The Director of Development is a full-time, exempt member of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s (CAMH) senior leadership team who provides leadership, strategic direction, and coordination of the Museum’s Development team and initiatives. This executive role is responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and implementing Museum support programs to attain the financial goals set by the Executive Director and Board of Trustees. The role will partner with the Executive Director and act as a professional advisor to the Board of Trustees on all aspects of development, special events, and in meeting CAMH’s fundraising obligations. The Director of Development takes a proactive role in cultivating and stewarding donor relations; administers the Development department; ensures the accuracy and timeliness of reports to funding sources and the Board of Trustees; assumes a leadership position in strategic and long-range planning; and contributes to the development and implementation of policies that ensure the Museum’s fundraising efforts reinforce and support its mission. The Director of Development may oversee various special projects that further enhance institutional goals.

The role presents significant scope and opportunity for a development professional with an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong belief in the role of artists and the Museum to serve as catalysts of cultural change.

The Director of Development is a full-time, exempt member of Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s (CAMH) senior leadership team who provides leadership, strategic direction, and coordination of the Museum’s Development team and initiatives. This executive role is responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and implementing Museum support programs to attain the financial goals set by the Executive Director and Board of Trustees. The role will partner with the Executive Director and act as a professional advisor to the Board of Trustees on all aspects of development, special events, and in meeting CAMH’s fundraising obligations. The Director of Development takes a proactive role in cultivating and stewarding donor relations; administers the Development department; ensures the accuracy and timeliness of reports to funding sources and the Board of Trustees; assumes a leadership position in strategic and long-range planning; and contributes to the development and implementation of policies that ensure the Museum’s fundraising efforts reinforce and support its mission. The Director of Development may oversee various special projects that further enhance institutional goals.

The role presents significant scope and opportunity for a development professional with an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong belief in the role of artists and the Museum to serve as catalysts of cultural change.

The Director of Development brings insightful and seasoned leadership to CAMH’s Development department, encompassing diverse revenue sources, including major gifts, foundation, governmental support, memberships, and special events. The role offers a rich platform for a passionate development professional to advocate for CAMH’s impactful exhibitions, direct engagement with communities, and initiatives that create new possibilities for artists to work at a civic scale.

The ideal candidate works from a position of deep integrity, curiosity, and ambition. CAMH seeks a leader who balances working in a creative environment with a disciplined approach to managing revenue and cultivation goals.  The role requires fostering a collaborative, influencing style of leadership rooted in care for colleagues and a commitment to the broader success of the Museum. As a key member of the senior leadership team,  this position will manage and advocate for the development department, counsel, and collaborate with the executive director and senior colleagues on strategic goals.

The ideal candidate keenly understands the specific context and opportunities of contemporary and artist-centered organizations—their approach both cultivates trust of artists and care for community. The Director of Development will steward an innovative path for CAMH that elevates artists, authentically engages diverse audiences, and meaningfully engages the public life of our community and city.

Title: Director of Development
Reports to: Executive Director
Direct Reports: Assistant Director of Development, Assistant Director of Special Events, Grant Specialist, and additional staff as assigned.
Status: Full-time, Exempt
Starting Salary Range: $120,000 annually, full benefits; relocation expenses, as required
Schedule: M – F in-person with the option to work remotely one day per week; additional evening and weekend hours per events, occasional travel required

Principle Duties and Responsibilities:
Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Strategy:

• Develop compelling cases for philanthropic support rooted in CAMH’s mission, programs, and strategic plan.
• Create a sustainable and inclusive culture of philanthropy that centers community and anticipates a future capital campaign and campus expansion.
• Design, implement, and lead a comprehensive development strategy that builds off recent success into a robust annual giving program with a particular focus on major gifts.
• Organize CAMH’s fundraising program to support a future capital campaign.
• Amplify diversity in all levels of fundraising strategy.

Fundraising:

• Own a contributed revenue target of $4M annually within the museum’s $5.5M operating budget, which is anticipated to grow in the coming years.
• Lead team to meet these targets via fundraising strategies that include individuals, foundations, corporate partnerships, and special events including oversight of CAMH’s annual gala and art auction.
• Steward existing relationships and cultivate robust and diverse prospect lists.
• Supervise all aspects of planning and executing fundraising activities and special events to ensure revenue and strategic goals are met.
• Creatively design donor benefits and stewardship to deepen engagement,
• Manage a personal portfolio of major gift prospects, serving as a front-line solicitor, and support the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and board members in stewarding primary donor relationships.
• Plan and lead special campaigns, as appropriate (programmatic, capital, endowment).
• Work closely with Marketing & Communications to expand awareness about CAMH to support and advance the membership program and cultivation events.
• Develop compelling cases for philanthropic support rooted in CAMH’s mission, programs, and strategic plan.
• Create a sustainable and inclusive culture of philanthropy that centers community and anticipates a future capital campaign and campus expansion.
• Design, implement, and lead a comprehensive development strategy that builds off recent success into a robust annual giving program with a particular focus on major gifts.
• Organize CAMH’s fundraising program to support a future capital campaign.
• Amplify diversity in all levels of fundraising strategy.

Board Partnership and Growth:

• Present fundraising goals, strategy, and status updates to CAMH’s Board of Trustees.
• In partnership with the Executive Director and Board, recruit and engage diverse, talented individuals for CAMH’s Board of Trustees.
• Routinely engage the Board through donor stewardship, cultivation events, and creating a dynamic portfolio of experiences that inspire Board members around CAMH’s impact.
• Act as the staff lead for the Development Committee, focused on oversight of museum contributed income goals, prospect strategy, and fundraising event planning.

Department Leadership:

• Provide clear leadership for staff, develop and leverage the talent of each team member, and motivate the department, consistent with CAMH’s values.
• Serve on the CAMH’s Senior Leadership team.
• Collaborate closely with the Executive Director, Deputy Director, and Director of Finance to develop and implement comprehensive long-term financial and revenue planning strategies.
• Support the development team’s cross-departmental work to enhance cultivation across all museum programs.
• Support the team by providing feedback for growth and development in their current roles and future career paths.
• Oversee department budget, forecasting, and reporting.

Qualifications and Characteristics:
The ideal candidate possesses the following qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in fundraising, ideally at an arts organization, with a deep knowledge of developing significant gifts from individual donors, foundations, and corporations, coupled with a minimum of five years of experience in managing and growing fundraising teams and strategies.
• Demonstrated ability to manage contributed revenue programs and departments that successfully raise more than $4,000,000 annually.
• Capital Campaign experience is highly valued but not required.
• Experience with Houston’s arts and philanthropic community in addition to national funders.
• Proven ability to work collaboratively and closely with staff at all levels of the organization, inspiring and fostering external collaboration and partnerships.
• Demonstrated initiative, autonomy, and strategic thinking.
• Highly organized and efficient approach to managing multiple donor platforms.
• Possesses a keen ability to prioritize revenue development and ensures follow-through.
• Adept at developing relationships with key decision-makers and implementing strategic interactions to close six-figure gifts with private and public foundations, government agencies, and individual and corporate entities.
• Outcome-driven leadership with a deep understanding of systems and a strong record of using data and metrics to drive fundraising growth.
• Experience with Blackbaud and Raisers Edge.
• Passion for the arts and CAMH’s mission.

The ideal candidate possesses the following characteristics:

• Driven by values, and acts with integrity and purpose
• Acts in the best interest of the Museum
• Self-motivated and aspirational
• Highly resilient and creatively adapts to challenges
• Able to self-manage and lead a team on multiple projects and priorities to ensure successful and timely delivery
• Strong will to advance ideas tempered by humility and curiosity in the ideas of others
• Embraces CAMH values of kindness, empathy, mutual respect, and trust in artists
• Strives to participate in and cultivate a workplace culture of equity and belonging
• Embraces working within a diverse environment with a high degree of cultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence, both within CAMH’s majority BIPOC staff and within the extraordinary diversity of Houston
• Approaches their work with joy, a sense of discovery, and possibility
• Seeks first to understand the position of their colleagues
• Pro-actively offers direct and constructive feedback and dissent in the spirit of improving the Museum and supporting the success of their colleagues
• Accepting of constructive feedback
• Equally comfortable working with artists and colleagues as engaging with donors and trustees
• Enthusiastically engages and inspires new and diverse audiences
• Highly adaptive to varied workplace and community contexts
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and sensitivity to deadlines
• Must be willing to work primarily within our offices in the Museum District
• Maintains high expectations and ambition for CAMH and is driven to lead one of the most impactful contemporary arts institutions in the United States

Salary and Benefits

• The Director of Development will be eligible to participate in CAMH’s health insurance benefit plans and contribute to a pre-tax health and childcare savings plan. You are eligible for 24 Paid Time Off (PTO) days annually. These benefits commence on the first day of the 3rd full month after your employment begins. You will have the opportunity to contribute to a 401(k) retirement plan. The starting salary range is $120,000 annually, and compensation will be commensurate with experience.
• Research shows that women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds often apply to jobs only if they meet 100% of the qualifications. We recognize that an applicant is unlikely to meet 100% of the qualifications for a given role. Therefore, if much of this job description describes you, you are highly encouraged to apply for this role.

Submission Process

• Please email a cover letter expressing interest in the role along with a current CV to hr@camh.org.
• Initial interviews may take place virtually, but finalists will be invited to meet in person in Houston.
• Applicant review will continue until the position is filled. Please indicate your last name and Director of Development in the subject line (e.g., “Last name | Director of Development”). No phone calls, please. Candidates whose qualifications are best aligned with the components of this job description will receive a response.

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston fully subscribes to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity. It is our policy to provide employment, compensation, and other benefits related to employment based on qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. In accordance with requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is the Museum’s policy to provide reasonable accommodation upon request during the application process to eligible applicants in order that they may be given a full and fair opportunity to be considered for employment.