Interim Director of Institutional Relations

Lincoln Center Theater•New York, NY

About The Position

Lincoln Center Theater is committed to bringing exceptional theater to life. Through premieres of new works and revivals of classics, we strive to foster access to theatergoers and to the community at large. Central to this is creating a home for both established and emerging artists who are the driving force behind all we do. Our programming and educational initiatives introduce new audiences to the excitement and value of live theater. LCT Values: We dedicate ourselves to serving an ever-expanding community of theater artists – playwrights, directors, actors, designers, and composers – in developing their voices and visions without compromise. We strive for the highest standard of excellence and innovation to reach new levels of artistic and organizational achievement. We welcome a broad range of thoughts, experiences, and perspectives to create an environment where everyone feels welcomed, respected, supported, and valued. We treat each other with dignity and care. Position Summary: This position is a key member of a fast-paced development team of 15 that raises $17M annually in addition to special campaign funding. The Director of Institutional Relations directly oversees and executes the fundraising strategy for foundations and government entities and works in close partnership with the senior development officers and with external departments (Education, Artistic) on program specific fundraising. The principal function of the Director of Institutional Relations entails drafting documents (proposals, applications, letters of intent) to solicit funding from philanthropic sources and, when grants are received, writing reports to those funders. The Director aims to reflect LCT’s mission and the values of the institution in all written materials, maintaining a consistent quality and creating standard copy that is utilized in various ways and shared with other departments throughout each season. The position has one direct report and access to a department intern.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in a development role.
Strong writing skills essential.
Basic knowledge of Standard American English grammar rules and formal-writing fundamentals. Ability to adhere to and oversee adoption of house style guidelines.
Detail and deadline oriented.
Passionate about theater and/or other performing arts.
Ability to multi-task in a fast-paced office environment; self-starter with ability to prioritize.
Confident with Excel and budgeting documents.
Easy verbal communicator – ability to engage regularly and comfortably with foundation, government and corporate funders.
Passion for creative work environment; flexible; strong team player

Nice To Haves

Experience with Tessitura preferred

Responsibilities

Manage a portfolio of 50+ longtime institutional supporters.
Write General-operating proposals to request support from institutional funders for LCT’s production season and ancillary arts-education, artist-development, and audience-engagement programs. Initially drafted prior to the start of the fall season, the general-operating proposal is updated throughout the year.
Craft bespoke program proposals to request support for discreet projects, e.g., individual productions, LCT3’s three-production season, LCT commissioning program, developmental reading and workshop series. Become conversant in project and program detail by reading scripts, and building solid relationships with LCT’s dramaturg, producing artistic director, general manager and director of finance.
Draft special project proposals to solicit grants for capital improvements, infrastructure projects (e.g., technology upgrades) and new programming initiatives.
Manage reports on season activities, individual productions, programs, and special projects.
Supervise the work of Institutional Giving Manager, who leads government solicitation and education program funding requests.
Maintain relationships with program officers on a regular basis and host program officers and institutional supporters at the theater on a regular basis.
Managing grants and reporting calendar throughout the year. Guarantee that hard deadlines are met across all grant requests and reporting requirements.
Budget and Grant Tracking: collaborate with the Director of Development Operations to record received, pending, and projected grants, and to determine whether annual institutional fundraising target is on track. Oversee data entry and gift acknowledgement of institutional grants.
Funder research: work with researcher and others on team to identify new institutional funding prospects.
Assistance at special events: along with the entire Development team, this role assists as at LCT’s annual benefit and various other special events throughout the year.
Other projects as assigned.