Director of Development
Date: July 8, 2025
Classification: Exempt
Supervisor: President and Executive Director
Compensation: $110,000–130,000 per annum, with benefits
Position Summary:
The Director of Development oversees all aspects of fundraising, including major gifts, individual giving, membership, foundations, annual appeals, special events, corporate partnerships, and government grants. The position also oversees Marketing and Communications with a special focus on advertising and sponsorship revenue.
Responsibilities:
- Work in close partnership with the Executive Director and the Development Committee of the Board to set and achieve fundraising goals.
- Direct the spring benefit Poetry & the Creative Mind during National Poetry Month.
- Steward foundation, individual, and corporate donors and oversee appeals and proposals.
- Direct the membership program and benefit fulfillment.
- Supervise donor database management.
- Manage the direct mail and online membership campaigns, including working with consultants.
- Oversee production of monthly financial reports and perform analysis to identify trends and suggest improvements or tests. - Manage the departmental budget and reconcile monthly with Finance.
- Manage membership and fundraising communications and solicitations on Poets.org.
- Oversee the development and production of a membership newsletter and Benefactor newsletter.
- Create compelling emails, donation pages, and social media promotions.
- Encourage online audiences to make a gift through targeted messaging.
- Create and coordinate social media promotions for membership and development-related events.
- Oversee the promotion of planned giving on Poets.org, American Poets magazine.
Qualifications and Competencies:
- 10+ years of nonprofit fundraising experience.
- Strong team management skills.
- Steep experience in individual giving, membership, and major gifts.
- Foundation grant writing experience.
- Advanced knowledge of popular CRMs, with Raiser's Edge experience.
- Proven track record of success in organizing special events.
- Commitment to providing excellent customer service.
- Commitment to excellence in database administration.
- Strong written and oral communications skills.
- A passion for poetry, literature, and the arts, a plus.
To apply, email your cover letter and resume as one PDF to careers@poets, with the Job Title and your last name in the subject line.
Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications
Date: July 8, 2025
Classification: Exempt
Supervisor: Development Director
Compensation: $68,000–$72,000, with benefits
Position Summary:
The Manager of Marketing and Communications is responsible for securing digital and print advertising for Poets.org, Poem-a-Day, other newsletters, and American Poets magazine; literary sponsorships for National Poetry Month, Poetry & the Creative Mind and other key events. This position also works with programmatic and content staff and partners to implement marketing and promotion for the organization and its programs. The primary goal of this position is to help other magazines, presses, conferences, organizations and businesses promote their books and programs to the poets and poetry readers who rely on the Academy of American Poets for information.
Responsibilities:
- Maintain strong relationships with existing advertisers (presses, conferences, etc.)
- Secure advertising and meet annual revenue goals
- Manage yearly advertising calendar and related products (4 seasonal book roundups)
- Research and develop new advertising products and prospects
- Place and track ads via DoubleClick for Publishers and MailChimp Liaise with ad networks (e.g., LitBreaker, LitHub) and external ad sales reps
- Collaborate with content/program staff to explore new ad opportunities (e.g., podcasts)
- Maintain accurate contact and sales records in Salesforce Ensure timely invoicing and payments with finance team
- Regularly evaluate pricing, update media kit and rate cards in collaboration with the Director of Development
- Manage house ads in collaboration with digital engagement team and provide reports to leadership as needed
- Serve as the main contact for marketing initiatives and partnerships
- Evaluate partnership alignment with brand and capacity
- Support brand stewardship with executive leadership
- Assist with sponsorship efforts for National Poetry Month and Poetry & the Creative Mind in collaboration with the Director of Development
- Ensure sponsor benefit fulfillment and high-level customer service
- Oversee National Poetry Month poster production and distribution
- Represent the Academy at conferences, festivals, and partner events, as needed
- Utilize social media, trades, and in-kind media to support campaigns
- Manage advertising budget and collaborate on paid media strategy
- Collaborate on SEO/SEM for Poets.org with digital/content teams
- Promote organizational programs and events
- Maintain and update media outreach lists
- Manage the Press Center and announcements on Poets.org
- Serve as media liaison and first point of contact for inquiries
- Draft and distribute press releases, in coordination with the Director of Development, Content and Audience Engagement teams
- Pitch literary media and secure coverage
- Generate press reports for board meetings and grant reporting
- Identify professional development opportunities for the department
Qualifications and Competencies:
- 6+ years ad sales, marketing and communications experience
- Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
- Experience with DoubleClick for Publishers, content management systems, and social media platforms
- Microsoft Office suite, Google applications, email communication platforms; Salesforce a plus
- Excellent organizational, communication, writing, and interpersonal skills
- Experience working at a nonprofit organization
- A passion for poetry; familiarity with the arts field and poetry community, a plus
To apply, email your cover letter and resume as one PDF to careers@poets, with the Job Title and your last name in the subject line.
Date: July 8, 2025
Classification: Exempt
Supervisor: Executive Director
Compensation: $68,000–$72,000, with benefits
Position Summary:
The Senior Programs Manager organizes the Academy of American Poets’s live events, prizes, and work with the Board of Chancellors Poets Laureate Fellows, and Poetry Coalition.
Responsibilities:
- Organize live and online programming and events, including Chancellors Readings, Blaney lecture, and other special celebrations of poets—including curating, facilitating Q&As, handling logistics, serving as contact person for poets, venues, and other outside partners, and introduce some events
- Help lead weekly cross-departmental meetings of online programs team to prepare season
- Coordinate promotional deadlines with Marketing and Communications Manager on all event promotion
- Lead programmatic collaborations with other organizations
- Lead social media that promotes registrations, working with Marketing staff
- Lead the administration of twelve major awards: processing submissions; reviewing applications; coordinating nominating and voting; supervising readers; corresponding with entrants, judges, publishers, and donors
- Make final determinations as to prize eligibility in consultation with Executive Director as needed
- Oversee administration of University & College Poetry Prize Program: corresponding with donors and school sponsors, distributing contest materials and supervising uploading of winners materials to Poets.org
- Collect materials on all award winners and pass them on to content staff and membership
- Ensure that guidelines for all awards are up-to-date annually
- Ensure that prize winners and judges’ biographies are up-to-date on Poets.org (Academy page and the poets’ pages)
- Coordinate with Marketing and Content teams regarding social media about prize-winners
- Work with the Development Director to ensure Academy members receive prize-winning books, posting the winners’ poems online in coordination with content team
- Liaise with Chancellors and help plan and lead the annual Chancellors meeting
- Lead social media about Chancellors
- Ensure that present and past Chancellor pages on Poets.org are updated
- Coordinate with Content team to facilitate Chancellors’ participation in the Dear Poet project
- Lead planning for and facilitating Poetry Coalition meetings and programs
- Maintain Poetry Coalition pages on Poets.org Post about Poetry Coalition members on social media
- Lead the Poetry Coalition fellows pilot program and mentor fellows
- Attend Board Committee meetings as appropriate
- Respond to phone, email, and written queries about the awards and events
- Other duties as assigned
Qualifications and Competencies
- 5+ years of professional programs experience
- Demonstrated passion for poets and poetry and connection to the literary field
- Expert project management skills and ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines
- Experience with Submittable, Microsoft Office suite, Google applications, email communication platforms; Salesforce a plus
- Excellent organizational, communication, writing, and interpersonal skills
- A passion for poetry; familiarity with the arts field and poetry community, a plus
To apply, email your cover letter and resume as one PDF to careers@poets, with the Job Title and your last name in the subject line.
ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF AMERICAN POETS
Founded in 1934, the Academy of American Poets is the nation’s leading champion of poets and poetry with supporters in all fifty states. Its mission is to support American poets at all stages of their careers and to foster the appreciation of contemporary poetry.
The organization annually awards a total of $1.25 million to more than 200 poets at various stages of their careers. The organization also produces Poets.org, the world’s largest publicly funded website for poets and poetry; established and organizes National Poetry Month each April; publishes the popular Poem-a-Day series and American Poets magazine; provides award-winning resources to K–12 educators, including the Teach This Poem series; hosts an annual series of poetry readings and special events; and coordinates a national Poetry Coalition working to promote the value poets bring to our culture. Taken together, the Academy reaches more than 2 million individuals each month.
In addition to its mission, the Academy staff is guided by the organization’s values, which include anti-racism, collaboration, diversity, equity, inclusion, innovation, and leadership.
The Academy of American Poets is based in New York, NY.