Posted: 3/28/2026
Salary Range: $190,000 - $220,000
The Opportunity
PAFA is at a thrilling crossroads as it moves into 2026 (the nation’s semi-quincentennial) and beyond, putting art at the forefront of the conversation about America’s past, present, and future.
In February 2026, PAFA welcomed a new President & CEO, Kristen Shepherd. A nationally respected museum executive with more than 25 years of experience—including senior roles at the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg, LACMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Sotheby’s—Shepherd is known for elevating visibility, strengthening institutions, and championing the evolving and diverse story of American art. She describes PAFA as a “force in American art,” bringing a forward-looking vision that aligns with the Academy’s historic mission and its next era of growth, innovation, and national impact.
At this exciting inflection point, PAFA seeks an entrepreneurial and fearless fundraising leader to serve as the Chief Development Officer (“CDO”). Reporting to the President & CEO, the CDO will be a key member of the Senior Leadership Team and partner with PAFA stakeholders, including the Board of Trustees, staff, artists, donors, and funders, to achieve the institution’s strategic and fundraising goals.
In close collaboration with the President & CEO, the CDO will direct and lead PAFA's efforts to advance philanthropy, community understanding and goodwill for the programs and priorities of the organization. PAFA’s annual fundraising target is $5M with the goal of growing contributed income over time to allow the organization to be less reliant on the endowment for support.
With primary responsibility to expand funding, the CDO's key responsibilities include:
Strategic Leadership
- Guided by PAFA’s mission, strategic priorities, vision for the future, and core values, provide inspirational and effective fundraising leadership that increases and sustains philanthropic support.
- In partnership with the President & CEO, Board of Trustees, and Development Committee, establish a strategic philanthropic vision that advances PAFA’s strategic plan and strengthens long-term institutional health.
- Demonstrate fluency in PAFA’s mission, programs, collections, history, audiences, and finances—and translate this understanding into compelling donor messaging and institutional storytelling.
- Develop and lead a multiyear philanthropic strategy that aligns annual, campaign, and planned giving priorities to institutional goals.
- Produce strategic tools—including gift tables, campaign readiness milestones, and stage gated plans—that guide donor engagement and leadership volunteer activation.
- Bring enthusiasm to advancing PAFA’s standing as a national leader in American art, and collaborate with the Executive Team and Board to strengthen its national profile, donor base, and community engagement.
Fundraising & Ambassadorial Leadership
- Design and execute a comprehensive fundraising plan that accelerates growth across individuals, foundations, corporations, and government.
- Meet or exceed annual, campaign, and multiyear revenue goals through disciplined planning and continuous strategy optimization.
- Partner with the President & CEO, board members, and volunteers to secure principal, major, corporate, foundation, and government gifts and grants.
- Serve as a key ambassador for PAFA in the Greater Philadelphia community, attending external gatherings, peer institution fundraising events, and networking opportunities to expand the institution’s visibility and reach.
- Provide strategic leadership for signature fundraising events, with a focus on high value corporate sponsorship strategy, leadership level volunteer management, converting gala attendees into donors, and delivering an excellent patron experience.
- Build and expand the planned giving program to strengthen the endowment and create durable, future focused revenue streams.
Portfolio, Pipeline & Donor Management
- Serve as the primary gift solicitor and closer. Manage a high value portfolio, driving purposeful prospect movement with clear activity and revenue targets.
- Strengthen and expand PAFA’s donor pipeline by establishing stage definitions, movement expectations, and portfolio standards that support principal gift development.
- Ensure effective, ongoing communication with donors and prospects, including cultivation, solicitation, follow-up, and stewardship.
Leadership & Organizational Culture
- Build, mentor, and coach the 4–6‑person development team with clear goals, KPIs, coaching, and accountability.
- Recruit, retain, and develop professional staff through transparent goalsetting, performance metrics, and a culture of stewardship, integrity, and excellence.
- Foster an inclusive, mission aligned culture that builds trust, strengthens cross functional collaboration, and reflects PAFA’s values in all donor interactions.
Development Operations
- Create and manage fiscal year budgets for contributed revenue and development expenses, ensuring disciplined forecasting, variance management, and alignment with institutional priorities.
- Build and sustain a high functioning development operations infrastructure—including CRM accuracy, prospect research, reporting systems, proposal pipelines, gift processing, and stewardship protocols.
- Create and maintain data driven dashboards to track activity, conversion, revenue, and forecast accuracy; use insights to adjust strategy and improve year over year performance.
Cross Functional Leadership & Board Engagement
- Activate the Board of Trustees as strategic allies—equipping trustees with cases, call plans, and metrics to expand PAFA’s reach and open principal gift pathways.
- Collaborate across the museum, arts education, and operations to ensure fundraising aligns with institutional priorities.
- Partner with Marketing and Communications to ensure donor messaging, storytelling, and visibility support philanthropic goals.
- Advance long‑term sustainability by partnering with Finance to support revenue strategies and endowment growth aligned with investment policies.
Candidate Profile Ideal CDO candidates possess the following personal and professional qualities, competencies, skills, and characteristics:
Strategic, Results-driven Fundraising Leadership A seasoned and strategically minded fundraising leader, the CDO brings a proven record of designing and delivering comprehensive, multiyear philanthropic strategies—spanning multimillion dollar capital and comprehensive campaigns, major and principal gifts, planned giving, and an annual funding model that grows year over year. The ideal candidate brings experience translating institutional priorities into actionable pipelines and multiyear revenue plans, pairing data discipline with creative campaign design across annual, capital, endowment, and special initiatives. Entrepreneurial and solutions oriented, the CDO navigates inflection points with agility and applies tight forecasting, portfolio management, clear KPIs, and pipeline analytics to ensure sustained, year over year growth. The CDO demonstrates a stewardship mindset, recognizing philanthropy as a lever for both near term outcomes and long-term institutional health—with a proven ability to turn institutional vision into durable, scalable funding momentum.
Major and Principal Gift Mastery An energized relationship‑builder, the CDO builds authentic trust with individuals, foundations, corporations, and public funders—moving prospects purposefully from discovery to stewardship and consistently closing five‑ to seven‑figure gifts. This executive is experienced serving as a visible ambassador for their institutions, elevating the mission and building a national profile while inviting donors into transformational exhibitions, collection stewardship, arts education, and community impact. The CDO brings a warm, collegial style and a history of cultivating enduring, trust‑based donor relationships that strengthen engagement over time. The ideal candidate is experienced in partnering with CEOs who are also strong fundraisers, thoughtfully designing approaches that set the CEO, Board, and organization up for success by modeling donor‑centric practices and inspiring confidence among new and long‑standing stakeholders alike.
Team Leadership and Talent Development Modeling best practices in leadership and collaborative culture‑building, the CDO brings a track record of success recruiting, developing, and retaining a high‑performing advancement team. The CDO builds the operational backbone of a strong development function through research, CRM rigor, pipeline discipline, proposals, gift processing, appreciation, and stewardship—so wins are repeatable and scalable. Ideal candidates demonstrate integrity, sound judgment, and steadiness, creating clarity during times of change and setting a tone of accountability and mutual respect. The CDO brings a track record of success developing goals and transparent metrics and providing coaching to elevate performance and align resources to deliver campaign and annual targets across all revenue streams. The CDO establishes clear operating rhythms—portfolio reviews, dashboard reporting, and data‑driven decision‑making—that create alignment, visibility, and accountability across PAFA.
Mission-Driven Engagement Authentically inspired by PAFA’s role and impact, the CDO is excited to communicate the institution’s value proposition across all audiences. These executive embraces opportunities to engage with students, artists, visitors, community partners, and the public with respect, building trust‑based relationships. Culturally competent, the CDO brings curiosity, humility, and character—instilling confidence and optimism during this period of transformation.
Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive leadership experience developing and executing complex, high‑impact fundraising strategies that have successfully scaled organizations.
- Strong experience partnering with Marketing and Communications teams to expand individual and mass‑market giving across diverse digital and traditional channels.
- Proven record of cultivating and stewarding high‑net‑worth individuals, including experience with estate planning and legacy giving, capital campaigns, and endowment efforts.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience building, managing, and developing high‑performing fundraising teams.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- CFRE designation desired.
- Experience working in the Philadelphia fundraising market is ideal but not required.
- Arts and culture sector experience desired; museum experience a plus.
- Ability to work from PAFA’s offices daily; this role does not offer a remote or hybrid work model.
Given the importance of building authentic and strong ties with the community, the CDO will be expected to reside in the Philadelphia region.
About the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Mission: As the first art museum and school in the United States, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts tells the stories of American art through its collections, exhibitions, and programs. The Academy educates artists from around the world to be innovative and critical thinkers with a deep understanding of art fundamentals and traditions. Through its world-class museum and school, PAFA nurtures and recognizes artists at every turn in their career.
Vision: PAFA will be an inclusive, creative community of artists and audiences seeking education, contemplation, inspiration, and dialogue.
“Promote the cultivation of the Fine Arts, in the United States of America, by exciting the efforts of artists, gradually to unfold, enlighten, and invigorate the talents of our Countrymen.”
—Academy Charter (December 26, 1805)
For 220 years, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)—the first art museum and school in the nation—has supported a close‑knit community of curators, educators, artists, critics, scholars, museum professionals, and alumni, and has created a home for contemporary artists to reinvent tradition and make their own mark on the future. PAFA is a national leader in fine arts education that brings together artists and the public through exceptional arts education programs, a world‑class collection of American art, major exhibitions, and widely accessible public programs.
PAFA’s museum is internationally acclaimed for its collection of American paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, and for presenting exhibitions that illuminate the broad and diverse narratives of American creativity and artistic innovation. PAFA is committed to honoring the many perspectives that define American art. Its archives preserve significant resources for scholars and practitioners studying American art history, the museum field, and art training.
PAFA’s education offerings attract some of the most committed and promising art students from across the country and around the globe to study painting, drawing, printmaking, and sculpture with a distinguished faculty of working artists. The school holds a position of national prestige, with private studios and classroom facilities, printmaking and papermaking shops, a foundry, the historic cast collection, and the opportunity for students to exhibit in an annual show.
Core Values
- Museum: The Museum exhibits and collects the finest American art and mounts world‑class exhibitions that travel the country and tell the many stories of American history.
- Education: PAFA is committed to providing widely accessible arts education and experiences to people of all ages and levels of expertise, from youth programs to professional training for artists.
- Community: PAFA’s community of curators, aspiring and established artists, alumni, faculty, and staff cultivates signature experiences with art and artmaking.
- Stewardship: PAFA responsibly cares for its collections and buildings through scholarship and preservation for the benefit of current and future generations.
- Traditions: To inform contemporary artmaking, PAFA promotes active engagement with and learning from historic fine arts traditions.
- Diversity: PAFA remains committed to ethnic, cultural, gender, and artistic diversity and inclusion within the student body, faculty, professional staff, and volunteers, and actively seeks to reflect the needs of diverse audiences in its programs and collections.
Compensation Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary range for this role is $190,000--$220,000 with a generous benefits package.
PAFA is an Equal Opportunity Employer dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment that actively seeks and nurtures the talents of qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds. We champion equal opportunity for all applicants, embracing their unique identities, including race, color, religion, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, age, disability, and veteran status. This position entails background screening and the Caliper Personality Profile.
Contact DSG | Koya has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Anne McCarthy and Malissa Brennan. Express interest in this role by https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/22993 or emailing the search team directly at pafa_cdo@dsgco.com. All inquiries and discussions are strictly confidential.
DSG | Koya is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.
About DSG | Koya DSG | Koya, a DSG Global company, is the nation’s premier search firm dedicated to mission-driven leadership. Since its founding in 2004, DSG | Koya has had an exclusive focus on mission-driven clients and was founded on the belief that the right leader can transform an organization and have a deep and measurable impact on our world. DSG | Koya works with nonprofits & NGOs, responsible businesses, and social enterprises in local communities and around the world.
DSG Global is consistently recognized by Forbes on its top 10 list of “America’s Best Executive Recruiting Firms” and is an industry leader in recruiting transformational leaders for a changing world. The firm is deliberately different in its approach, with best-in-class teams who have decades of experience in cultivating inclusive leaders, understanding the dimensions of diversity, and building equitable teams.
Learn more about DSG | Koya via the firm's https://www.dsgco.com/industry/nonprofit-and-social-impact/.
How to Apply Please visit
https://apptrkr.com/7031443.