Director of Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations

Position Title:  Director of Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations

Department:  Development

Reports to: Senior Vice President of Advancement

Pay Class: Full-time Regular

FLSA Status: Salaried Exempt

Position Summary

A community of more than 15,000 donors, members, and volunteers generously support Pacific Science Center’s mission to ignite curiosity in every child and fuel a passion for discovery, experimentation, and critical thinking in all of us. This investment enables PacSci to increase access to award-winning science education experiences that open doors to a lifetime of possibility for youth and families across Washington State and beyond. The Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations team is responsible for growing and nurturing PacSci’s community of institutional donors through competitive grants, sponsorships, and public funding that financially sustains PacSci programs and operations. The Director of Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations works collaboratively with the Senior Vice President of Advancement, CEO, and the Corporate, Foundation, & Government Relations team to drive the continuum of strategies to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward corporate, foundation, and government donors.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Leadership

• Oversee overall institutional giving strategy, including development of annual fundraising plan, setting aggressive but achievable fundraising goals, and identifying opportunities to mitigate risks.
• Participate in organizational budget process and collaborate on the development of the Advancement budget.
• Work cross-departmentally and with Advancement leadership team to develop key messaging for upcoming projects, programs, and campaigns and to capture impact stories and data for reporting.
• Implement continuous improvement processes for the systems and procedures used to identify and steward new corporate, foundation, and government donors.
• Collaborate with accounting, exhibits, and education leadership to ensure grant spending aligns with donor restrictions, grant deliverables are executed, and accounting standards are met.
• Ensure the highest standards of donor recognition are applied consistently and appropriately.
• Manage the Corporate, Foundation & Government relations team (currently three people), including hiring, onboarding, supervision, and evaluation. Build portfolios and maintain systems to organize workflow. Establish priorities, monitor progress, review work, and ensure high-quality products are delivered in a timely manner.
• Work with Advancement leadership and development operations to identify key performance indicators and systems for tracking.
• Ensure industry standards for managing constituent records, including maintaining up-to-date contacts, solicitations, and stewardship activities.
• Provide leadership, direction and support in developing broad and specific strategies to engage foundations and state, local, and federal funders.
• Develop strategies to expand the Corporate Relations program (philanthropy, sponsorship, membership, and employee engagement) and develop metrics to measure their effectiveness. Identify and implement opportunities to engage current corporate member employees.
• Collaborate with Advancement leadership team to ensure fundraising resources are maximized across the development team and promote a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization.

Portfolio Management

• Manage a portfolio of corporate, foundation, and government donors with diverse philanthropic, marketing, and engagement goals. Qualify donors, build relationships with prospective funders, and identify compelling opportunities for support to grow department revenue over time.
• Direct the preparation and submission of complex grants in support of PacSci goals, working in partnership with PacSci staff. Write and edit proposals, letters of intent, and amendments as required over the life of assigned grants; prepare program budgets; edit grant proposals for clarity and strategic approach.
• Lead planning and execution for sponsorship opportunities, including identification, solicitation, implementation, and reporting of key data, impact, and return on investment.
• Develop and maintain external relationships to facilitate funding opportunities. 
• Facilitate site visits and other stewardship opportunities for corporate and foundation donors. Participate in fundraising and donor stewardship events.
• Provide oversight and direction on competitive government grant opportunities and grant administration.
• Lead in developing grant reporting processes to ensure compliance with reporting requirements set by grantors.
• Act with the highest standards of confidentiality and discretion in donor relationships.

Other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

Knowledge of:

• Foundation and corporate philanthropy and sponsorship, proposal development, stewardship, and research.
• Local, County, and State legislative processes.

Skills:

• Excellent relationship skills and customer service with a wide range of strong individuals.
• Proven written skills, including proposal, budget, and report development.
• Verbal communication skills.
• Strong computer skills.

Ability to:

• Center equity and inclusion practices to advance PacSci’s commitment enabling science access for all.
• Build relationships and inspire donors to support the mission.
• Manage the contributions of direct reports to achieve fundraising and stewardship goals.
• Solve problems and execute them with high attention to analysis.
• Collaborate across departments to enthusiastically support the work of our colleagues, to experience and understand PacSci’s impact in the community, and contribute to the culture of philanthropy.
• Propose and test new strategies in institutional fundraising and stewardship.
• Identify opportunities for increased collaboration division-wide to better leverage overall support for the growth in PacSci’s long-term impact.

Qualifications

Required

• Seven to ten years of fundraising experience.
• A proven record of success in creating long-term donor relationships and building and maintaining successful corporate, foundation, and government relations programs for non-profit organizations.
• Three years of supervisory experience supporting individual and team success.
• Previous use of customer relationship management software.

Preferred

• Capital Campaign experience

This position description generally describes the principle functions of the position and the level of knowledge and skills typically required.  It does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and the employee, and it is subject to change as the needs of the employer and the requirements of the job change.

Compensation

Pay is based on several factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and years of experience.

Starting Base Salary Range: $120,000 -140,000/annually

In addition to base salary, regular employees working 40 hrs/week can expect the following benefits:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, basic life insurance, and disability insurance
• 4 weeks of vacation, 12 floating holidays, and sick pay
• 403(b) Retirement Savings
• Commuter benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employee PacSci Membership

Pacific Science Center stands with those who are courageously fighting against hate, racism, and injustice. We recognize that not being racist is not sufficient. We must be actively anti-racist, and we commit to doing so.  We prioritize inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in everything we do. Curiosity and critical thinking are essential to the dialogue and changes that need to happen.

Pacific Science Center complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us at HRDepartment@pacsci.org.