November 18th, 2025
National Humanities Center
Vice President of Development
( North Carolina | On-site )
About the Organization
The National Humanities Center is a private, nonprofit organization and the only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities. The Center is supported by the generosity of individual donors, grants from private and public foundations, corporate philanthropy, and institutional sponsors, including universities and academic organizations, whose partnership specifically supports the Center’s fellowship program and public outreach efforts. The Center has a $7.5 million annual operating budget, with approximately $1.5 million brought in through philanthropy, and a $93 million endowment.
Through its Residential Fellowship Program, the Center provides scholars with the resources necessary to generate new knowledge and to further understanding of all forms of cultural expression, social interaction, and human thought. Since opening for its first group of fellows in 1978, the Center has had over 1,600 fellows in residence, collectively producing more than 1,700 books and scholarly works.
The Center’s Education Programs strengthen teaching on the pre-collegiate and collegiate levels. Model programs developed at the Center provide teachers and faculty with new materials and instructional strategies to make them more effective in the classroom and rekindle their enthusiasm for the subjects they teach.
Through the division of Public Engagement, the Center highlights the importance of the humanities to intellectual and civic life. Public Engagement programs aim to make high-level research, critical thinking, and informed dialogue accessible to a wide range of audiences by modeling and sharing best practices for humanities outreach and collaboration.
The Center fosters a collegial and inclusive work environment that values diversity and encourages professional development and growth. Its warm and inviting community comprises a dedicated staff and a vibrant cohort of scholars who share a rich history of meaningful contributions to human knowledge. The Center embraces a broad range of ideas perspectives, backgrounds, and abilities, and collectively fosters a culture consistent with its core values of being empowering, collaborative, responsible, intentional, and curious.
For more information, visit nationalhumanitiescenter.org
Job Description
Position salary range: $150,000-$200,000
Position reports to: The Vice President of Development reports directly to the President & Director.
In partnership with the President & Director, Board of Trustees, and Development team, the Vice President of Development will be responsible for leading, planning, and implementing the Center's development programs, which include individual giving (annual and major gifts), institutional and corporate sponsorships, grants and foundations. The Vice President of Development will play a key role in ensuring the Center has the annual revenue to operate and grow its programs and will track and share progress toward fundraising goals regularly with the President & Director, the Board of Trustees, and the larger team.
The successful leader will need to be a strategic thinker as well as be able to execute the steps needed for the organization’s fundraising programs and activities. The Vice President of Development will carry a portfolio of top donors and prospects and help establish a moves management system whose execution is shared among the President & Director, Board volunteers, staff, and others. The ideal candidate will establish rapport with foundations, corporations, and individual donors and investors who share the vision and values of the Center and will strategically work to expand the community connected to the organization.
The Vice President of Development will supervise a team of two full-time staff members – the Development Manager and Development Coordinator – and will be instrumental in assessing the needs of the development operation and creating new positions to expand the program, engaging a team of staff and volunteers in meaningful development opportunities to grow the base of support. Their peers on the senior leadership team include the Vice President for Knowledge Management and Digital Services, the Vice President for Public Engagement, the Vice President for Scholarly Programs, the Vice President for Finance and Operations, the Vice President for Communications and Marketing, and the Vice President for Education Programs.