors with an eye toward increased engagement
• Host Patrons and guests at events.
• Maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues across the organization to coordinate and execute philanthropic initiatives.
• Develop and manage specific funding goals with key performance indicators tied to each funding goal; measure these quarterly benchmarks for achieving these goals
• Over time, develop strategies for increased national and international funding support

• Minimum of 10+ years of experience in a senior position with success in fundraising for a large institution is preferred.
• Undergraduate degree required; graduate degree in related field preferred.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills including the ability to draft major proposals and other written documents for publication quickly and with great accuracy
• Knowledge of database reports and financial systems; comfort with budgeting and income and expense projections, experience with Tessitura a plus
• Demonstrated innovation and creativity in developing and implementing new business initiatives and partnerships
• Ability to manage a broad and varied business portfolio and understand the business drivers for each sector
• Ability to engage with senior leaders in a range of corporate sectors
• Strong staff management experience

• Diplomacy, tact and ability to skillfully handle donor situations
• Superior organizational/time management skills
• Ability to work quickly and adapt readily to changes in priorities
• Requires some late evenings for cultivation activities
• Regularly required to sit, talk, and hear
• Frequently required to use repetitive hand motion and to stand, walk, reach, bend
• Occasionally required to lift up to 20 pounds.

The Metropolitan Opera believes that diversity is critical to our success and growth as a leading performing arts institution and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities we serve.

The Metropolitan Opera is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and existing employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, citizenship status, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, or any protected category prohibited by local, state or federal laws.