Requires membership in various civic and business organizations to cultivate and broaden donor base. Works to build an effective team through support and open communication. Serves as a senior staff liaison to the Development Committee, and associated committees and sub-committees as required. Works with the General Director to build donor relationships and fundraise gifts of all sizes. Work involves extensive internal contacts with the Board of Directors, COO/CFO, and Department Directors. Supervises the Development Department which currently consists of 12 staff members. Serves, when requested, as spokesperson for the Opera at special occasions and events.

Ensures that Development budgets follow established budgetary guidelines. Responsible for meeting contributed revenue goals (currently $12.5 million) as set forth in the Strategic Plan. Prepares and submits development income statements monthly and weekly fundraising status reports. Responsible for the preparation and administration of the Development Department's budget. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES: Responsibility and Authority This includes expanding and improving current development programs and also taking the initiative to create new and different types of programs as they pertain to major gifts, membership, corporate, foundation, individual, and government development efforts. The Director of Development is the chief funding officer for the Company with overall responsibility for the annual campaign, special fundraising campaigns, and other ongoing fundraising efforts including planned giving.Īs Director of Development for the Company, actively participates in reviewing the Opera's objectives and in evaluating performance against these objectives via the short- term and long-range planning process. Each year, more than 80,000 people attend Seattle Opera performances and the company’s programs serve more than 400,000 people of all ages (including school performances, radio broadcasts, and community engagement initiatives). The company is committed to advancing the cultural life in the Pacific Northwest with performances of the highest caliber, and through innovative education and community programs that take opera far beyond the McCaw Hall stage. Past training programs included Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program, which ran from 1998 to 2013, and the International Wagner Competition, hosted in 2006, 2008, and 2014. Today’s programs involve several youth training programs-from youth opera choruses to advanced vocal ensemble and a vocal studio for those aiming to study voice in college. Seattle Opera has a long history of training young singers.

The 2017 touring production of Cinderella en España was designed for dual language audiences and traveled to schools with a significant Latino population all over the state of Washington. The company has expanded youth programs both in and out of schools, and now regularly visits more than 75 schools across the state, over half of which are Title I (schools with a large concentration of low-income students). The company's fourth General Director, Christina Scheppelmann, began her tenure August 1, 2019. The new building is an accessible community resource and will allow the company to expand its education programs. At the end of 2018, the company moved its education, artistic, and administrative programs to a new civic home next to McCaw Hall. In August of 2003, the company inaugurated its new state-of-the-art home, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, located on the Seattle Center campus, in the heart of the arts and cultural district of the city. The company is recognized internationally for the quality of its productions, supportive and nurturing environment for singers and artists, and is especially known for its productions of the Wagner operas, having created an “international attraction” in its past presentations of Wagner’s epic Ring, according to The New York Times. ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION: Founded in 1963, Seattle Opera is one of the leading opera companies in the United States.

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