Gift Officer

Gift Officer IS-1001-13

Application Deadline: 31 August 2026

Department: National Museum of Asian Art

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Washington, DC

Reporting To: Chief Advancement Officer

Compensation: $121,785 - $150,203 / year

Description

OPEN DATE: August 3, 2026

CLOSING DATE: August 31, 2026

POSITION TYPE: Trust Fund

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Indefinite

SCHEDULE: Full Time

DUTY LOCATION: Washington, DC

Position sensitivity and risk: Non-Sensitive/Moderate Risk

Open to all qualified applicants

What are Trust Fund Positions?

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).


Conditions of Employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Check and Subsequent Background Investigation for position designated.
• Complete a Probationary Period.
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer.
• The position is open to all candidates eligible to work in the United States. Proof of eligibility to work in U.S. is not required to apply.
• Applicants must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

OVERVIEW

About the National Museum of Asian Art

Through an ambitious program of collection, conservation, exhibitions, programming, and research, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art serves as a global and national resource for understanding the arts and cultures of Asia and their interaction with America, past and present. By presenting the arts and cultures of Asia in their extraordinary diversity, we aim to exemplify foundational ideals of curiosity, creativity, and respect. In a world growing ever more interdependent, we believe that cross-cultural understanding is crucial to personal and collective well-being.

NMAA opened in 1923 as America's first national art museum and the first Asian art museum in the United States. The museum now stewards one of the world's most important collections of Asian art, with works dating from antiquity to the present, from China, Japan, Korea, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the pre-Islamic Near East, and the Islamic world (inclusive of Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa). The museum also stewards an important collection of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American art.


Today, NMAA is emerging as a leading national and global resource for understanding the arts, cultures, and societies of Asia, especially at their intersection with America. Guided by the belief that the future of art museums lies in collaboration, increased access, and transparency, NMAA is fostering new ways to engage with its audiences while maintaining its commitment to excellence.

NMAA celebrated its centennial in 2023 and is determined to make the museum's second century as accomplished as its first. The museum is building on its core strengths-the quality and depth of our collections, scholarship, and conservation-while embracing experimentation and new approaches to its work. The museum is transforming digitally, physically, and programmatically to draw in new audiences to celebrate, learn, and connect with Asian and American art and cultures, past and present.


Located on the National Mall in Washington, DC, the museum is free and open 364 days a year. The Smithsonian, which is the world's largest museum complex, welcomes twenty to thirty million visitors yearly. For more information about the National Museum of Asian Art, please visit asia.si.edu

The Opportunity


The Major Gifts Officer (MGO) serves as a frontline fundraiser responsible for securing philanthropic support from donors and prospects in alignment with the museum's strategic priorities. Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer, the MGO will play a key role in building and managing a robust portfolio of major donors, deepening relationships, and securing gifts that advance the museum's mission, programs, and long-term vision.

Working in close partnership with the Director, Chief Advancement Officer, and colleagues across programmatic areas will identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors capable of making significant gifts to the museum. This role requires both strategic and hands-on engagement-balancing personalized donor relationship management with the broader goals of a major fundraising campaign.

A new Major Gifts Officer joins the National Museum of Asian Art at a transformative moment. The museum has launched its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, embarked on a major fundraising campaign and reintroduced itself to the public as a vital platform for cultural leadership, research, and exchange. This is a remarkable opportunity for a passionate and resourceful fundraiser to help shape the next chapter of the museum's growth-connecting donors to the museum's mission and expanding its circle of philanthropic supporters.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising and Donor Engagement
• Build and manage a dynamic portfolio of approximately 100 qualified major and principal gift prospects with the capacity to make 6-7 figure gifts in support of the museum's priorities.
• Develop tailored cultivation, solicitation, closing, and stewardship strategies for each assigned prospect, ensuring thoughtful, strategic engagement that advances relationships and results in significant philanthropic support.
• Conduct a high volume of personal outreach, including regular donor visits, phone calls, and correspondence, with a target of at least 65 substantive contacts per year.
• Seeks opportunities to expand the portfolio and increase giving from current donors. Develops individual strategies and execution activities to increase giving and expand portfolio.
• Partner closely with the Director, Chief Advancement Officer, and other museum leaders to prepare and execute customized donor strategies, briefings, and solicitations.

Campaign and Strategic Initiatives
• Support the museum's comprehensive fundraising plans by identifying new prospects, contributing to campaign strategies, and securing gifts aligned with campaign priorities.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the institution to match donors' interests with institutional needs and to articulate compelling cases for support across a range of initiatives, including exhibitions, conservation, education, digital initiatives, and capital projects.
• Contribute to the museum's overall fundraising strategy by sharing insights from the field, identifying emerging opportunities, and helping to shape donor engagement approaches.

Stewardship and Relationship Management
• Ensure timely and meaningful stewardship of all donors and prospects in the portfolio, coordinating with Advancement staff to deliver high-quality acknowledgments, reports, and recognition opportunities.
• Guarantee accurate and up-to-date records of all donor interactions, strategies, and progress in the museum's record system.
• Collaborate with the stewardship and communications teams to develop materials and events that reinforce donors' connections to the museum's mission and impact.
• Participate in donor events and engagement opportunities (e.g., receptions, cultivation activities, and program-related gatherings) to strengthen relationships and support stewardship goals

Collaboration and Institutional Partnership
• Serve as a key ambassador for the museum, representing its mission and vision to donors, external partners, and the broader community.
• Partner with colleagues across the museum to identify potential funding needs, gather impact stories, and develop compelling donor engagement content.

Planning and Reporting
• Develop and implement annual fundraising goals, strategies, and activity plans in consultation with the Chief Advancement Officer.
• Track progress toward goals and prepare regular reports on portfolio activity, revenue, and pipeline development.
• Maintain confidentiality and the highest ethical standards in all interactions with donors and colleagues.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

To qualify at the IS-13 level, applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience in the private or public sector.

Specialized experience is experience that demonstrates the ability to perform major gifts fundraising work such as:
• Cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts at the six-figure level and above.
• Demonstrated success managing a portfolio of major donors and meeting or exceeding annual fundraising goals.
• Developing and executing cultivation, solicitation, closing, and engagement strategies that result in philanthropic support aligned with organizational priorities.
• Preparing donor briefings, proposals, and solicitation materials; partnering with senior leaders to support donor engagement and asks.
• Identifying and qualifying new prospects through research, discovery, and pipeline development.
• Ensuring timely and meaningful stewardship, including acknowledgments, reports, recognition opportunities, and impact communications.
• Maintaining accurate, up-to-date donor records, strategies, and contact reports in a CRM/advancement database and producing activity/revenue/pipeline reports.
• Demonstrating cultural curiosity and sensitivity, with a genuine interest in the arts, humanities, and global cultures represented in the museum's collections.
• Excellent organizational and time-management skills; able to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and relationships with efficiency and attention to detail.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.


What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact View email address on click.appcast.io. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian's Accommodation Procedures.


The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer . To review The Smithsonian's EEO program information, please click the following: