Senior Leadership Gifts Officer

Senior Leadership Gifts Officer

California Academy of Sciences

The California Academy of Sciences is a globally renowned scientific and cultural institution located in the heart of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Home to a world-class planetarium, aquarium, research center, and natural history museum—all under one living roof—our mission is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration.

Our extensive collections span plants, animals, fossils, and cultural artifacts from across the globe and throughout history. We are a diverse team of leading biodiversity scientists, educators, storytellers, designers, and communicators who work collaboratively to advance knowledge and inspire action through science and storytelling.

When you join the California Academy of Sciences, you become part of a mission-driven community that values curiosity, collaboration, and innovation. Whether you're working behind the scenes in research or engaging the public on the museum floor, your work will help connect people to the natural world and empower them to protect it.

About the Opportunity

The Senior Leadership Gifts Officer is a seasoned frontline fundraiser responsible for managing a robust portfolio of high-net-worth donors and prospects, with a focus on securing and stewarding major and principal gifts. This role drives revenue growth by securing transformational philanthropic support and delivering high-impact donor experiences that reflect the Academy's mission. The Senior Leadership Gifts Officer leads complex cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies; partners closely with Leadership Philanthropy, program leaders, and cross-functional teams to align donor interests with institutional priorities; and contributes to team strategy, pipeline development, and fundraising best practices. By modeling a disciplined, donor-centered, and data-informed approach, this position strengthens the overall effectiveness of the major gifts program while expanding the Leadership Philanthropy team's capacity, enabling senior leaders to focus on top-tier donor strategy and portfolio management.

Organizational Culture

Join a team dedicated to the Academy's mission, vision and values! Currently, the Academy has a new strategic plan including three initiatives – Hope for Reefs, Thriving California, and Islands 2030 – that leverage biodiversity science, environmental learning, and collaborative engagement to regenerate fragile ecosystems around the world. Learn more at

We hope you are inspired by what we do and are excited to contribute to our mission. The mission of the California Academy of Sciences is to regenerate the natural world through science, learning, and collaboration. The Academy is looking for candidates who do great work, and we know they may come from a number of different backgrounds and experiences. We encourage you to apply even if you do not believe you meet every qualification for the position.

This position is based in San Francisco, California. The specific onsite/hybrid schedule for this position is listed below.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management & Fundraising

• Manage a portfolio of 90–100 donors and prospects, with emphasis on leadership and principal gifts.
• Independently develop and execute tailored cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for each prospect.
• Consistently secure gifts of $25K+, advancing priorities across biodiversity science, environmental learning, and conservation.
• Maintain disciplined moves management, forecasting, and pipeline reporting in Tessitura.

Donor Engagement & Stewardship

• Serve as primary relationship manager for select high-profile donors and supporters.
• Deliver bespoke, high-touch experiences—behind-the-scenes tours, lab/collections visits, field and site visits—that deepen affinity and accelerate giving.
• Coordinate with Donor Relations, Events, and Communications to provide personalized, timely stewardship touchpoints and impact reporting.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Experiences

• Partner with scientists and program leads to align donor interests with mission-critical work; translate complex initiatives into compelling donor offers.
• Collaborate with the Advancement Events team on curated on-site and field-based activations that advance cultivation and stewardship goals.
• Work with Advancement Operations to leverage data, dashboards, and reporting that inform strategy and drive results.

Pipeline Development

• Qualify and advance high-potential prospects into the major/principal gift pipeline.
• Deepen relationships with well-cultivated new prospects following initial engagement by the LP Coordinator and Leadership & Legacy Giving Officer.
• Identify potential board and volunteer leadership candidates and help steward them toward deeper philanthropic engagement.

Internal Leadership & Strategy

• Partner with the Director of LP and the Associate Director on select donor strategies.
• Model donor-centered communication, rigorous planning, and cross-team collaboration; share tools and best practices that elevate team performance.
• Represent LP in internal meetings as needed, contributing to seamless coordination across Advancement and program teams.

Qualifications:

• 6+ years of frontline fundraising or equivalent high-level relationship management, with a track record of securing $25K+ gifts.
• Demonstrated success managing a robust major-donor portfolio and closing complex, multi-stakeholder solicitations.
• Exceptional relationship-building and communication skills; poised and effective with high-profile donors and institutional leaders.
• Experience designing and executing bespoke donor engagements (tours, field visits, events) tied to program impact.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills; adept at prioritizing across multiple donors, deadlines, and partners.
• Proficiency with fundraising CRMs and reporting (Tessitura preferred); data-driven approach to strategy and forecasting.
• Collaborative, generous teammate with a coaching mindset; committed to sharing practices that strengthen team culture.
• Deep interest in the Academy's mission; familiarity with science, climate, conservation, or museum philanthropy is a plus.

Physical Environment:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential job duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, use a computer, and communicate on the phone, in person, and online meetings/calls. Must be able to perform repetitive motions 90% of the time.

Compensation and Benefits:

The salary range for this position is $80,000.00- $100,000.00. Actual compensation will be commensurate with the final candidate's qualifications and experience, including skills, knowledge, relevant education, certifications and aligned with the internal peer group. We believe in fair and equitable compensation practices and are committed to providing competitive salaries within the industry and market standards. The Academy offers a total compensation package that emphasizes both base salary and comprehensive benefits based on the hours per week worked. Further details regarding compensation and benefits will be discussed during the interview process.

Schedule:

Full-Time/Hybrid 3 days onsite, 40 hours per week

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should submit a resume and application through our Careers Page portal.

The California Academy of Sciences will give full consideration for employment to all qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code, Article 49).