Senior Director, Institutional Advancement

About Sesame Workshop:

Sesame Workshop is the global impact nonprofit behind Sesame Street and so much more. For over 50 years, we have worked at the intersection of education, media, and research, creating joyful experiences that enrich minds and expand hearts, all in service of empowering each generation to build a better world. Our beloved characters, iconic shows, outreach in communities, and more bring playful early learning to families in more than 150 countries and advance our mission to help children everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.

Learn more at www.sesame.org and follow Sesame Workshop on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X. 

Position Summary:

Sesame Workshop is seeking a strategic, results-driven leader to serve as Senior Director, Institutional Advancement. This role oversees the Institutional Advancement team and is responsible for building a diversified and sustained source of philanthropic support from foundations and aligned institutional partners. Reporting to the Vice President of Institutional Giving, the Senior Director plays a critical role in advancing Sesame’s mission to help children grow smarter, stronger, and kinder through sustained philanthropic investment.

This position is based in New York, NY (Manhattan). Sesame Workshop follows a hybrid work model with a minimum of 2-designated in-office days.

Primary Responsibilities:

Purpose

Fundraising Leadership

• Lead and motivate the Institutional Advancement team to achieve and exceed multi-year revenue goals, with an emphasis on un- and less restricted giving, with year-over-year growth in foundation giving.
• Cultivate and manage a portfolio of high-value foundation prospects and partners.
• Ensure all team efforts are aligned with Sesame’s global priorities.

Engagement

Strategic Engagement

• Execute a proactive strategy to identify, cultivate, and solicit new foundation donors while deepening existing funder relationships.
• Leverage personal and organizational networks to build new funding pathways and elevate Sesame’s visibility among leading philanthropic institutions.
• Advise on positioning Sesame Workshop as a thought leader in early childhood development, educational media, and social impact programming.

Leadership Collaboration

• Partner closely with revenue department leadership to strategically deploy leadership in donor cultivation strategies.
• Inform organizational strategy and revenue department strategy through active participation in leadership and planning forums across Sesame Workshop.
• Recommend and participate in strategic convenings, conferences, and events to position Sesame Workshop with funders and thought leaders.

Delivery

Team & Operational Excellence

• Develop team capacity and expertise to strengthen funder engagement, proposal development, and stewardship practices that emphasize unrestricted and less restricted giving where possible.
• Oversee portfolio planning, proposal pipelines, and reporting processes to maximize team effectiveness and responsiveness.
• Use data, analytics, and forecasting tools to track performance, inform decisions, and refine strategy.

Budget & Resource Management

• Support management of the Institutional Advancement team budget, ensuring smart allocation of staff and resources toward the highest-impact activities including conferences and networking events
• Continuously assess tradeoffs and investment opportunities to optimize returns on philanthropic engagement.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum 10 years of senior-level fundraising experience within a major nonprofit media organization, early childhood development organization, international NGO, or related sector.
• Proven success in securing six- to eight-figure foundation grants and managing long-term donor relationships, with an emphasis on unrestricted, less restricted and/or highly strategically aligned restricted fundraising.
• Deep knowledge of the philanthropic sector, with strong relationships in the foundation community.
• Skilled communicator with demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior-level stakeholders.
• Strategic thinker with a track record of building, scaling, and leading high-performing teams.
• Adept at using Salesforce or similar CRM platforms, along with Microsoft Office and online collaboration tools.
• Excellent judgment, organizational skills, and a proactive approach to solving challenges.
• Comfortable with international travel (up to 10%), including low-resource settings.
• Strong cross-cultural competence and experience working with diverse teams and global partners.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred

Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE) Statement: Sesame Workshop is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, predisposing genetic characteristics, pregnancy-related condition, familial status, domestic violence victim status, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

PSEA Statement: Sesame Workshop is an equal-opportunity employer. All employment decisions are based on the business needs, job requirements & suitability of the candidate. Sesame Workshop strictly follows the Child Safeguarding Policy, and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Policy. These have been developed to ensure the maximum protection of program participants from exploitation and to clarify the responsibilities of Sesame Workshop staff, consultants, visitors to the program and partner organization, and the standards of behavior expected from them.

Pay Transparency Policy Statement: As a federal contractor, Sesame Workshop follows Pay Transparency and non-discrimination provisions as guided by the U.S. Department of Labor.