Senior Vice President for Advancement The Curtis Institute of Music | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Curtis Institute of Music (Curtis or the School), the nation’s most selective music conservatory, seeks an accomplished and strategic Senior Vice President for Advancement (SVP) to provide astute leadership, vision, and direction for all philanthropic activities. For nearly a century, Curtis has provided each member of its selective student body with an unparalleled education alongside their musical peers. Curtis alumni, many of whom are recipients of the most prestigious awards and honors in the classical music world, go on to invent careers with impact around the world and in their communities. As Curtis prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2024, coinciding with the anticipated conclusion of its current $280 million campaign, the SVP is presented with a unique opportunity to galvanize philanthropic support in celebration of this important milestone while defining the roadmap for the Institute’s future fundraising success. Since 1924, Curtis has educated and trained exceptionally gifted musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest levels of artistry. With a current enrollment of 160 students honing their craft through orchestra, opera, and solo and chamber music programs, and a competitive acceptance rate of four percent, Curtis’s intimate size is a true testament to the talent and determination of its student population who benefit from a “learn by doing” philosophy and personalized attention from a faculty that includes many actively performing musicians. Curtis makes a significant investment in the artistic potential of its students by providing them with full-tuition scholarships and need-based grants for living expenses, ensuring that artistic promise is the only consideration for admission. As such, this investment in students brings the most promising young musicians to the school—regardless of their ability to pay—and ensures that they will rehearse and perform alongside musical peers of diverse races, nationalities, and origins. Critical to sustaining this unique full-tuition scholarship policy, among other strategic priorities, is a robust advancement enterprise. At its core, the power of philanthropy helps keep Curtis at the forefront of the world’s most prominent conservatories. Reporting to the President and CEO and serving as a key member of the Senior Management Team, the SVP will define and implement a strategic vision for fundraising at Curtis, overseeing the evaluation and achievement of the school’s annual philanthropic goals and positioning Curtis to achieve long-term contributed revenue and endowment growth. In addition, the SVP will serve as a liaison to the Board of Trustees and its Development Committee. This individual will establish priorities, objectives, and aspirations for a comprehensive advancement team of six currently, but anticipated to grow to nine, across major, planned, annual, and institutional giving; campaigns; stewardship; development communications; database management and prospect research; and strategic initiatives and board relations. The SVP will expertly guide and support the President and CEO in development-related activities, maximizing engagement opportunities around his performance calendar, the Curtis on Tour global initiative, and more than 200 public performances offered by current students each year. In addition, the SVP will engage with faculty, trustees, and other key stakeholders through fundraising and engagement activities. Personally managing a select portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and donors, the SVP will lead the cultivation and solicitation of transformative gifts and operationalize bold new ideas as well as time-tested techniques that will lead Curtis to even greater levels of funding. The SVP will also maintain collaborative relationships with colleagues across the organization to coordinate and execute philanthropic initiatives. In the near term, the SVP will oversee the successful completion of the current campaign, for which more than $200 million has been secured, and continue identifying unique opportunities to celebrate and steward Curtis’s generous supporters as the Institute approaches its centennial year. The ideal candidate will embrace and embody Curtis’s core values of compassion, respect, openness, and empathy. With at least ten years of demonstrated advancement leadership in a nonprofit organization of comparable size and complexity, the SVP will possess strong managerial, strategic planning, and motivational skills; a keen understanding of fundraising best practices; and a track record of significant personal success in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship at major and principal gift levels. The successful candidate will also possess a successful track record of creating highly efficient and effective advancement programs and experience leading a comprehensive development operation to heightened levels of achievement. The SVP will demonstrate a commitment to the school’s mission, history, and achievements, as well as an appreciation for and understanding of its contributions to the local, national, and global music community.Jack Gorman is leading this search with Nicole Poe and Sandeep Kaur. In its goal to create and maintain a diverse community, Curtis does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, gender identity, genetic tests and information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. APPLY NOMINATE contact Nicole Poe Full Description