Senior Director of Philanthropy (Hybrid – Bozeman, MT)

Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with American Prairie in the search for a Senior Director of Philanthropy.

Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, the Senior Director of Philanthropy will direct and manage American Prairie’s Forever Wild comprehensive campaign, a nine-figure, multi-year fundraising effort continuing through 2027. Reporting to the Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, the Senior Director of Philanthropy will direct and execute the campaign strategy in consultation with the organization’s National Board of Directors and Executive Team. The Senior Director will assemble and manage an engaged, diverse campaign committee while developing a gift officer team, campaign communications, events, and peer-to-peer network growth of prospective individual donors and corporate and foundation institutional partners. This is a hybrid position with at least 20 hours per week dedicated to time in the office with the team, and travel expectations of six to eight weeks per year, which includes time hosting Board and donors at American Prairie as well as traveling to events and donor regions. 

American Prairie, a freestanding Montana-based nonprofit, is a unique organization assembling a multi-million-acre area that conserves the species-rich grasslands on Montana’s legendary Great Plains for the enjoyment of future generations. When complete, American Prairie will span more than three million acres of private and public land, showcasing the iconic landscape that once dominated central North America and helped shape our national character. Its mission is to create one of the largest conservation areas in the United States that will serve as a refuge for people and wildlife, forever.

The Northern Great Plains are one of only four places left in the world that have immediate potential to conserve a temperate grassland at ecosystem scale. American Prairie is working to make that happen in Montana. The International Union for Conservation of Nature states that less than five percent of grasslands are protected globally. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Great Plains of the United States and Canada have lost a greater proportion of intact grassland in recent years than the Brazilian Amazon has lost rainforest. Wildlife populations and critical biological processes have disappeared or been suppressed over the last two centuries.

American Prairie’s vision is to fully restore the shortgrass prairie ecosystem in an identified region of Montana’s plains. The habitat diversity of the area includes expansive shortgrass prairie, sagebrush steppe, the Missouri River Breaks, nearby island mountain ranges, and the streams and riparian corridors that are woven throughout. Successful restoration means the wildlife species that are native to this region are present and fulfilling their natural ecological role, and that biodiversity is being conserved at all levels. When restored, the American Prairie Ecosystem will also contain ecologically meaningful populations of all non-extinct, native species present in the reference ecosystem with management focused on maximizing the integrity, complexity, and resilience of the system.

American Prairie buys private land and opens it to the public while simultaneously working to restore biodiversity on each property. Properties that connect existing public land are prioritized because the goal is to connect 3.2 million acres—that’s enough to support a healthy prairie ecosystem. The American Prairie vision consists of a 5,000 square-mile ecosystem that incorporates the extraordinary habitat diversity of northeast Montana. The strategy for achieving that landscape-scale result is to add to and complement existing swaths of public land that have already been set aside for conservation. In most western states, private land is tied to an allotment of leased state and federal land that is traditionally used for grazing. By leveraging that structure and building on existing protected lands, American Prairie can buy a relatively small amount of land and still achieve landscape-scale results.

American Prairie strives to be a good neighbor to all people on the prairie, to work collaboratively, and to make positive contributions to surrounding communities. American Prairie prioritizes buying and hiring locally and building meaningful relationships with local groups and leaders. Helping visitors understand the region’s cultural heritage is also an important part of the work to share the unique landscape of the prairie. American Prairie provides educational opportunities, honors the region’s rich history, and finds innovative ways to work with neighbors that match shared goals for wildlife.

A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least seven years of philanthropic experience in the nonprofit sector, including at least five years of experience in a team leadership or executive position, is preferred for this position. American Prairie will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the organization, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 to $145,000 annually.