Job Description

Position Location: Performing Arts Centre, 250 St. Paul Street St. Catharines, ON, Canada, L2R 3M2
Job Type: One-year contract Jan 2023 - Dec 2023. Full-time. Possibility of extension.
Hours of Work: 40 hours/week. Evening and weekend hours regularly required to accommodate business demands and position requirements.
Salary Range: $70,000 to $80,000

The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) is building a team committed to strengthening our understanding of, and our relationship with, our diverse public. We are currently seeking an ambitious, relationship-centric, fund development professional to help shape the future of philanthropic giving at the PAC alongside the CEO and Board of Directors.

ABOUT THE PAC

Opening our doors in 2015, the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) is a 95,000 square foot arts and culture hub located in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario, serving the greater Niagara region. Owned by the City of St. Catharines, the care and management of the facility as well as the strategic business plan report through the CEO to the Board of Directors. Built as part of a downtown revitalization and cultural renaissance plan, our mandate includes being a presenter and curator of live performing arts and entertainment, an economic driver for our city and region, and providing a vital support network for Niagara artists and arts organizations. The PAC is also in a rich, long-term programmatic and operating partnership with Brock University.

Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, the PAC is comprised of four performance venues (Partridge Hall, Robertson Theatre, Recital Hall and The Film House) and a backyard space which host international, national and local artists alongside community partners and organizations. This project build was funded by all levels of government and included a successful 7-million-dollar capital and community fundraising campaign, which engaged over a dozen capital donors and over eighty community donors. Operating since 2020 in a Municipal Service Board model, the PAC is currently in application for charitable status with the CRA.

The PAC provides a platform to share the artist's unique voice showcasing diverse stories, history and lived experiences. We believe that healthy communities are built through arts and cultural engagement and that our individual and collective identities are shaped through the stories told. We engage audiences across the Niagara region and engage youth through school programming and work with social service organizations to remove barriers for under-served community members to experience the arts. Our community partnerships are built with equity, diversity and inclusion at the forefront, supporting work with local Indigenous, Black, Racialized and 2SLQBTQQIA+ artists.

As we look to grow and support the organization, particularly as we navigate the effects of the global pandemic, it is crucial that fund development efforts contribute to the recovery and sustainability of this important arts and cultural community organization.

POSITION SUMMARY
Reporting to the CEO, the Development Officer is a trusted, community-minded professional who is passionate about connecting philanthropic community members and business owners with the arts. Working with the CEO, Board of Directors, Fund Development Committee, senior management team and the Business and Partnership Associate, the successful candidate will help shape and actualize a company-wide fund development program towards achieving annual fund development revenue goals of $250,000. The objective of this new position is to work towards a sustainable, philanthropic fund development model at the PAC to address several goals, including annual giving, donor cultivation and stewardship, naming opportunities and identification of philanthropic corporate and foundation revenue opportunities.

To be successful in this role, the Development Officer must have excellent social and communication skills, be a skillful negotiator and love the idea of being on the ground building a dynamic new program.

Duties & Responsibilities:
Revenue Generation

• Maintains a thorough and accurate understanding of the PAC's strategic objectives, programs, and funding priorities to effectively connect supporters to funding
• Assists the CEO, Fund Development Committee and Board in the development and implementation of cultivation, solicitation and stewardship strategies for leadership giving prospects and major gift prospects.
• Creates compelling, personalized proposals and special solicitation correspondence for presentation to donors and prospects from corporate, philanthropic and foundation sources.
• Jointly and personally solicits prospects for gifts and donations.
• Contributes to the development and execution of donor events, including securing sponsorships and sales for the PAC's annual fundraiser (goal of $80K in sales and sponsorship)
• Researches and pursues new corporate philanthropy and foundation funding
• Collaborates with other departments on granting opportunities and applications
• Works cooperatively with the Business and Partnership Associate to coordinate strategies, goals and timetables for successful solicitations.

Donor Relations

• Steward donors and patrons to strengthen relations and contributions through ongoing and new initiatives, and communication.
• Monitors status and purchase/donation patterns of current donors and identifies prospects for new gifts
• Oversees the stewardship of existing and new philanthropic corporate and foundation funder relationships
• Creates tailored impact reports based on impact-driven metrics and narratives for CEO, Board, donors, sponsors and foundations.
• Establishes and maintains interpersonal relationships with supporters, donors, and Board volunteers.

Administration

• Collaborates with the Finance and Administration team to track and report on fundraising goals to the CEO, Fund Development Committee and Board of Directors
• Ensures timely and accurate maintenance of all gift, solicitation and donor information in AudienceView (CRM) database including tracking and fulfillment of pledges, donor recognition activities, tax receipting and timely acknowledgement.
• Ensures best practices in gift processing, data management and donor communications, following CRA guidelines for gift acceptance, privacy, accounting and donor management

Requirements: Qualifications

• Minimum five (5) years' experience in extensive, senior relationship building experience in a fundraising environment, advancement or community engagement capacity required.
• Proven experience in identifying, securing and stewarding individual and corporate gifts and sponsorships for annual campaigns, or capital campaigns for non-profit/charitable and/or municipal entities.
• Leadership experience, with accountability for budget management and stakeholder relations.
• Experience developing professional and effective working relationships with staff, volunteers, community members and funders.
• Experience with a CRM is an asset.
• In accordance with the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre's Mandatory Vaccination Policy, proof of all required doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Canada are required.

Required Knowledge, Skills & Abilities:

• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, as well as work with a variety of supports, patrons and donors.
• Excellent writing, research, communications, and presentation skills
• High degree of professionalism and discretion with confidential information

Additional Info:

Working Conditions:

• Open concept, dog-friendly office environment
• Fast paced, creative environment
• Availability and willingness to work some evenings, weekends, as events and business demands

OUR PAC EMPLOYEE PROMISE

Working at the PAC means embracing the values of collaboration, creativity, care, and continued learning. We offer a robust health and dental benefits plan including an employee assistance program and extended health care, pension plan, opportunities for learning and growth and vacation flexibility. The PAC is a casual, creative environment that offers an open-concept, pet-friendly workplace, supports flexible work schedules and believes in the importance of a healthy work-life balance.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:

At the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all employees and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, feels valued and respected. Managers commit to a nondiscriminatory leadership and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement in their department, programs, and work environment. All the PAC employees will respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices within their team and the FirstOntario PAC are valued and heard.

Health & Safety:

All employees will be expected to follow all company policies and procedures with regards to Health & Safety. A worker shall work in compliance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations; use or wear the equipment, protective devices, or clothing that the worker's employer requires to be used or worn. A worker must report to their employer or supervisor the absence of or defect in any equipment or protective devices of which the worker is aware and which may endanger himself, herself, or another worker; and report to their employer or supervisor any contravention of this act or the regulations or the existence of any hazard of which he or she knows. No worker shall remove or make ineffective any protective device required by the regulations or by their employer, without providing adequate temporary protective device and when the need for removing or making ineffective the protective device has ceased, the protective device shall be replaced immediately; use or operate any equipment, machine, device or thing or work in a manner that may endanger themselves or any other worker; or engage in any prank, contest, feat of strength, unnecessary running or rough and boisterous conduct. A worker is not required to participate in a prescribed medical surveillance program unless the worker consents to do so. (OHSA Sec. 27)