Director of Major & Planned Giving

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) seeks a collaborative and strategic advancement professional to serve as the director of major and planned giving (director). With a passion and love for the arts and understanding of fundraising best practices, the director will lead and oversee PEM’s major and planned giving programs, partnering closely with museum leadership, curators, and advancement staff. Reporting to the chief philanthropy officer, the director will oversee a team of three, set annual goals, and lead strategy to expand and elevate PEM's planned, major, and principal gifts programs. In close partnership with the executive director, CEO, chief philanthropy officer, and board of trustees, the director will support the implementation of PEM’s strategic plan, PEM Forward, and build on the museum's strengths as the institution charts an exciting future trajectory. 

The Peabody Essex Museum was founded in 1799 by several of America's first global entrepreneurs. Some of the earliest Americans to develop trading relationships with countries in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and elsewhere, these venturists also brought magnificent art back to Salem from the cultures they encountered. Generosity of spirit and civic-mindedness are central to PEM’s origin story, from the moment that Salem’s global traders created a society of wonder and discovery for the Salem community. Today, PEM deeply embraces its identity as a human-centered museum and prioritizes people – visitors, communities, and staff – at the heart of everything it does, including centering human stories, creating meaningful connections, ensuring accessibility and belonging, and engaging communities locally and globally. 

This is an exceptional opportunity for a talented fundraiser to join PEM at a unique moment of growth and aspiration. The director will join a collegial team passionate about the arts, culture, and community, and, as a key member of the advancement team, will significantly contribute to advancing philanthropic priorities and the museum’s mission. The ideal candidate will possess at least seven years of successful fundraising experience, preferably in a museum or museum-related field. The director must have an understanding of fundraising best practices and possess a proven track record of developing and fostering meaningful relationships that produce a sustainable major gift pipeline and program. The successful candidate will have personal success in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors at the six- and seven-figure levels, and will possess proficiency in leveraging data and systems to inform strategy. Critical to success will be the credibility, maturity, and sophistication necessary to effectively engage with a diverse constituency of senior leadership, curatorial staff, and high-level volunteers. In leading and developing a team of three, the director must also possess a track record of or proven ability to mentor, manage, and elevate the work of frontline fundraisers. A bachelor’s degree is required; an advanced degree is preferred. 

The Peabody Essex Museum has retained Jack Gorman of the national executive search firm Isaacson, Miller, to assist in this important recruitment. Confidential inquiries, nominations, and applications may be directed to Isaacson, Miller as indicated at the end of this document.

 
Peabody Essex Museum

The Peabody Essex Museum is one of the country’s leading museums of art and culture, recognized for a daring interpretive approach and dedication to providing stimulating, life-enhancing experiences of creativity. PEM offers unique opportunities to explore a multilayered and interconnected world of creative expression. PEM’s future lies in continuously asking how the institution can make a difference in people’s lives. Read more about PEM’s mission, vision, and values here.

Peabody Essex Museum exhibitions and programs are rich and diverse, presenting outstanding works of artistic and cultural creativity from around the world. More than 850,000 works of art and culture — many of them the first of their kind to be collected in the United States — come together to offer an experience that’s unique among American art museums. PEM’s deep and far-ranging collection opens windows into how people live, work, and celebrate. In addition to its vast collections, PEM presents a vibrant schedule of special exhibitions. PEM’s campus features a number of parks and gardens, 22 historic structures, and the Phillips Library, one of the nation's most important museum-based collections of rare books and manuscripts. The museum receives over 250,000 visitors annually, in addition to 1.3 million virtual visitors, and is recognized as an important economic engine in the region. Exhibitions organized by PEM have been presented at the National Gallery in Washington, DC, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City, the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian, and the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands.

PEM Forward

The Peabody Essex Museum’s strategic plan, PEM Forward, draws on inspiration from the museum’s mission, vision, core values, and DEIA commitment and identifies four strategic goals, which serve as grounding, reinforcing guideposts to fulfill PEM’s vision. A 2023 strategic planning process engaged all departments of the museum in developing PEM Forward. The strategic goals are as follows:

• EXPERIENCE: Infuse all PEM experiences with unexpected, inclusive perspectives and approaches that emphasize storytelling and the power of human creativity between cultures and across time periods.

• LEARNING: Create innovative and accessible gateways to learning that empower audiences, community, and staff.

• COLLECTIONS: Maximize the collections, including the Phillips Library and the historic properties and grounds, to tell compelling, unexpected, and human-centered stories.

• INFRASTRUCTURE: Advance a sustainable infrastructure and secure resources to support our strategic goals, mission, and vision.