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Job Title: Development Manager

Reports to: Co-founder/Artistic Director 

Direct Reports: Development Associate (20 hours/week), Development/Box Office Associate (10 hours/week)

Position Type: Full-time Exempt

Salary Range: $60,000 – $70,000

About Us

Portland Playhouse is a professional theatre company in Portland’s King Neighborhood with an annual budget of $2.2 million. Founded in 2008 in a converted church, we’ve grown from a company of friends into one of the city’s significant cultural institutions — with a mainstage season, education programming, and deep neighborhood roots.

We’re hiring a Development Manager to lead the fundraising that sustains it, working directly with the co-founder and a small staff of dedicated professionals.

General Summary

The Development Manager leads Portland Playhouse’s fundraising: building and executing the annual plan, running two annual campaigns, donor events, and cultivating and soliciting individual donors, including major gifts. The position carries a $600,000 individual giving goal and supervises two part-time staff.

Institutional funding is handled separately. Cone PDX manages all grant applications and reports and works directly with the Artistic Director. The Development Manager stays informed and coordinates where individual and institutional relationships overlap, but grant writing is not part of this role.

Job Responsibilities

Fundraising:

● Development of Portland Playhouse’s annual fundraising plan to raise $600,000 and work with the Staff and Board on its implementation

● Direct and manage the work of the Development Associate (to be hired for 20 hours/week), Development/Box Office Associate (current, 10 hours/week Devo support)

● Participate and collaborate with Cone PDX, who is responsible for all grant applications and reports. Cone reports to the Artistic Director.

● Envision & execute donor events for Opening Nights

● Cultivate, recruit, and support a portfolio of individual donors

● Create & execute 2 annual campaigns: end-of-year and Give!Guide in Nov/Dec and a Spring or end-of-fiscal-year campaign in May/June

● Solicit and manage partnerships with local businesses and corporate sponsorships

Communications:

● Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications Directors on the development of Portland Playhouse’s donor Communications Plan, including donor and volunteer recruitment

● Assist with public relations activities as needed

● Provide sponsor and donor recognition information for all communication channels, including maintaining accurate funder lists for each production and ensuring that these are regularly updated and shared with the Marketing and Communications Department

● Review marketing and communication collateral as needed (email, postcard, ads, playbill, etc.) to ensure integration with fundraising goals

Program Evaluation:

● Collaborate on program evaluation process to measure the effectiveness of our education, community, and stage productions – including patron demographic surveys, patron email surveys, pre- and post-evaluation surveys

● Reporting back to funders as needed and requested

Donor Cultivation and Appreciation:

● Work with the Artistic Director, Staff and Board to create an outreach campaign to improve donor relations and major giving opportunities. Analyze donor interests to help develop better donor stewardship

● Serve as project manager for the creation and distribution of the Annual Report

● Meet with donors to further cultivate relationships and identify interests – point of engagement

Qualifications/Characteristics/Key Competencies

● At least three years of fundraising experience, including direct solicitation of individual donors

● Demonstrated ability to cultivate and close major gifts

● Experience planning and executing fundraising campaigns or donor events

● Experience supervising staff, volunteers, or contractors

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills

● Comfort working in a CRM and using donor data to guide strategy (Portland Playhouse uses Salesforce/Patron Manager; direct experience a plus)

● A strong commitment to equity and inclusion, and the ability to build relationships across diverse communities

● Ability to be self-directed and manage competing deadlines in a small organization where staff wear many hats

● Experience in arts, culture, or another performance-based organization a plus

● Familiarity with the Portland philanthropic community a plus

Compensation:

● $60,000 – $70,000 annual salary based on experience

● Full-time employees are eligible for health & dental benefits, and a retirement savings plan with employer match up to 4%

● 3 weeks of paid time off

Working Conditions:

● ADA accessible building

● Private office

● In-person work required, including select evenings and weekends

● Frequent use of computers, video calls, and phone

Hiring Process:

● Rolling interviews beginning Sep. 10th

● Initial interviews to occur via Zoom, and accommodation requests welcomed

● Second interviews to occur at Portland Playhouse

● Target start date in early October

Equity Statement:

Portland Playhouse greatly values inclusion and workplace diversity. We strongly encourage people with diverse backgrounds, particularly from communities of color and historically underrepresented groups, whose professional and personal experiences advance our vision to apply. We support equal employment opportunities for all classes of individuals, regardless of age, race, color, national origin, citizenship status, disability, religious creed, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, economic status, or veteran status. We are an equal opportunity employer.

Application Instructions:

To apply, email a single PDF including your resume and cover letter to [email protected]. In the subject line, include the name of the position for which you are applying.