About Mote Marine Laboratory
Mote Marine Laboratory, located in Sarasota, Florida, was founded in 1955 as an independent marine research institution and has since become a distinguished and integrated research enterprise with a focus on education, public outreach, and public policy programs.

Position Overview
The Senior Major Gifts Officer at Mote Marine Laboratory will report directly to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and work independently and as part of the Development Team. The Senior Major Gifts Officer will be responsible for securing significant revenue for Mote Marine Laboratory. The Senior Major Gifts Officer will be expected to develop dynamic fundraising strategies focused on engaging, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding an assigned portfolio of prospects as well as developing new prospects focused on leadership level giving for the organization.

The Senior Major Gifts Officer will:
Working with Mote’s CDO, develop strategy for major giving institution-wide that focuses on engaging existing donors and qualifying, contacting, and engaging new prospects.
Establish personal relationships with major donors, identifying their interests and articulating programmatic aspects of Mote Marine Laboratory’s work that would appeal to them.
Leverage individual donor relationships to expand and deepen giving from connected individuals.
Identify new donor prospects and develop personalized strategies for cultivation and stewardship.
Personally solicit a specific portfolio of 100-200 prospects, with an emphasis on leadership level annual gifts as well as multi-year pledges.
Work with portfolio to deepen relationships and encourage Planned Giving opportunities.
Partner with Mote CDO in managing her donor relationships as needed.
Work with and support the Board of Trustees with cultivation and stewardship of particular donors.
Plan and execute introductory or cultivation events for donors and prospects as agreed upon with Mote CDO.
Develop strong funding proposals with Mote education, aquarium and research staff.
Draft and coordinate correspondence to donors, including gift agreements, letters, email updates, reports, etc.
Represent Mote at local fundraising events, business meetings and networking opportunities to establish and develop contacts in specified communities.
Track and manage the prospective donor pool to develop weekly update reports and monitor and evaluate program results.
Maintain strong records in Mote’s database, Raiser’s Edge.
The successful candidate will participate in strategy meetings with CDO to collaboratively develop plans to strengthen donor experience, grow philanthropic funding and expand Mote Marine Laboratory’s philanthropic reach throughout the national and international community.
Enhance the culture of philanthropy at Mote Marine Laboratory.
Become an expert on Mote Marine Laboratory, continually finding ways to increase personal knowledge.

Requirements
The Senior Major Gifts Officer is an energetic, goal-driven, customer service-oriented team member reporting directly to the CDO.
The successful candidate should possess a broad knowledge of the principles of fundraising, moves management and the ability to participate in all aspects of the gift cycle.
Candidate must also possess a proven track record in individual gift fundraising, managing a large portfolio including experience closing gifts of $100,000+.
The Senior Major Gifts Officer must possess an understanding of the principles and vehicles of Planned Giving.
Experience in corporate fundraising highly desirable.
Candidate must have at least five years of professional Major Gift experience. Preference will be given to candidates who have demonstrated qualitative success in working with member-based organizations and volunteers.
Must demonstrate strong listening skills, strong oral and written communication skills, sophisticated interpersonal and relationship-building skills, and be literate in standard office software.
Knowledge of Raiser’s Edge.
Attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.
Experience with capital campaigns is a plus.
Bachelor degree or equivalent experience is required.
Other duties as assigned.

Interested applicants should submit as a single electronic file, 1) a cover letter, 2) resume, and 3) the names and contact information for three references to HumanResources@mote.org. Alternatively, a single package of all requested elements may be submitted to Mote Marine Laboratory, Attn: Human Resources, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.