Director, Business Development

About The Milken Institute

The Milken Institute is a globally minded, publicly supported, non-partisan, and nonprofit think tank headquartered in Santa Monica, with offices in Washington, DC, New York, London, Abu Dhabi, and Singapore. For the past three decades, the Milken Institute has served as a catalyst for practical, scalable solutions to global challenges by connecting human, financial, and educational resources to those who need them. Guided by a conviction that the best ideas, under-resourced, cannot succeed, we conduct research and analysis and convene top experts, innovators, and influencers from different backgrounds and competing viewpoints. We leverage this expertise and insight to construct programs and policy initiatives. These activities are designed to help people build meaningful lives, in which they can experience health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful employment, and access the resources required to create ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader communities.

The Milken Institute’s events and programmatic activities, involve the exchange of ideas with leaders from around the world. The Institute hosts more than 200 events each year, with our annual flagship event, Global Conference, bringing together 4,500+ participants from around the world, featuring more than 900+ speakers throughout 200+ sessions over the course of the event.

About

About the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream

The Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD) at the Milken Institute (MI) is seeking a passionate and detail-oriented advancement professional to join our team as Director for Business Development. This position will provide critical support for the MCAAD Advancement team, including MCAAD Business Development (BD), Partnerships and Special Events, while liaising with the MI Business Development team and other executive teams across the Institute.

MCAAD, the most recent center within the Institute, is catalyzing this work by building a new type of cultural center in the heart of Washington, DC. MCAAD celebrates the ideal of the American Dream and explores the ongoing challenges people face in pursuing opportunity, through exhibitions, programs and educational programs. To accomplish this, we focus on four pillars of the American Dream: access to education, public health, finance, and an entrepreneurial mindset. MCAAD’s physical home, with a planned opening in early 2025, is a remarkable renovation of several 120-year-old historic bank buildings, including Riggs Bank, known as the “Bank of Presidents.” The Center’s main halls are in the National Register of Historic Places, and our stewardship of the property—along with adjacent buildings on 15th St NW—will showcase and recognize the history of these buildings while adapting them for use as a modern cultural center with immersive exhibit galleries. There will also be a state-of-the-art theater, events and lecture spaces, a holodeck, shop, and an atrium with café. The six-building complex features nearly 300,000 square feet of space will also include a conference center, recording and broadcast studios, and the Washington, D.C., headquarters of five centers of the Milken Institute.

About The Position

WE are a dynamic, collaborative, and motivated team working to reopen the soaring halls of the Riggs Bank buildings as a place to imagine, explore, and expand the American Dream.

YOU are an experienced advancement professional with a passion for working with people and a knack for problem solving. You are skilled at organizing, coordinating, and communicating the multiple facets of stakeholder management.

As we near the public opening of MCAAD, we are experiencing a tremendous surge of interest in the Center, including a rapidly growing number of donors who are eager to support the Center’s growth and its future content and programming. Reporting to the MCAAD Senior Director of Business Development , the Director will be an established leader with deep expertise in fundraising, philanthropy, and business development. You will engage directly with C‑Suite executives, principals, high-capacity donors, and corporate and foundation partners—shaping and executing a strategy to drive both philanthropic and stakeholder engagement. While approximately 75% of your time will be focused on cultivating revenue-generating opportunities and stewarding donors, about 25% of your role is dedicated to developing and managing partnerships that amplify programmatic organizational impact.

Working closely with senior leadership you will help to oversee a growing, newly organized team, ensuring alignment between pipeline development, executive-level engagement, and cross-functional collaboration. Your leadership will build awareness of MCAAD’s mission, accelerate philanthropic and business development momentum, and secure meaningful collaborations to advance our impact across the organization.

Responsibilities

Business Development Leadership

• Shape and carry out our fundraising strategy—determining the right audiences, positioning our offerings, and crafting messaging in line with MCAAD’s mission and growth goals.
• Build and nurture a strong pipeline: cultivate relationships with Founders, corporate and foundation supporters; craft proposals and agreements; build relationships with donors in close coordination with Founders Office and other BD efforts at the Milken Institute.
• Manage and track promising leads, conversion trends, and revenue—and use data to sharpen our approach.
• Develop and create personalized proposals for prospective and current donors, thinking holistically about philanthropic opportunities including endowment, planned giving, and programmatic support.
• Oversee “concierge” function for MCAAD Founders, coordinating use of Founders Floor and other donor plans, and work closely with special events team for both MCAAD internal events and donor-hosted events in the space.
  
  

Partnerships

• Develop and execute partnership strategy: identify opportunities, negotiate agreements, and structure value-driven collaborations with programmatic or strategic alignment partners.
• Oversee ongoing partner relationship management: joint initiatives, co-branded programs, stakeholder engagement, and performance reviews.
• Help to liaise on partnership benefits fulfilment and coordination, working with the exhibition content team and BD team more broadly at the Milken Institute.
  
  

Team Strategy and Development

• Help to hire, mentor, and manage a lean team across business development and partnerships functions.
• Establish scalable processes: CRM workflows, playbooks, role definitions, and cross-functional coordination.
• Act as strategic thought partner within leadership team: drive organizational growth planning and resource alignment.
  
  

Duties as Assigned

Requirements

• The ideal candidate has a healthy sense of humor, is quick on their feet, and thrives in a highly collaborative environment while taking ownership of own duties. Is a team player.
• Must have 8-12 years of experience in an advancement/business development/stakeholder engagement role including in a public institution or non-profit environment, with 3 years of management/leadership experience.
• Experience engaging and building relationships with UHNW individuals and executives.
• Proven track record of meeting revenue goals and donor metrics, with demonstrated engagement and growth year over year.
• Experience establishing and overseeing systems including CRM, reporting, data management, etc.
• Knowledge of best practices for stakeholder engagement, experience working with donor management software required; experience managing boards, knowledge of gift planning/estate tools a plus.
• Knowledge of management principles and procedures, and evaluative techniques to manage team operations.
• Excellent written and communication skills, as well as the ability to engage externally with a broad range of constituents.
• Ability to communicate effectively when communicating to employees at all levels and external audiences when representing the organization at events.
• The ability to quickly develop positive working relationships, support colleagues, be flexible, and thrive in a fast-paced, creative environment is a must.
• A 4-year college degree is required; MBA or similar master’s degree preferred.
  
  

Working Conditions & Travel Requirements

This position will work in a professional office environment on a hybrid schedule consisting of three (3) days per week reporting in-person to the Washington, DC office location (Tuesday – Thursday), with the remaining two (2) days working remotely. Possible expectation to report to the Washington, DC office location, Monday-Friday in the future. Please understand, this schedule is subject to change at the Institute’s sole discretion.

This person will also be required to travel occasionally to other offices and/or venues to assist with events as needed, requiring occasional work outside of traditional hours. Domestic travel is possible. Additionally, this position requires interacting virtually on a regular basis with Milken Institute staff based in other locations in the United States and around the world.

Note

The statements herein are intended to describe the overall nature and level of work being performed by employees and are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. Furthermore, they do not establish a contract for employment and are subject to change at the discretion of the employer.

We are interested in qualified candidates who are eligible to work in the United States. Please note, we are not sponsoring visas at this time, being authorized to work in the U.S. is a precondition of employment.

Please submit resume and cover letter illustrating how your experience and skills will contribute to the department and any unique qualities you bring to the position. If applying via Indeed, please upload your resume and any supporting documentation as one attachment. Any application that does not include both a resume and cover letter will be rejected. If you are unable to complete this application due to a disability, contact our Human Resources department to ask for an accommodation or an alternative application process.

Our Culture

The Milken Institute is proud to provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, disability or status as a veteran.

Every person at the Milken Institute is treated with respect, supported with resources and training, and exposed to a broad range of experiences. We foster a space for growth with opportunities to share knowledge and passion with both clients and colleagues. We are committed to building a diverse workforce and creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive. Our leadership is actively involved in our commitment to diversity and inclusion, and fostering a culture that creates opportunities for everyone.

Benefits

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan - 403b (5% match)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Personal, Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity & Paternity)
• Fertility Support
• Short-Term & Long-Term Disability
• Flexible Spending Account (FSAs)
• Pet Insurance Discount
• Training & Development:
• LinkedIn Learning – over 15,000 self-guided classes offered
• Annual Mentor Program
• Wellness Resources:
• Employee Assistance Program
• CALM app membership