Director of Leadership and Planned Giving

Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the Richmond
Symphony Foundation and the Richmond Symphony in the search for a
Director of Leadership and Planned Giving.

Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, the Director of
Leadership and Planned Giving will lead the Richmond Symphony’s
major and planned giving programs and support the growth and
stewardship of the Richmond Symphony Foundation. The Director will
identify, cultivate, and solicit major and planned gift donors as
well as the strategic development, management, and evaluation of
the Foundation’s endowment and the Symphony’s major and planned
giving programs. The Director will join a highly ambitious
environment grounded in a love and appreciation for musical
artistry, innovation, and community. The Richmond Symphony is open
to candidates that reside outside of metropolitan Richmond with the
understanding that they will need to be on-site three business days
per week and attend evening and weekend performances on a regular
basis.

The Richmond Symphony is an innovator, known for forward thinking
in musical presentation and in demonstrating the future potential
of orchestral performance. Now the largest performing arts
organization in central Virginia, the Richmond Symphony consists of
an orchestra of 69 professional musicians, 30 administrative staff,
a 150-voice chorus, and more than 150 students in its Youth
Orchestra programs. Prioritizing the high caliber of its
programming has led to truly remarkable experiences for its
audiences. This development allowed the Richmond Symphony to expand
the number of core positions within its own orchestra while also
attracting world-renowned guest artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Jennifer
Koh, Maria Dueñas, James Ehnes, and Gladys Knight to its stage, to
share unforgettable performances of canonical music with audiences,
and to begin to intentionally invest in the crucial resources the
orchestra needs to establish itself as one of the best symphonies
in the country.

Honoring its vision of “changing lives through the power of music,”
the Symphony has purposely worked to reimagine the music experience
to find new ways to deeply engage the Richmond community and to
bring the power and enrichment of music to participants of all
ages, regardless of prior knowledge of or interest in classical
music or traditional symphony performance. Recognizing the need not
only to be an artistic leader in Virginia, but also to be a
community catalyst, the Symphony has built a strategy that enhances
its mission in new ways to connect audiences, communities, artists,
and the music they create, recognizing the unique crossroads of
history and social movements at this time and in this city.

Through partnership and collaboration, the Symphony has created new
bonds in the community as well as new programming. The Black
History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia (BHMVA) is one such
partnership, which started in the 2022-23 season with month-long
connection to the BHMVA annual Children’s Book Festival—which
became the Children’s Book & Music Festival. During this month,
musicians volunteered to play, read, and talk with kids who
received free books about composers and music experiences during a
visit to the Black History Museum. The month culminated with a
performance by the Richmond Symphony in the tent across the street
from the museum—free to the local community and beyond—with a
program co-created and co-presented highlighting Black American
composers.

The heart of the Symphony’s engagement efforts is through the
Richmond Symphony School of Music (RSSoM). The School of Music
brings a broad range of programs to Central Virginia, the
Commonwealth, and beyond. RSSoM encompasses the Youth Orchestra
Programs, pre-college and early-career training opportunities,
in-school educational experiences, concerts for school
participants, masterclasses, and concerts for families and young
people. The Richmond Symphony is creating a robust, comprehensive
School of Music that reaches all corners of the community. Through
intentional innovation and expansion of current services and the
addition of new pathways in collaboration with community
stakeholders, the fantastic impact happening now can go even
further.

The Richmond Symphony is committed to reflecting the communities it
seeks to serve. The Symphony is deepening its geographic footprint
in Virginia in ways that are strengthening its visibility and its
connections with new constituencies, enabling new collaborations,
and positioning it for long-term audience growth and more
broad-based community support. The Symphony continues its
longstanding commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and
belonging throughout all programs, programming, artists, and
initiatives and through every facet of the organization.

A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and
experience and at least five years of progressive frontline
fundraising experience with a focus on soliciting major and planned
gifts is preferred for this position. Capital campaign and
endowment experience is a plus. The Richmond Symphony will consider
candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited
about this role and feel that you can contribute to the Symphony,
but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification
listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be
accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be
responsive to the mission of the Richmond Symphony.

The salary range for this position is $85,000 to $105,000
annually.

The Richmond Symphony Foundation and Richmond Symphony are
committed to the inclusion of all qualified candidates. If you
require reasonable accommodation in completing this application,
interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please
contact Jeanette Rivera-Watts at [email protected].

To apply for this position, visit: https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/1435.

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