Chief Development Officer

About the role

The children’s media landscape has changed profoundly since Sesame Street’s premiere in 1969—and that change is accelerating. As Sesame evolves to expand their reach and deepen their impact amid a changing media environment, philanthropic support is more critical than ever before. Philanthropy allows Sesame to remain independent, research-driven, and responsive to children’s emergent needs. To that end, Sesame seeks a revenue and enterprise transformation leader, strategic builder, and relationship-driven Chief Development Officer (CDO) to spearhead the next era of philanthropic growth for one of the world’s most trusted mission-driven brands.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior architect of Sesame Workshop’s forward-looking philanthropic strategy aligned to the organization’s multi-platform global ambitions, with particular emphasis on building and scaling a best-in-class major gifts program and increasing unrestricted support in an environment where some infrastructure is still developing.
• Work cross-functionally across a matrixed environment, including philanthropy, corporate partnerships, strategy, finance and operations, communications, marketing, research, education, and production to align philanthropic messaging, donor engagement, and institutional priorities.
• Partner closely with the Board of Trustees, CEO, and executive colleagues to refine and articulate a compelling, simple, and repeatable case for support that explains why philanthropy is essential to Sesame’s mission and future.
• Lead donor strategy across identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, while personally managing and advancing a select portfolio of high-capacity relationships.
• Equip trustees and senior leaders with the tools, language, and confidence to act as ambassadors, relationship-builders, and effective partners in major gifts work.
• Build trusted, direct relationships with trustees to unlock networks and opportunities, and serve as a key partner to the CEO in activating and engaging the Board in fundraising.
• Recruit, lead, and develop a VP/SVP of Major Gifts and supporting team.
• Assess, refine, and strengthen the organization’s development arm structure, talent, and operating rhythms, creating clarity, accountability, and a culture of trust, collaboration, and high performance.
• Implement the infrastructure required for scale, including portfolio management discipline, Salesforce (or equivalent) integration across revenue streams, and clear processes for pipeline tracking, forecasting, and reporting.

Candidate Profile

The strongest candidate will bring the substance of a seasoned development leader, and the style of a trusted enterprise partner. In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

• Growth and Entrepreneurial Mindset
• Significant experience leading a broad philanthropic strategy in complex and evolving mission-driven organizations where some infrastructure is still developing.
• Comfort working inside a matrixed environment where commercial visibility, mission discipline, and philanthropic strategy intersect.
• Exceptional communication ability, especially the capacity to translate a complicated organizational model into a simple and persuasive narrative.
• A track record of securing seven- and eight-figure gifts and managing complex donor relationships.
• The ability to work thoughtfully and decisively in a complex, international system with multiple donors and partners as well as operational and programmatic possibilities.
• Experience working closely with a CEO and Board on cultivating a culture of philanthropy.
• Leading and Empowering Teams
• A high emotional intelligence, humility, and exceptional listening skills; a leadership style that is highly collaborative and self-aware.
• Values learning, curiosity, and continuous learning; inspires others to do their best.
• Balances urgency with thoughtfulness; calm and methodical under changing circumstances.
• Relationships and Influence
• Credibility with sophisticated donors, families, trustees, and senior executives, coupled with the judgment and warmth to represent an iconic institution with nuance and authenticity.
• Willingness to maintain a strong presence in New York and to engage nationally and internationally with donors, trustees, and partners.