Development Director

About the Opportunity

Position Profile

Development Director

The Hermitage Artist Retreat seeks a passionate, intelligent, and driven Development Director with experience in all aspects of fundraising and donor relations to sustain and grow the organization’s highly successful development efforts. With the arrival of Andy Sandberg as the Artistic Director/CEO six years ago, the organization has flourished, growing its revenue and programming by 4X. With this growth, the Hermitage has introduced dozens of new partnerships throughout Sarasota County and across the United States;

expanded its national and international commissioning initiatives; and established itself as a leading national arts incubator in theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, and more. In addition to maintaining an engaged Board and generous circle of supporters, the Hermitage has a devoted group of over 800 alumni artists who maintain deep gratitude for their residency experience. The public enjoys year‑round free programs presented by the Hermitage on their historic beachfront campus and other locations throughout the region, where audiences have the opportunity to experience the work being supported by and developed at the Hermitage Artist Retreat.

As the Hermitage continues to build on its great momentum, a new Development Director will join the Hermitage team to be a part of the organization’s ambitious growth and evolution. The ideal candidate for this role should be enthusiastic about supporting some of the most innovative artists of our time, as they create new work in a diversity of disciplines. This individual will be eager to play a vital role in a fast‑paced, energized, and rapidly growing arts organization that is making a significant and sustainable impact in both the local community and the national artistic landscape.

The new Development Director will have the benefit of a deeply committed donor base and robust prospect opportunities. The job requires a high standard of excellence in project and database management, with a deep appreciation and attentiveness for their culture of donor relations and hospitality. Reporting to and collaborating closely with the Artistic Director/CEO, this role requires exceptional organizational skills, plus the ability to multitask and balance a steady stream of detail‑oriented and deadline‑driven projects.

This is a full‑time, on‑site position in Sarasota County, Florida, working closely among a team of passionate, driven, and high‑performing professionals.

The Hermitage is a leading national arts incubator and a multidisciplinary artist retreat uniquely serving artists, the creative process, and the community. The mission of the Hermitage is to inspire and foster the most influential and culturally consequential art and artists of our time.

Located on a nine‑acre beachfront campus in Manasota Key at the southern tip of Sarasota County, Florida, the Hermitage is a leading national arts incubator providing diverse and accomplished artists with multi‑week residencies to create new works of theater, music, visual art, literature, dance, film, and more. Hermitage Fellows have frequently described their experiences as “life‑changing” and “transformative,” regularly noting that they accomplish more in any two weeks at the Hermitage than they otherwise might in two years.

Hermitage Fellows have included eighteen Pulitzer Prize winners, multiple Tony, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy nominees and winners, Poets Laureate, Mac Arthur “Genius” and Guggenheim Fellows, and hundreds of extraordinary artists from around the world. The award‑winning original works created at the Hermitage are presented in renowned concert halls, theaters, museums, and galleries throughout our region and across the globe. Audiences in the greater Sarasota region are offered a ‘sneak peek’ into the works and minds of these brilliant artists through the Hermitage’s free community programs, many of which are in collaboration with fellow arts and cultural organizations throughout Sarasota and neighboring counties.

In addition to the unique and invaluable experience we…