K. Russo Consulting has been retained by the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to identify the Director of Foundation and Government Support.
Career Opportunities
About New Jersey Performing Arts Center:
NJPAC is the anchor cultural institution for the city of Newark and the state of New Jersey. As a nonprofit arts organization, we enhance and transform lives every day. We delight audiences with world-class performances, nurture students through our education programs, and engage our community with free events and festivals across the city. Whoever you are, and wherever you’re from, you’ll find a creative home here. Click to read more.
NJPAC is proud to be the most diverse performing arts center in the nation, from our artists, to our audiences, to our staff and students.
As one of the largest arts education providers in America, NJPAC brings the life-enhancing power of the arts to the children who need it most. Click to read more.
We’ve engaged over 9,500,000 people since our opening in 1997.
Director of Foundation and Government Support
SUMMARY:
Working closely with the VP of Development, and collaborating with senior leaders across the organization, the Director of Foundation and Government Support will be responsible for ensuring that NJPAC builds and maintains strong, lasting relationships with institutional funders and prospects. The Director of Foundation and Government Support will serve as the lead architect and strategist for NJPAC’s foundation and government fundraising and help drive the strategic direction of foundation/government fundraising efforts for the organization. The Director of Foundation and Government Support will serve as a senior member of a high-performing, adaptive NJPAC team of fundraising professionals.
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES:
● Develop, implement, and oversee a multi-year foundation and government funding strategy in annual and campaign support that advances NJPAC’s mission, vision, values, and program and strategic priorities.
● Oversee and grow an existing portfolio of approximately 30 foundation, corporate foundation and government donors, as well as a portfolio of philanthropic advisors / liaisons that support family foundations, donors advised funds, and community foundations. Oversee solicitation calendar.
● Initiate and lead local, regional, and national fundraising calls and visits, including staffing leadership and colleagues in preparation for meetings.
● Responsible for setting and meeting annual operating and campaign fundraising goals for foundation and government funding, progressively increasing year over year revenue from new and existing major donors
● Thoughtfully engage leading foundations and thought leaders around the major pillars of NJPAC’s strategic plan and create energy and demand in the marketplace for major leadership philanthropic investments in NJPAC.
● Leverage and align NJPAC’s leadership, talent, assets, and values with world class philanthropic partnership opportunities.
● Compose, edit, and finalize high quality and compelling written materials for foundation funders, including LOIs, concept papers, proposals, financial documents, and grant reports.
● Configure financial budgets for proposals and reports
● Manage Manager of Foundation and Government Funding
NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND GROWTH:
● Oversee and implement an extensive prospect research and engagement strategy with a regional/national scope to identify and prioritize new leads for foundation and government funding sources.
● Work across departments and engage with senior leadership to create and implement a growth and partnership strategy that drives significant new foundation/government revenue to NJPAC and advances the organization’s ability to achieve impact.
● Proactively leverage NJPAC Board, Women @ NJPAC board and leadership committees to support and advance prospecting and solicitation.
● Attend state and regional industry conferences and events to network, keep abreast of industry trends and raise the profile of NJPAC within the business community.
● Work cross-departmentally to craft unique funding packages that attract sponsors and donors, including mainstage programming, community engagement activities, arts education and real estate development.
PERFORMANCE QUALIFICATIONS:
● Bachelor’s degree required.
● 7-10 years demonstrated and progressively responsible management experience in foundation and institutional support.
● Highly motivated strategic thinker with exceptional written, verbal communication and analytical/ financial skills.
● Strong ability to motivate and develop a team, including fostering an entrepreneurial work environment that encourages collaboration, achievement and optimizes team performance.
● Proven experience in creating new opportunities, managing change, leading growth and executing innovative, sustainable initiatives.
● Autonomous and thoughtful approach to problem-solving
● Ability to build relationships and consensus across internal and external stakeholders.
● Superior organizational and project management skills, financial business acumen, and sales and networking skills.
● Strong technology skills, including proficiency in Word and Excel. Experience with customer relation software and databases preferred.
● Strong interest in the arts and philanthropy sector, particularly in New Jersey/New York metro area.
● Excellent project management with an ability to implement systems and follow-up processes.
● Proactive, solutions-based, positive and mature individual.
ATTRIBUTES:
● Integrity
● Flexibility
● Perseverance
● Curiosity
● Detail orientation
● Maturity
● Diligence
● Transparency
Interested in hearing more, please email your resume and compensation requirements to jwilson@krussoconsulting.com