Capital Campaign Director | Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History

Hybrid work model – The appointee must reside on the East Coast with a strong preference for someone based within the New York metropolitan area or Greater Philadelphia.

 **Museum Overview
**The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman), located on historic Independence Mall in Philadelphia, presents educational programs and experiences that preserve, explore, and celebrate the history of Jews in America. Its purpose is to connect Jews more closely to their heritage and to inspire in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience and the freedoms to which Americans aspire.

The Weitzman’s vision is to be the preeminent national museum creatively teaching, interpreting, and inspiring dialogue about the American‐Jewish experience in the context of American history. The Museum will be a force fueling the American spirit of courage and imagination, aspiration and hard work, leadership, and service, through active engagement with the stories of American Jewish life and tradition.

The Weitzman is an essential voice celebrating the extraordinary achievements of Jewish Americans and educating the public about who Jewish people are. Founded within historic congregation Mikvah Israel in 1976, on the eve of our nation’s bicentennial, The Weitzman inaugurated its 100,000 square foot space on Independence Mall in 2010 with 30,000+ artifacts documenting Jewish American life.

The Weitzman is entering a new era, with a strategic plan that guides the Museum to reveal how Jewish history, life, and culture have been intertwined with American history since before the birth of the nation. As the nation’s Jewish museum, The Weitzman has the capacity to help Jews and non-Jews alike understand how the American Jewish experience, from the colonial era to the present day, presents a lens through which diverse audiences may consider the promise, role, and contemporary vitality of American history. Critically, this role also positions The Weitzman to lead the fight to confront rising antisemitism through education.

The Museum will achieve this vision with a groundbreaking new exhibition and by attracting repeat visitors, especially families. Best-of-class Jewish cultural and educational programming will have national impact through on-site experiences, off-site educational opportunities, and partnerships across the country. 

The Weitzman has identified five interconnected objectives for its Renewal Campaign’s first phase in 2026, intended to propel the Museum firmly on the national stage. These objectives are timely, achievable proofs-of-concept that will showcase the Museum’s capacity to deliver on the ambitious goal to be the premier national museum addressing Jewish American history and culture. Phase 1 activities include the following:

• Mount a new exhibition, The First Salute: The Secret Story of Caribbean Jews and the American Revolution.

• Create the Weitzman’s new Family Gallery with the theme of The Colors of Creation.

• Respond to rising antisemitism with a new media installation and by scaling up the national curriculum on Jewish inclusion and contemporary antisemitism.

• Pursue transfer to The Smithsonian to realize the national aspiration of the Museum’s vision.

Implementation of Phase 1 activities has already begun, fueled by $15 million in high-impact fundraising occurring during 2025 under the visionary leadership of President & CEO Dan Tadmor, who joined the Museum in January 2025.

 An even more ambitious Phase 2 of the Renewal Campaign, called Weitzman Reimagined, seeks to raise an additional $50 million to establish a new Core Exhibition, distinguish the Museum as a world-class institution, and markedly grow the endowment to help ensure The Weitzman’s ongoing impact for generations to come.

**Position Summary
**The Capital Campaign Director (Director) reports to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) and will work closely with the President & CEO (CEO), with a dotted-line reporting relationship to the latter.  The Director will play a vital role in meeting the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History’s ambitious philanthropic income goals, with a focus on major and principal gifts, including six, seven, and eight-figure gifts for both annual fundraising needs and the newly launched Renewal Campaign for The Weitzman. As such, this position is responsible for developing a strategy for identifying, engaging, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of donors, prospects, and institutional stakeholders for annual and capital giving.

 Additional primary responsibilities of the Director are to ensure all aspects of the capital campaign move forward and individualized strategies are created for the organization’s portfolio of major donors who are deemed capital campaign prospects. This includes day-to-day details of campaign implementation, arrangements and notifications for meetings, campaign correspondence, monitoring gift and pledge records, and conducting prospect research. This position will work with a variety of campaign volunteers, professional staff, and donors.

 The ideal candidate will be a self-starter who will take ownership of major initiatives and bring them to a successful conclusion, as well as possess excellent relationship-building skills with the ability to cultivate and solicit six, seven, and eight-figure gifts from a diverse donor base.

**Candidate Profile
**While The Weitzman will consider a broad range of backgrounds, the ideal candidate will have the following qualifications/experience:

• Enthusiasm and passion for the mission of The Weitzman and a desire to share it.

• Minimum of 6-10 years of relevant work experience with a proven record in major gift cultivation and solicitation (gifts of up to six to seven-figures) as well as effective portfolio management, including prospect research, major gifts Moves Management or similar processes, and donor stewardship.

• Experience in developing, implementing, and monitoring strategic campaign plans as well as reporting on progress to senior administrative leaders and board members. Skilled at goal setting and measuring success, and agility in developing alternate strategies to meet goals as necessary.

• Strength in developing the case for support and strategic, innovative fundraising plans, and executing plans to achieve goals and objectives. Experience working directly with the most senior levels of an organization and the ability to effectively strategize and engage various groups and constituents. Demonstrated ability to translate concepts into multi-stakeholder initiatives.

• Demonstrated ability in planning and executing integrated, strategic communications in support of achieving fundraising goals

• Experience in identifying, nurturing, and motivating volunteers, particularly board members, and an appreciation for their role in an effective fundraising network.

• Proficiency in donor management systems and wealth screening software, preferably Raiser’s Edge NXT and Donor Search.

• Superior interpersonal and written and oral communication skills.

• A disciplined, strategic, and self-motivated professional with a strong work ethic.

• Flexible for some domestic travel and work evenings and weekends as needed.

• Bachelor’s degree.

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History is an equal-opportunity employer.

Download the full position description via the following link:
https://www.dsgco.com/search/22898-weitzman

The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History has retained DSG Fundraising & Advancement of DSG Global to assist in this confidential search process. Inquiries, nominations, and applications (current resumes and cover letters) may be submitted via the following link or directed to the leader of the search team:https://talent-profile.dsgco.com/search/v2/22898

 Gerard F. Cattie, Jr.
Global Managing Partner and Practice Founder – DSG Fundraising & Advancement
DSG Global
New York, New York
gcattie@divsearch.com | 212-542-2587