Explore the detailed job description and the application instructions for the open position of Director of Development for the Arts in the Office of the Provost.
Director of Development for the Arts, Office of the Provost
Download the full job description (PDF)
Job Summary
The Director of Arts Development will work closely with the Vice Provost and leaders of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST), the MIT List Visual Arts Center, and the MIT Museum to advance their missions and raise philanthropic support for the next phase of the Arts at MIT. The new MIT Museum, opened in Kendall Square in 2022, is entering a period of geometric growth; the List Visual Arts Center is mounting a significant campaign; and after a decade of rapid growth as a startup, CAST is poised to secure long-term funding. The Future of the Arts at MIT Committee is developing ambitious goals for the Arts at MIT. The director will play a crucial role in implementing and supporting this vision.
Working in close collaboration with the directors and fundraising staff in each arts unit, faculty throughout the arts sector, and colleagues in central Resource Development, the director identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards prospective donors–individuals, foundations, and corporations–capable of making major gifts to the arts. The director has a thorough understanding of the missions and priorities of the sector and creates comprehensive cultivation plans and solicitation strategies to achieve sustainable growth in philanthropic contributions to the arts.
Must be willing to travel up to 30% of the time. Occasional evening and weekend work is required. This is a hybrid position with a combination of on-campus and remote work.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Strategic Direction and Execution
- Serves as a key advisor to the Vice Provost with responsibility for the non-curricular arts, the Executive Director of Arts Initiatives, the Director of the List Visual Arts Center, and the Director of the MIT Museum in developing fundraising priorities and strategies, in alignment with the overall goals and missions of the individual units.
- Works with fundraising staff in the individual units to implement strategic development plans to raise endowment, expendable gifts, foundation grants, or other revenue that supports the arts units in the sector.
- Serves as key liaison to MIT Resource Development to ensure strategic alignment between arts sector goals and campaign priorities as well as individual donor
relationships.
- Serves as key liaison to Foundation and Corporate Relations to identify and cultivate support from external foundations and organizations. Collaborates with leadership, staff in individual units, and contract grant writers to prepare proposals.
- Works with directors, faculty, and staff assigned strategic priorities to translate fundraising goals into action plans, including drafting proposals to individuals,
corporations, and foundations to support gifts for their initiatives.
- Develops a deep understanding of the broad range of programs in each unit, with the goal of matching their work with potential funders.
- Manages a portfolio of key organizational and individual prospects. Identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards current and potential donors, in close coordination with leadership and fundraising staff in individual units as well as relationship managers in central Resource Development.
- Strategically organizes meetings and travels individually or with sector leaders, fundraising staff, faculty, or volunteers to cultivate and solicit gifts.
- Works with leadership and fundraising colleagues to create, develop, and execute donor relations and stewardship strategies.
- In collaboration with leadership, advises events staff on the planning and execution of special fundraising events, including but not limited to the Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT gala.
- Working with communications officers in the individual units, advises on the creation of collateral for use in fundraising.
- Advises on donor recognition executed by the individual units, including communications, and participates in events to cultivate prospective donors or
acknowledge current major donors.
Analysis and Reporting
- Oversees development of contact and research reports.
- Analyzes giving trends and recommends target strategies for increasing support.
- Documents all donor interactions in a timely fashion, using MIT Advancement database.
- In collaboration with local fundraising staff, prepares prospect research briefings and background materials for leaders.
Other Duties
- Performs other related duties as needed or assigned.
Supervision Received: This position reports to the Vice Provost with responsibility for the arts, in the extra-academic arts sector. Supervision is minimal and the director of development works collaboratively with the Vice Provost, individual directors in the sector, and the fundraising staff who report to them. The individual directors in the sector provide input to the annual performance review of the Director of Development for the Arts.
Supervision Exercised: This position has functional management of individual fundraising staff in each of the sectors and works in close coordination with them, especially on cultivation and solicitation of major gifts. Provides input to annual performance reviews of all fundraising staff in the sector.
Qualifications
Qualifications and Skills (Minimum Required Education and Experience):
- Bachelor’s degree.
- Minimum seven years of experience in front-line fundraising or annual giving fundraising, preferably in an arts organization, or resource development in higher
education, or equivalent setting.
- Record of securing six and seven-figure gifts in a fast-paced environment.
- Demonstrated accomplishment in a position requiring independent planning and efficient utilization of time and resources.
- Ability to work in a highly collaborative and team-based environment is essential.
- Ability to prioritize and balance complex and sometimes competing goals from multiple stakeholders.
- Excellent strategic, verbal, and writing skills.
- Demonstrated interpersonal and communications skills, including confidentiality, tact, and diplomacy in working with a variety of constituencies (donors, leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni, volunteers, and visiting artists).
Technical Skills:
- Experience with Ellucian Advance Web or other enterprise fundraising systems.
- Thorough knowledge of collaborative software (Google Suite, Microsoft Teams) and Apple computing environment.
- Familiarity with data tracking software (e.g. CRMs, AirTable) or willingness to learn.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree or specialized fundraising training.
- Experience with major campaigns in a non-profit organization.
- Experience with major arts donors.
How to Apply
Visit careers.mit.edu; search for job ID 24364
MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.
More about the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology
More about the
Council for the Arts at MIT
\\ ITEMS BELOW ARE HIDDEN
Senior Producer
Posted August 20, 2024
Oversee visiting artist residencies, public programs, exhibitions, installations, and performances for the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST).
Director of Development for the Arts
Posted August 27, 2024
Raise philanthropic support for the next phase of the
Arts at MIT, and advance the missions of the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology, MIT List Visual Arts Center, and MIT Museum.
Senior Producer, Arts at MIT
Job Summary
Under minimal supervision, designs, develops, and oversees visiting artist residencies, public programs, exhibitions, installations, and performances for the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST).
In partnership with the director of the Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT), participates in strategic planning for donor events, including an annual meeting, managing the operations, logistics, and staffing. Provides advanced strategizing, project management, logistical planning, onsite management, and coordination with faculty, researchers, and staff for arts initiatives that reach throughout the Institute, including the biennial Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT.
Oversees production teams for campus-wide programs for the Arts at MIT, including arts festivals, student arts programs, grants programs, and related arts activities. Supervises a team of full-time producers and part-time staff as needed. Identifies, hires, and supervises contract employees and external vendors as necessary. Researches, writes, and creates media materials to promote the arts at MIT, in collaboration with the Arts Communications team.
Occasional evening and weekend work is required. This is a hybrid position with a combination of on-campus and remote work. Work may require moving objects weighing 10 to 20 lbs. Work will require rapidly moving from site to site, sometimes over long distances.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST)
- Collaborates closely with the Executive Director and Faculty Director to implement the mission of CAST.
- Works closely with the Executive Director, faculty, researchers, administrators, staff, and students in related departments, labs, and centers (DLCs) to design, plan, and execute Visiting Artist residencies and other CAST programs, including exhibitions, installations, performances, and public programs (8-14 per year).
- Supervises a team of three full-time producers, as well as part-time and temporary staff as needed, offering coaching in all aspects of event production.
- Responsible for artist agreements, artist and agent relationships, and visas when necessary, working with producers and staff in Contracts, Technology Licensing Office, Office of the General Counsel, International Scholars Office, and other relevant entities.
- Develops, negotiates, and monitors budgets for Visiting Artists, Distinguished Visiting Artists, and faculty grants, in collaboration with the Financial and Operations Manager.
- Principal responsibility for determining logistical and staffing requirements for individual projects, both short- and long-term, monitoring performance, recommending procedures for successful execution, and assessing outcomes.
- Production lead for international symposia, working closely with Executive Director and faculty to plan the scope and format of the programs, create and monitor budgets, communicate with participants and attendees, and coordinate teams that implement and manage logistics, venue, travel, audio visual, and registration.
- Coordinate the CAST Selection Committee and grants process with administrative support from relevant staff.
- Write original content to document CAST Visiting Artist programs and other projects.
- Coordinate records and data of CAST funding and programming for internal and external purposes with administrative support from relevant staff, including tracking student engagement, audience metrics, completion reports, and survey results.
- Represents CAST by meeting with visiting scholars and external arts professionals to explain CAST’s mission and programming.
Council for the Arts at MIT (CAMIT)
- Working closely with the CAMIT Director, strategically designs and plans events for CAMIT members (a donor and volunteer organization of ~70 to 100 members), including the annual meeting and other special events.
- Principal responsibility for logistical planning, venue coordination, staffing, and onsite management for CAMIT meetings and events, including supervision of external vendors and staff as needed.
- Supervision of production or support staff for CAMIT Executive Committee and other committee meetings.
Special Projects and Other Duties
- Arts Festival (Spring 2025)
- Serves as a key advisor to faculty co-leads and Executive Director to design, curate, and develop a campus-wide arts festival commissioned by the Office of the Provost.
- Lead producer and project management for the festival, coordinating more than 30 concerts, installations, exhibitions, performances, workshops, and other events spanning March 2025 (future years, TBD).
- Oversee a team of producers, part-time and temporary staff, external vendors, volunteers, and student workers to plan and execute the events.
- Principal liaison to the arts communication team and external design firm for information about participants and events; coordination of logistics for documentation.
- Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT
- Working closely with the Executive Director, design, plan, and implement the residency, campus visit(s), and public program for the biennial Eugene McDermott Award in the Arts at MIT, coordinating with relevant faculty and student groups.
- Working closely with the Director of CAMIT and external vendors, oversee logistics for the gala and award ceremony for the McDermott Award.
- CAST x MIT Museum
- Principal production liaison for the CAST x MIT Museum collaboration, coordinating with curatorial, exhibition development, and engagement teams to deliver installations, exhibitions, and programming.
- Present or co-present campus-wide arts programs, collaborating with the MIT Museum; List Visual Arts Center; School of Architecture and Planning; School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; the Office of the Vice President for Institute Affairs, Open Space Programming, and other DLCs.
- Provides high level oversight and strategic guidance for producers assigned to student arts programs, including Arts Scholars, Arts Startup Incubator, and other activities.
- Performs other related duties as required, including work performed at lower levels, when necessary.
Supervision Received: This position reports to the Executive Director of Arts Initiatives and the MIT Center for Art, Science & Technology (CAST) in the Office of the Provost.
Supervision Exercised: This position manages three full-time producers and temporary producers and other event support staff as needed, including functional management of external vendors.
Qualifications
Qualifications and Skills (Minimum Required Education and Experience):
- Bachelor’s degree.
- At least five years of leadership experience in arts programming, event management, or visual and performing arts curation.
- Demonstrated portfolio of managing high profile events.
- Demonstrated experience leading teams with a range of expertise to execute complex, multi-faceted events.
- Excellent ability to develop, manage, and monitor complex budgets for events.
- Excellent organizational and time-management skills.
- Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal skills.
- Creativity, initiative, flexibility, and ability to work well under pressure.
- Ability to manage projects across multiple departments, disciplines, and personnel at MIT.
- Ability and willingness to work independently and as part of a team.
Technical Skills:
- Thorough knowledge of the Apple computing environment and related software.
- Familiarity with web content management systems (WordPress preferred), Adobe Creative Suite, Airtable, Dropbox, Excel, and Google Suite, or willingness to learn.
- Familiarity with presentation software such as Keynote, PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Adobe Professional Suite.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Masters degree in visual arts or related field.
- Demonstrated experience with high profile events in a university or nonprofit setting.
- Proven ability to identify, hire, and manage external vendors.
How to Apply
Visit careers.mit.edu; search for job ID 24345
MIT is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.
