Role: Director of  Advancement 

Employment Type: Consultant / Flexible

Location: WAM Theatre – Lenox, MA

Reports to: Managing Director

Director of Advancement

Position Overview: This Development role is dedicated to major gifts and institutional fundraising to advance WAM’s mission of empowering women and girls through the arts. The person in this role will be a key team contributor, their work will cultivate and steward major donors, develop institutional support through grants and foundations, and advance philanthropic strategies that strengthen WAM’s fundraising capacity. This position manages the donor pipeline, supports fundraising campaigns and events , ensures timely reporting, and works closely with the Managing Director and Artistic Director to engage high-level donors and institutional partners. This is an exciting opportunity for a development professional who is passionate about strategic relationship-building, advancing gender equity, and using philanthropy to fuel social change through the arts.

Key Responsibilities:

Institutional Giving

• Identify, cultivate, and sustain relationships with foundation staff and grantors.
• Research, write, and manage grant proposals and reports including future foundation and corporate partners.
• Explore institutional funding opportunities in gender equity, women’s leadership, girls’ empowerment, and related areas. 

Donor Cultivation & Stewardship

• Work in collaboration with Leadership to cultivate major donors by preparing materials, conducting research, and managing follow-up.
• Develop donor recognition programs and personalized stewardship strategies, including ensuring supporter recognition across all materials in collaboration with the wider team. 

Database & Reporting

• Update donor records and track giving trends.
• Produce fundraising reports, dashboards, and impact storytelling for staff and board.

Events & Campaigns

• Partner with the Managing Director and Comms Manager to plan and execute fundraising campaigns and donor events.
• Support logistics, coordination, and internal/external materials for cultivation activities.

Additional Duties

• The responsibilities outlined in this job description are not exhaustive and may evolve over time. The employee may be required to perform additional duties as assigned, consistent with the overall scope and responsibilities of the position.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Research indicates that men apply for jobs when they fulfill an average of 60% of the criteria, while individuals from historically oppressed communities tend to apply only if they meet every requirement. WAM Theatre is committed to creating, maintaining and learning about a diverse and inclusive working space and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. 

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, creed, national origin including ancestry, ethnicity, sex including pregnancy, gender, gender identity, gender expression, and transgender status, gender, disability, alienage or citizenship status, military status, including past, current, or prospective service in the uniformed services, genetic information, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim status, familial status, actual or perceived sexual orientation.