Major Gift Officer

Over the last 20 years, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has distinguished itself as one of the fastest-growing art museums in North America. Founded in 1799, it is also the country's oldest continuously operating museum. Under supervision of the Director of Major Gifts, the Major Gift Officer will support the Major Gifts Team on all aspects of fundraising for major gifts and initiatives. This individual will manage a specific portfolio of major gift prospects and donors locally, nationally and globally to identify and cultivate their interest in the museum to successfully meet annual goals, objectives and metrics for philanthropic support.

The Major Gift Officer must develop a deep understanding of PEM's unique mission, history, current strengths, and future ambitions and build effective working relationships with staff, curators, trustees, and volunteers. Working in collaboration with development colleagues as well as trustees, advisors, and volunteers, the Major Gift Officer will strengthen relationships with current donors and identify and engage new potential donors. They will develop and implement strategies for cultivating and successfully soliciting these donors for major gifts.

Major Gift Officer responsibilities include:

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  Identifies, qualifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards individual prospects toward the goal of securing philanthropic support.

  
  
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  Interacts with donors on a regular basis; adheres to the highest ethical standards; demonstrates empathetic disposition and perseverance, and reflects an optimistic and positive attitude.

  
  
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  Conducts 10-15 visits monthly and produces timely contact reports that include a visit summary with relevant next-steps.

  
  
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  Meets with internal personnel, and on occasion with trustees, advisors, and other volunteers as representative of the Museum.

  
  
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  Works on occasion with trustees, advisors, and volunteers to solicit individual donors; accompanies volunteers on prospect visits.

  
  
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  Prepares solicitation letters, correspondence, proposals, and reports for use by internal staff, trustees, advisors, donors, and volunteers.

  
  
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  Assists in planning and attending cultivation events and other special events for major gift prospects.

  
  
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  Tracks all prospect and donor contacts and moves management on Tessitura database system.

  
  
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  Works collaboratively with museum staff and volunteer leaders on the identification, cultivation and solicitation of planned gifts and gifts of art for the museum.

  
  
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  Ability and willingness to work evenings, weekends and conduct travel as needed.

  
  

The ideal candidate will have a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree in a relevant field with a background in art and/or art history with a minimum of 5 years experience in direct one-to-one solicitation preferred. Candidate is experienced and comfortable in working independently to identify, qualify and cultivate potential donors, and has the ability to work collaboratively with the Development team to solicit gifts that align with key museum priorities. This candidate should also have proficiency in Tessitura Database system or a similar CRM database with project management skills and close attention to detail. Experience managing a personal portfolio and a passion for conveying the world of art, art history, and the Museum's rich cultural history to diverse audiences all while maintaining a mature level of judgment and decision-making in a changing, forward-thinking operation focused environment. The Major Gift Officer will also demonstrate creativity, problem-solving, and planning skills with both internal and external constituencies. Proficiency in Google Workspace, Microsoft Office and other web-hosted services coupled with exemplary interpersonal, oral, written and presentation and skills. This position is a full time role and the hiring range for this role is $71,500 to $85,000 commensurate with experience.

The Major Gift Officer is part of a collaborative, mission-driven team that believes philanthropy is built through authentic relationships, thoughtful partnership, and a spirit of curiosity. We seek a fundraiser who is equally comfortable listening as leading, who approaches donors and colleagues with kindness and respect, and who enjoys learning alongside others. Success in this role comes not only from achieving ambitious fundraising goals, but also from contributing positively to a culture of generosity, shared purpose, and continuous learning.