Vice President Development Jobs in Boca Raton, FL

About Cox Science Center and Aquarium

The Cox Science Center and Aquarium (CSCA) is Palm Beach County’s premier destination for science exploration and discovery, welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests annually from across South Florida and beyond. With a mission to inspire, engage, and educate through immersive science experiences, and a vision to be the region’s foremost leader in igniting curiosity and empowering discovery, CSCA is in an exciting period of strategic growth—expanding its regional reach, deepening community partnerships, and diversifying its earned revenue base.

The Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Development is a newly structured executive role designed to unify sales, brand, marketing, earned revenue, events, and development functions under a single commercially driven leader committed to accelerating that growth in the lead-up to the late 2027 Grand Opening of the Center’s expanded campus.

The Opportunity

The Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Development is a senior executive responsible for driving earned revenue generation, brand growth, and development operations at CSCA. This is first and foremost a sales and relationship leadership role—we are seeking a proven closer who has built pipelines, hit revenue targets, and led commercial teams in a destination attraction, hotel, resort, or hospitality environment. Critically, this leader will also serve as CSCA’s face of development: personally engaging prospective donors, building authentic relationships across the philanthropic community, and leading gift conversations from initial inquiry through the major gift ask. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable closing a corporate event contract and asking a transformational donor for a seven-figure gift.

Reporting directly to the President & CEO and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the VP will own a revenue portfolio that includes admissions, group sales, event rentals, membership, programming, retail, digital commerce, and contributed revenue. Two directors and one manager report into this role, supported by an external development strategist engaged on contract.

Organizational Structure

The VP leads three direct reports plus an external development advisory engagement:

Title

Scope of Responsibility

Director of Marketing & Communications

Brand identity, advertising, PR, content, social media, community partnerships, email marketing, earned/paid media, and creative services

Catering & Event Sales Manager

Private event and corporate rental sales, catering partnerships, event package development, on-site event execution, and venue revenue performance

Director of Development

Philanthropic fundraising, donor cultivation and stewardship, foundation grants, membership-to-donor pipeline, and development operations

External Development Strategist (Consultant)

Specialized counsel on capital campaign strategy, major gift cultivation, and Expansion Readiness fundraising priorities; engaged on contract and managed by the VP

The VP personally owns strategic responsibility for pricing and ticketing strategy, revenue operations, and digital experience and analytics during the initial years of this role, partnering with internal staff and external specialists as needed. Director-level positions in these areas may be added as the institution grows post-expansion.

Key Responsibilities

Sales Leadership & Revenue Generation

This is the primary function of the role. The VP is expected to:

• Own and deliver annual earned revenue targets across all non-development income streams, with accountability for a combined portfolio of $15–20M
• Build and manage an active group sales pipeline—field trips, corporate groups, tourism partners, and affinity groups—with defined targets and a structured, measurable sales process
• Develop and execute a venue and event rental sales strategy targeting corporate clients, social events, weddings, and hospitality partners; grow CSCA’s reputation as South Florida’s premier private event venue
• Establish relationships with hotel concierges, destination management organizations (DMOs), tourism networks, and regional travel partners to drive inbound visitation and package sales
• Own seasonal promotional and package strategies that mirror revenue management practices common in hotel and attraction environments—dynamic pricing, bundling, off-peak yield optimization
• Drive group sales, corporate event rentals, field trip programs, and facility venue revenue through direct outreach and strategic partnerships
• Develop and manage promotional strategies, discount policies, and partnership ticketing arrangements
• Identify and develop new earned revenue opportunities aligned with CSCA’s mission and growth priorities
• Partner with the CFO on financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting for all earned revenue lines

Brand & Marketing Strategy

The VP directs—rather than executes—marketing. Strong enough to lead a Director of Marketing & Communications with credibility:

• Serve as CSCA’s chief brand steward, ensuring consistent and compelling expression of the organization’s identity across all channels and touchpoints
• Develop and lead integrated marketing strategies that drive attendance, membership, donor engagement, and community visibility
• Oversee advertising, public relations, content, social media, email, and community partnerships through the Director of Marketing & Communications
• Champion audience research and data-driven decision-making to refine messaging, segment audiences, and measure campaign effectiveness
• Build and maintain strategic relationships with regional media, tourism partners, Palm Beach County School District, and civic organizations

Development & Philanthropic Partnership

The VP is CSCA’s external face of development—not a back-office administrator. This person is expected to be personally present in donor relationships, comfortable in every stage of the gift cycle, and capable of asking for significant gifts with confidence and authenticity:

• Serve as the primary external face of CSCA’s development program—personally cultivating relationships with individual donors, corporate partners, foundations, and prospects from initial introduction through gift close
• Lead major gift conversations with poise and conviction, including solicitations at the six- and seven-figure level in support of CSCA’s expansion and endowment priorities
• Partner closely with the President & CEO on high-priority donor relationships, capital campaign strategy, and donor-facing institutional communications
• Provide executive leadership and strategic direction to the Director of Development and the engaged External Development Strategist, setting annual fundraising goals and holding the team accountable to results
• Manage the contractual relationship with CSCA’s external development strategist—defining scope, deliverables, and integration with the internal team
• Ensure tight alignment between earned revenue, brand/marketing, and contributed revenue strategies—leveraging shared audience data, messaging, and donor stewardship touchpoints
• Cultivate the membership-to-donor pipeline, converting engaged visitors and members into philanthropic investors in CSCA’s mission
• Represent CSCA at donor events, cultivation gatherings, and community engagements with the warmth, credibility, and storytelling ability to inspire philanthropic commitment

Membership & Guest Loyalty

• Lead CSCA’s membership program as a primary earned revenue and audience retention vehicle—with full accountability for member acquisition, renewal, upgrade, and lifetime value
• Develop tiered membership structures, affinity programs, and corporate partnerships that expand the membership base
• Design guest experience touchpoints (pre-visit, on-site, post-visit) that deepen loyalty and drive repeat visitation
• Collaborate with Education and Operations teams to align programming offerings with audience demand and revenue opportunity

Pricing, Ticketing Strategy & Revenue Operations

• Personally own the strategic direction for CSCA’s ticketing platform and revenue operations infrastructure—defining ticket products, packages, promotional codes, and member benefits
• Implement revenue management practices including dynamic pricing, yield optimization, and package bundling—applying hospitality-sector discipline to attraction-based ticketing
• Partner with the VP of Guest Experience & Education to ensure a clean handoff between ticketing strategy (this role) and daily ticketing operations (Guest Experience)
• Oversee retail and food/beverage partnership strategy as components of the on-site guest revenue ecosystem

Digital Experience & Data Analytics

• Champion CSCA’s digital ecosystem—website, e-commerce, mobile, email, and social—as a primary driver of marketing reach, revenue conversion, and donor engagement
• Oversee CRM implementation and use, ensuring robust audience data capture and segmentation to inform marketing, membership, and development strategies
• Leverage analytics and performance dashboards to make evidence-based decisions across all marketing and revenue channels
• Lead CSCA’s digital advertising strategy (paid search, social advertising, display) to efficiently drive traffic and ticket sales
• Partner with IT to maintain and modernize the marketing technology stack, including ticketing, CRM, and e-commerce platforms

Events & Experience Programming

• Develop and oversee a calendar of revenue-generating events—seasonal activations, evening events, traveling exhibitions, and community programming—that drive visitation during off-peak periods
• Provide direct leadership to the Catering & Event Sales Manager and oversight of private and corporate event rental revenue
• Partner with program, curatorial, and operations teams to package and price special events for maximum revenue and mission alignment

Leadership & Organizational Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team consisting of two directors, one manager, and their staff—creating a culture of performance, accountability, and collaboration
• Manage the contract relationship and integration of CSCA’s external development strategist into the broader sales and revenue function
• Serve as a key thought partner to the President & CEO and fellow executives on institutional strategy, audience growth, and market positioning
• Represent CSCA externally with community partners, tourism organizations, media, and civic stakeholders
• Build the structural and team capacity needed to scale this function in support of the late 2027 Grand Opening and beyond

Qualifications

Required

• 10+ years of progressive experience in sales, revenue generation, and/or marketing, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role
• Demonstrated success owning and delivering earned revenue targets in a consumer-facing, destination, or hospitality environment—hotels, resorts, attractions, or similar
• Proven track record in group sales, event/venue sales, or destination sales with a structured pipeline management approach
• Background in dynamic pricing and revenue management, including yield optimization and package bundling
• Working knowledge of integrated marketing strategy sufficient to lead and direct a Director of Marketing & Communications—candidates need not be career marketers but must be credible and effective partners to one
• Demonstrated comfort and effectiveness as an external face of development—personally cultivating donor relationships, leading gift conversations, and closing major gifts at the six- or seven-figure level
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing, multi-functional teams
• Strong analytical skills; comfort with data, pricing models, and performance metrics
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and executive presence
• Experience in a mission-driven, nonprofit, cultural, tourism, hospitality, or entertainment organization is highly valued

Preferred

• Senior sales and marketing experience at a 4- or 5-star hotel, resort, or hospitality property
• Experience in a science center, aquarium, museum, zoo, theme park, or similar destination attraction
• Familiarity with ticketing platforms, CRM systems, and digital marketing technology
• Existing relationships in the South Florida market—media, tourism, corporate, civic, and philanthropic
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree in business, hospitality management, marketing, or related field is a plus but not required

Compensation & Benefits

CSCA offers a competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including base salary, performance-based incentive, comprehensive health benefits, retirement plan, and complimentary institutional membership. This is a full-time, exempt, on-site position based at CSCA’s campus in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Our Purpose: Transforming lives by opening every mind to science.

The ideal Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Development has sold rooms, tickets, or experiences at scale—and knows how to build the pipeline, close the deal, and use the brand to fill it again. They have also sat across from a major donor, told a story that moved them, and asked for a transformational gift. Commercially relentless and mission-driven in equal measure, this leader will build the sales and development engine that sustains CSCA’s impact for generations.