Director of Advancement

The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) is an American nonprofit research center with a global membership based in Novato, California. It was founded in 1973 by Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut and sixth man to walk on the moon, after an epiphany in space convinced him that the dominant scientific paradigm was incomplete. For over fifty years, IONS has been investigating consciousness, extended human capacities, and the interconnection of mind and matter through rigorous science and experiential programs. Our work has helped once-marginalized questions become mainstream advances, from meditation and mind-body medicine to serious experimentation in, and new theoretical considerations of, the nature of nonlocal mind. We are working for a global mind change through the development of a consciousness-inclusive scientific paradigm, toward a thriving world that’s regenerative of life and spirit. As thought leaders, scientists and educators, we are inspired by the power of science to explain phenomena not previously understood, harnessing the best of the rational mind to make advances that further our collective knowledge and enhance our human experience. We are also aware of the vast historical records of wisdom practices that s peak to the mysteries and possibilities which allow us to access more of our human capacities. Our scientists apply the rigors of their respective disciplines to explore such phenomena, with a focus on understanding humanity’s inherent interconnectedness and the inner wisdom common to us all. Our programs and partnerships are designed to help share and evolve these new understandings. The mission of the Institute of Noetic Sciences is to reveal the interconnected nature of reality through scientific exploration and personal discovery. With over fifty years of continuous operations, extensive peer-reviewed publications, a laboratory, multi-million dollar endowment, and dedicated donor base, IONS is ready for a new steward of our Advancement function.

ROLE AND SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES

The Director of Advancement champions the long-term financial sustainability of IONS by leading all aspects of fund development in service of our mission and strategy. Working in close consultation with Executive Leadership (EL) and the CFO, the Director supports the Board of Directors and works with senior managers to develop and execute a sophisticated, multi-pronged philanthropic strategy, elevating capacity while deepening the organization's culture of relationship-centric fundraising in service of advancement. At the heart of this role is the foundational belief that giving is not transactional, but relational. The Director identifies, cultivates, and stewards donors and grantors as valued philanthropic partners in the IONS mission. The Director serves as the organization's lead advancement strategist and a key connector across two critical functions:

• The Pipeline-to-Philanthropy Bridge: Designing and managing the stewardship pathway to receive constituents from the top of the engagement funnel and guide them along relationship-based stewardship that honors IONS' donor-centric values.
• The Leadership-to-Donor Bridge: Proactively supporting and enhancing the fundraising efforts of EL and IONS Board as assigned, connecting philanthropic partners in meaningful, mission-aligned ways with EL and appropriate persons across the organization.
• The Research-to-Philanthropy Bridge: Proactively engaging with Leadership to surface funding priorities and research initiatives that may resonate with donors, while bringing donor enthusiasm and interests back to IONS scientists to inform and inspire their work.
• The Donor-to-Transformational Giving Bridge : In close consultation with EL and CFO, strategize, seek and generate deep philanthropic partnerships that have the potential for transformational impact on IONS’ capacity and/or bottom line.

Working across departmental structures with other managers, the CFO and Executive Leadership to align fundraising, programming and education, marketing and communications, and operations, the Director leads the conversion of public interest and community engagement into sustained philanthropic investment, drives ongoing data collection and analysis, and guides the evolution of Salesforce as the organization's constituent relationship database of record. Requirements

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic Campaigns & Departmental Leadership

• Campaign Execution: Lead the development and implementation of a sophisticated, multi-year major-gifts initiative to secure the resources needed to fuel IONS' growth and achieve its strategic pillar goals.
• Operational Modernization: Drive continuous improvement in fund development operations by establishing proven practices for annual giving, stewardship, planned giving, and data management.
• Financial Modeling: Co-create, manage and report against a departmental budget, including revenue projections, operating expenses, and staffing costs, in close coordination with the CFO and EL, delivering on annual revenue commitments with special attention to predictive revenue modeling.
• Executive & Board Support: Proactively support and enhance the fundraising efforts of EL. Work with Board and Board Committees as assigned by the Executive Chair regarding fundraising efforts.
• Team Leadership & Growth: Directly supervise, mentor, and grow the advancement department staff, fostering a high-performance team culture rooted in collaboration, accountability, and mission alignment. Provide strategic leadership to scale the team’s capacity for personalized donor cultivation, stewardship, and operations as organizational needs evolve.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration & Relationship Stewardship

• Major Donor Cultivation Strategy: Inform and shape high-impact donor cultivation events and virtual initiatives to successfully convert broad public interest into sustained philanthropic support.
• Advance Cross-Departmental Integration: Ensure that advancement materials align with a master communications framework, and co-design the stewardship pathways that receive and deepen relationships with constituents as they move along the engagement funnel.
• Donor Communications: Oversee the creation of all donor-focused communications, including major gift proposals, gift acknowledgments, and stewardship reports, whether written directly or produced by Advancement department staff, adhering to IONS' verbal branding guidelines.
• Strategic Partnerships: Working in close consultation with EL, take proactive initiative to build and maintain a close working relationship with IONS scientists and EL, surfacing funding priorities, research and global mind change initiatives that may resonate with donors, while bringing donor enthusiasm and interests back to the IONS team to inform their work.
• Leadership Facilitation: Strategically facilitate high-level meetings, communication, and travel opportunities connecting top-tier donors with IONS leadership and scientists.

Pipeline Expansion & Data Operations

• Portfolio Management: Personally identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a select portfolio of major donors and prospects, at the $25K–$1M+ tier, with the expectation of transitioning select relationships to a dedicated major gifts officer as the team grows.
• Data-Driven Analysis: Partner with Operations to design modern tracking systems and extract multi-year giving cohorts, using data insights to evaluate Constituent Acquisition Cost (CAC) against long-term Lifetime Value (LTV) across all digital, email, and event funnels.
• Institutional Pipeline: Oversee the proactive growth of the Planned Giving Program to expand the Legacy Society membership, and supervise grant administration, research, and application processes.
• Records Integrity: Ensure database integrity by maintaining meticulously clean and secure constituent engagement, pipeline tracking, and historical giving records inside Salesforce.

Professional Core Competencies

• Mission Alignment: Curiosity and enthusiasm for noetic sciences and a desire to advance the intersection of scientific research and inner knowing.
• Strategic & Operational Acumen: Strong background in relationship-based fundraising strategy, designing annual plans, budget management, financial modeling, and data-tracking skills, with a focus on long-term initiative sustainability.
• Leadership & Discipline: Self-driven, results-oriented, and highly disciplined with a proven ability to mentor development staff and support board members.
• Discretion & Integrity: Demonstrates a keen sense of emotional intelligence, integrity, and absolute discretion when handling sensitive donor and constituent data.
• Constructive Communication: Exceptional verbal and written presentation skills; serves as an inspiring, articulate champion for the noetic sciences externally, while bringing high diplomacy and a solution-oriented approach to internal collaboration and cross-functional planning.
• Experience: 3 to 7+ years of direct experience in a director-level position, backed by 10 to 15+ years of total progressive experience in their specific industry. CFRE strongly preferred.
• Collaboration Style: Highly collaborative team player dedicated to seeking input, developing and empowering others, as part of a servant-leadership approach.
• Professional Presence: Combines the utmost professionalism with an accessible, grounded, and down-to-earth demeanor; honest and transparent in all dealings.
• Abundance Mindset: Brings a contagious, positive, and forward-looking attitude of abundance to a remote, mission-driven team.
• Adaptability: Flexible and at ease operating in a dynamic environment where noetic and holistic practices are the organizational norm.
• Perspective: Maintains a healthy sense of humor, resilience, and balance under pressure.

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