Senior Manager, Advancement Communications

Honolulu Academy of Arts • Honolulu, HI

2h • Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Advancement Communications serves as the museum’s lead architect and steward of donor-centered messaging, ensuring that philanthropy is clearly, consistently, and compellingly embedded across advancement communications and aligned institutional storytelling. Reporting directly to the Chief Advancement Officer, this role functions as both a strategic partner and a hands-on leader. The Senior Manager is responsible for developing philanthropic narrative frameworks; writing, editing, and elevating a high volume of advancement communications; and managing complex, cross-functional workflows that support donor engagement, stewardship, and campaign success. This role ensures that all advancement communications clearly reflect and advance the museum’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities, translating institutional goals into donor-centered narratives that inspire philanthropic partnership and deepen engagement.

Requirements

• A bachelor’s degree in business, communications, non-profit management, or related field.
• Seven years of progressively responsible experience in advancement communications, development writing, or donor engagement.
• Demonstrated experience producing high-volume, high-quality fundraising writing.
• Direct experience supporting major gifts and/or campaign fundraising.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Demonstrated strength in project management and cross-functional coordination.
• CFRE or demonstrated fluency with ethical, donor-centered fundraising practices.
• Able to handle confidential financial information with tact and discretion.
• A strong sense of professionalism; must be comfortable acting as a point of contact for the Advancement team and museum.
• Comfort leveraging emerging tools and technologies to improve efficiency while maintaining confidentiality and quality standards.
• Honesty, integrity, and a strong work ethic supported by commitment, enthusiasm, and follow-through.
• Ability to work within and support a diverse community of visitors, artists, and employees.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in a museum, cultural institution, higher education, or similarly complex nonprofit environment.
• Experience developing messaging frameworks or narrative toolkits.
• Understanding of and dedication to advancing the Honolulu Museum of Art’s identity, vision, and values.

Responsibilities

• Develops and stewards donor-centered messaging frameworks that articulate the museum’s philanthropic priorities, campaign goals, and impact narratives.
• Serves as the primary author and editor of advancement communications, ensuring clarity, consistency, and strategic alignment across donor touchpoints.
• Partners closely with frontline fundraisers to align messaging with cultivation strategy, donor motivations, and solicitation goals.
• Establishes and upholds department and museum editorial standards, ensuring consistency in voice, tone, accessibility, and inclusive language.
• Partners closely with the Chief Advancement Officer to shape advancement-forward institutional messaging during campaign planning, execution, and stewardship.
• Writes, edits, and oversees a high volume of advancement communications, including major and principal gift proposals, stewardship reports, donor updates, campaign materials, cases for support, and board-facing communications.
• Provides substantive editing and message refinement for materials produced by advancement staff as well as marketing and communications partners as appropriate.
• Translates complex curatorial, programmatic, and financial information into compelling, donor-centered language that integrates both data and story.
• Creates material in multiple voices, including senior leadership and campaign communications contexts.
• Ensures that all advancement communications reflect ethical, donor-centered fundraising practices and reinforce trust, clarity, and impact.
• Leads advancement communications workflows from concept through execution, managing timelines, dependencies, inputs, and approvals across multiple stakeholders.
• Designs and oversees the sequencing of communications to align with fundraising strategy, campaign phases, and donor engagement priorities.
• Coordinates closely with Advancement colleagues, Marketing & Communications staff, and institutional partners to ensure timely delivery and message integrity.
• Collaborates on gift announcement strategy and timing in coordination with Marketing & Communications.
• Partners with Marketing & Communications to ensure philanthropic priorities and donor-centered framing are accurately reflected in outward-facing institutional materials.
• Collaborates with Curatorial, Education, and Programs teams to identify compelling stories and translate them into advancement-ready narratives.
• May mentor or provide guidance to advancement staff and partners on writing standards and donor-centered messaging.
• Demonstrates a commitment to fostering cultivating, and preserving a culture of inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility through respectful communication and cooperation with others, continuous training, and the modeling of inclusive behaviors.
• In partnership with HR, supports the leadership team in ensuring equitable experiences, strengthening inclusion acumen and promoting a culture of belonging that embraces the contributions of all staff.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Fully covered medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees.
• 12 paid holidays.
• 15 days of vacation accrued in the 1st year, increasing to 20 days in the 2nd year.
• 15 days of sick leave accrued annually.
• Group retirement plans with employer matching after 12 months of service.
• Shop, Museum Café, and Art School discounts.
• Onsite parking provided.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior