Vice President of Development, Brookfield Zoo

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The Chicago Zoological Society-Brookfield Zoo has an exciting opportunity for an experienced executive-level development professional to actively maintain an appropriate and sufficient size pool of major and leadership gift prospects to achieve annual goals and is directly responsible for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of assigned prospects and assisting with cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of additional prospects who are assigned to other Development staff.

The ideal person will work closely with the Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement to develop and execute fully integrated plans to achieve annual goals and increase philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and private family foundations for the Society and the Zoo, including capital, annual, programmatic, endowment, and planned giving programs, as well as the overall strategies and operations of Development-related annual and special events, prospect research and records, and accurate and timely reports on fund-raising outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Prepare written development plans to include program definition and timelines, benchmarks and annual targets, Trustee and other volunteer leadership, staffing, appropriate cultivation and communication programs, special events, prospect research and records, and associated budgetary requirements.
• Work closely with and assist Directors of Individual Giving and Major Gifts on the development and implementation of annual operating plans for individual and planned giving to achieve established annual and long-range goals.
• Work closely with the Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement to develop and execute a multi-year comprehensive campaign to ensure success in reaching agreed-upon fundraising goals and increasing the fundraising capacity of the Development Department, in particular, and the institution in general.
• Work closely with the CZS Executive Management Team and the CZS Management Team to identify projects and needs and to identify and evaluate prospects, define cultivation and solicitation strategies, and define philanthropic priorities.
• Establish a short-term and long-term strategic development plan that will ensure departmental alignment with the philosophy, mission, values, and vision of CZS.
• Work with the leaders of conservation funding initiatives, marketing/communications, government affairs, and membership programs to ensure comprehensive and fully integrated Advancement Group programs, all focused on meeting annual and strategic institutional goals.
• Provide leadership to and management of staff. Participate, as requested, in other organization-wide committees, teams, initiatives, or events as assigned or necessary to successfully achieve Society goals, and perform other related responsibilities to successfully achieve the Society’s advancement objectives as necessary.
• Prepare, recommend, and control annual Development operating budget.
• Manage expenses against approved budgets and take necessary action(s) to ensure that a balanced budget is achieved.

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Arts, Sciences, or other relevant business-related field or equivalent combination of training and experience required. Master’s degree a plus.
• Ten years relevant experience, including development and fundraising experience with a not-for-profit organization(s), including longevity in a leadership position, demonstrated success in comprehensive capital and annual campaign development, soliciting and securing sponsorships and major gifts from both private and public sources, and institutional planning.
• Significant experience working with Board(s) of Trustees required.

To Apply:
Applicants should send their resume and cover letter noting the full position title and requisition ID# in the subject line to greatjobs@czs.org.
Requisition ID#: 967KL