Development Director

New Dramatists seeks a Development Director – a frontline fundraiser who is excited to support artist-centered residencies and new work development. The successful candidate will have the creativity, drive, flexibility, and hustle required to both set assertive fundraising goals, and successfully reach them.

SALARY RANGE: $70,000 – 75,000/annually, commensurate with experience; New Dramatists offers employees a significant suite of benefits, including health, vision, FSA, and generous leave time.

ABOUT NEW DRAMATISTS

New Dramatists is a Tony®-honored nationally recognized playwright center and new play laboratory. Our mission is to provide playwrights with time, space, and resources in the company of gifted peers to create work, realize their artistic potential, and make lasting contributions to the theatre. After 55 years in our flagship building on West 44^th Street, New Dramatists is in the process of developing a new artistic home, which will be widely accessible for all who wish to participate in our resident company and artistic programs. For more information about our mission and programming, visit https://newdramatists.org.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The ideal Development Director candidate will hold multiple strengths as an organizational advocate, and will lean into one-on-one cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors. Brainstorming, setting and running a fundraising program; grant proposal writing/editing; writing/editing other fundraising communications; planning and running successful fundraisers and “friendraisers;” and managing other high-level stakeholder meetings, also fall under the Director’s responsibility, as does managing Development staff. The comfortable candidate will be a self-starter who is also adept at working collaboratively. Empathy, discernment, and solid judgment are essential, along with positivity, a can-do attitude, and a sense of humor. The Director joins a small but formidable staff, who are dedicated to our mission of supporting talented playwrights, and programming activities and events that serve our resident company.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combined work experience.
• 3+ years of experience in non-profit development/fundraising, including experience soliciting and securing gifts from individuals.
• Strong writing skills and a history of grant writing success.
• Experience managing successful fundraisers and fundraising-related special events.
• Experience managing board meetings and other events with high-level participants.
• Proficiency with MS Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams), and proficiency with CRM databases.

PREFERRED:

• Experience with – and a passion for – the theatre and new artist/new work development.
• Experience soliciting major gifts ($10,000+) from individual donors.
• Experience developing, building, and managing major donor affinity groups.
• Experience developing and setting fundraising program goals – and a proven record of reaching those goals.
• Experience as a supervisor and in particular, experience with managing development staff.
• Experience with Patron Manager/Salesforce, Adobe Acrobat, and ShareFile/Right Signature.

The Director presently works a hybrid schedule, with weekly in-person workdays in New York City required, and remote work days as deemed appropriate. Some in-person/hybrid evening and weekend work is also required.

Not sure you meet 100% of our qualifications? If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. If this role and New Dramatists capture your attention, we encourage you to introduce yourself to us.

FOR MORE INFORMATION and to apply, visit: https://newdramatists.org/work-us

For best consideration, please submit your application by 6:00 pm ET, August 25, 2025.
Materials will be reviewed until the position is filled.

PLEASE NOTE: ND policy precludes staff from applying to participate in the ND writer residency or fellowship/prize programs. If you have applied (or plan to apply) to New Dramatists as a resident writer, or for other writer awards/programs we administer, you may not apply for open staff positions.