Senior Director, Institutional Advancement

Description

Title: Senior Director, Institutional Advancement 

Employment Status: Exempt 

Salary: $100,00-160,000 plus bonuses, commensurate with experience and performance 

Supervisor Title: Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships and Philanthropy 

Date Revised: October 2025 

Summary of Position: 

Working closely with the organization’s leadership, the Senior Director will oversee management of the development office and focus on expanding Meridian’s network for individual and major gift donors and enhancing their engagement. 

The successful Senior Director will have front-line individual donor fundraising experience that includes leading individual membership campaigns, from an established, international think tank, or national security, or global affairs nonprofit. They will have established relationships in the high-net-worth philanthropic, cultural, international and political communities both inside and outside of Washington, D.C., and an interest and understanding of international affairs, culture and diplomacy. 

This position is located in Washington D.C. and Meridian requires MD, DC, or VA residence for all employees. The position may work partially remotely until further notice.

Position Responsibilities: 

Individual Donors + Major Gifts Responsibilities 

• Responsible for directly fundraising, and overseeing the successful fundraising of the Institutional Advancement team, reaching all fundraising goals for the Meridian Council, the Meridian Ball, and Culturefix, with a 10%+ average annual growth rate 
• Ensures retention of existing donors, maintaining an 85%+ donor membership renewal rate 
• In addition to growing the Meridian Council, Meridian Ball, and Culturefix fundraising, responsible for raising $300k+ in new, mid-large size gifts from individuals annually, cultivating and growing existing philanthropic partners and bringing in new ones for programs and campaigns across Meridian 
• Oversees and helps curate donor engagement programs including the Meridian Council 
• Communicates regularly to individual donors and prospects and serves as the central point of contact for philanthropic relationships 
• Drafts fundraising collateral as well as specific partnership and solicitation proposals tailored to major donors focused on Meridian programs and initiatives 
• Works closely with the special events team to successfully implement the annual Meridian Ball, Culturefix, and other fundraising and donor events 
• Works with leadership to cultivate new Board members with an eye to growing the culture of philanthropy and major giving 
• Builds philanthropic partnerships for the capital campaign.   

Management Responsibilities  

• Leads institutional advancement team in ensuring fundraising excellence through moves management 
• Responsible for ensuring best practices in fundraising processes lead to accurate gift tracking, timely donor acknowledgments, regular membership renewal cycles, timely scheduling of donor programs, and special event fundraising 
• Builds supportive supervision and team culture, directly supervising 3 junior staff on Institutional Advancement team   
• Provides input on goals and portfolios for Institutional Advancement budget and adherence to it 
• Communicates regularly with senior staff on overall development activities, budget goals, fundraising progress and issues  
• Responsible for completing all organizational administrative responsibilities in a timely manner and meeting all organizational administrative deadlines 
• Other duties as assigned 

Education/Experience 

• Undergraduate degree in International Relations, Public Policy or related fields 
• 10 years of progressive responsibility in a non-profit fundraising environment and an interest and familiarity with international affairs 
• Any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position 

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities: 

• Confident and accomplished front-line fundraising experience and a proven ability to identify, engage, solicit and close individual major donors independently 
• Demonstrated experience closing complex, multiyear gifts from diversified sources 
• Demonstrated ability to understand philanthropic priorities of high-net-worth individuals and ability to connect the dots to align with organizational priorities 
• Strong experience with major event fundraising and ability to raise sponsorships and develop partnerships for special events and conferences