Description

Is your next professional chapter about making a lasting difference in the arts through thoughtful, strategic giving? The University of Florida’s Harn Museum of Art is seeking an inspiring fundraising leader to serve as Associate Director of Development or Director of Advancement. As the museum’s fundraising lead, this pivotal role will shape and execute a wide range of initiatives to support the museum’s mission and growth. From launching a new paid membership program to enhancing planned giving and stewarding mid-level and major gift donors, the Associate Director/Director will directly impact the museum’s future. This role also oversees day-to-day fundraising operations, including donor engagement, in-kind gift strategy, and the creation of compelling materials that share the Harn’s story. If you are energized by impact in the academic museum field, this is your opportunity to lead with purpose.

The Associate Director of Development or Director of Advancement will design, implement and oversee a broad range of fundraising initiatives for the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida. The primary focus will be on identifying and cultivating donors for mid-level and major gifts, with the goal of meeting or exceeding both individual and departmental targets. In collaboration with the Director of the Harn Museum, this role will help identify key strategic initiatives and pinpoint potential donors to fund those projects.

This position reports dually to the Director of the Harn Museum of Art and the Executive Director of Advancement of Family & Campus Development. It plays a crucial role in developing a new paid membership program, enhancing the planned giving program, and collaborating with leadership to secure support for capital campaigns.  This role oversees an intuitional annual giving program for corporate sponsorships, foundation grants and individual giving.  

Additionally, the Associate Director/Director will oversee all aspects of the Harn's day-to-day fundraising activities, including providing assistance to donors and staff on in-kind gifts (such as art), contributing to the development of promotional materials that convey Harn’s story to donors and prospects, and engaging the Harn’s community through special events and ongoing programs.

Portfolio Management

• Actively work with the Director of the Harn Museum of Art and the Executive Director of Advancement to develop, implement and sustain a comprehensive multi-year fundraising plan; assist in establishing a new major gifts program for the Harn by effectively building a pipeline of major-giving prospects to ensure future success of the museum.  
• Develop, activate, and deliver on a collaborative fundraising plan with the Harn and UF Advancement (UFA) that addresses the needs of each prospective donor, segmented by type (individual, corporate, government, foundation), level (donor levels, various major gift levels, planned giving), and fund (unrestricted annual operating and restricted for specific purposes, including programming, capital and endowment).
• Identify the best people to help pursue the top prospects, help schedule meetings and/or cultivation/solicitation events and provide guidance and strategy.
• Responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of mid-level and major gift prospects where gifts are assessed at $25,000 and above.
• Focus on individual, corporate, and foundation prospects where funding is assessed at $10,000+.
• Strategically manage relationships through face-to-face visits, following best practice and steps to identify, learn donor passions and align interests with the Harn’s priorities.
• Acknowledge and recognize gifts in ways that are meaningful to donors and appropriate to the mission, vision, and values of the Harn and UF Advancement.

Program Oversight 

• Develop a long-range (2-3 year) strategy for annual giving, membership, sponsorship and various fundraising projects with the goal of increasing member and donor, participation in coordination with the Harn and UFA.
• Oversee communications for direct mail appeals, personalized letters to donors and potential donors, fundraising brochures, proposals, tailored pledge forms for the Director and senior staff of the Museum.
• Implement standards for stewardship, donor recognition, and exhibition sponsorship benefits.
• Contribute to Harn’s social media presence and strategy to strengthen the online giving program for the Museum.
• Oversee member and donor events
• Prepare reports and interpret data to continually update the Harn’s fundraising plan.

Key Stakeholder Connection, Communication, & Engagement

• Assist in developing and implementing a comprehensive communications plan in concert with Harn Marketing & Public Relations, UF Advancement’s Strategic Communications, Marketing & Engagement (SCME) and Prospect Strategy & Research teams that inform local, regional, national and international audiences, including members, friends and UF alumni.  
• Work with the Museum Director’s Office to develop strong relationships with the Harn National Council, an advisory board to the Harn. Develop, plan and implement programs to engage UF alumni with the Harn Museum.
• Collaborate with the UF Advancement’s SCME team and the Harn’s Marketing & PR department to share updates about the museum’s fundraising and strategic goals; highlight gifts and donor impact stories through the various channels, including the Harn’s website, social media, email and newsletters, etc.
• Work with Alumni Relations & Annual Giving team to incorporate the Harn with alumni efforts across the university.
• Serve as the Harn liaison for UF Alumni Relations.

Management

• Collaborate with the Director and museum leadership/financial staff to prepare fundraising budget projections and provide regular updates on the status of fundraising efforts, including the Harn Annual Fund, exhibitions and other special projects.
• Effectively manage the Harn development office incorporating the Harn’s mission, vision and values as described in the museum’s strategic plan.  
• Lead in the creation and promotion of a philanthropic culture of giving at the Harn.
• Oversee internship opportunities, work with development staff to update intern project descriptions as needed and facilitate opportunities for interns to engage in day-to-day fundraising activities.
• Attend meetings of the Museum and UF Advancement, as needed.

To help foster deeper collaboration efforts and meaningful engagement with donors, leadership and staff of the museum as well as members of our advancement community, this will be an onsite position based in Gainesville, Florida.

Harn Art Museum
The University of Florida’s Harn Museum of Art’s mission is to inspire, educate and enrich people’s lives through art. The Harn uses the power of the visual arts to open conversations about our shared cultural history and pressing contemporary issues through exhibitions, collections, scholarship and programming of the highest caliber.  

The Harn Museum of Art features ten galleries, each dedicated to one of its core collecting areas: African art, Asian art, modern and contemporary art, and photography. With a collection of 13,300 artworks, the museum is recognized for creating high-quality, relevant exhibitions—many of which have traveled across the United States. Since opening its doors, the Harn has welcomed over 2.5 million visitors.  Learn more at: harn.ufl.edu/ 

University of Florida
At the University of Florida, we are feeding communities, healing coastlines, exploring space, curing diseases, powering cities, building industries, and imagining wonders.  As the state’s most comprehensive university, UF is a land, sea, and space grant institution with ties to every Florida county, a top academic medical center, and much more.  The ideas born here gather steam and make tangible impacts. Florida is among the nation’s leaders in technology transfer, turning discoveries into companies, products, and jobs. Come join us—let’s see where we can go together.

Requirements

Associate Director - Master's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and one year or relevant experience; or a bachelor's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and three years of relevant experience.

Director - Master’s degree in appropriate area of specialization and three years of appropriate experience in Development or a related field; or a bachelor’s degree in appropriate areas of specialization and five years of experience in Development or a related field.  One year of supervisory experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate will possess:

• At least 3-5 years of major gift fundraising experience with documented success in cultivating and soliciting major gifts of $25k and above from individual and corporate prospects with campaign experience. 
• Prior experience in a college or university setting, enthusiasm for fundraising in a comprehensive research university, and the desire to work collegially within a goal-oriented fundraising organization.
• Prior experience fundraising in an art museum. 
• Knowledge of fundraising principles, methods, and standards.
• Expertise in developing solicitation strategies.
• Ability to work with the broadest demographic of people.
• Ability to construct, articulate, and implement an annual strategic development plan.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent time management.
• Ability to plan, organize, coordinate, document and complete work assignments.
• Ability to understand and apply applicable rules, regulations, policies and procedures of the UF Advancement, Museum and UF.
• Socially adept and sensitive to needs for confidentiality.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
• Capable of working both independently and as a team player who will productively engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside the organization.
• Competency in problem solving.
• Proficient in the following areas: Windows operating systems, Microsoft Word, Excel, and Access, as well as internet browsers and email platforms. Familiarity with donor databases, contact management systems, and tracking systems is also highly preferred.
• The ability and willingness to travel.  A valid driver’s license and good driving record are essential. 

How to Apply

Apply at: https://explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/537347/museum-associate-director-of-development-museum-director-of-advancement. Include with application: a resume and a cover letter to include a brief statement (300 words or less) describing your most successful major-gift campaign and at least one example of a creative stewardship or cultivation strategy.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.