Senior Director, Development - Major Gifts

Title: Senior Director of Development, Major Gifts

Department: Institutional Advancement Management

Duration: Indefinite

Employment Status: Exempt, Full-Time

Job Summary

Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Individual Giving, the Senior Director of Development, Major Gifts is a key member of the frontline team, focused on expanding and developing a comprehensive major gifts program at Occidental College. As a senior professional in fundraising and development, this individual serves on the Institutional Advancement Leadership Team and will oversee a small team of major gift officers. The Senior Director must demonstrate a deep understanding of various fundraising concepts, best practices, and procedures for effective fundraising. This role involves providing leadership, strategy, and planning to build a high-performing team of gift officers dedicated to securing principal and major gifts for the College. The Senior Director will play a crucial role in supporting overall fundraising success by leading by example, planning campaigns, and launching initiatives that drive private financial support for the College. Additionally, the Senior Director will exemplify the best practices in fundraising, contributing significantly to the Individual Giving team. This position is also responsible for managing and growing a select portfolio of donors and prospects while serving as a campus leader in prospect management.

Job Duties

• 60% - Major Gifts Officer - Manages and builds an active portfolio of 100-150 prospects who have the capacity to give major gifts of $100K or more. This thoughtful portfolio management should include personal visits for active cultivation and solicitation as well as stewardship of existing donors. Develops a regional plan for major gift solicitation and strategy (for assigned region(s) and assists with strategy for all major gift regional markets. Works thoughtfully with the Gift Planning team on behalf of planned giving prospects, their professional advisors and other development staff members to guide suspects, prospects, and their advisors in the evaluation and selection of planned gift vehicles appropriate to the donors' personal circumstances and objectives. Prepares proposals and meet expected and stated proposal metrics accordingly. Works with the Oxy Fund team to make leadership annual fund solicitations of $10,000 or more. Meets face-to-face visit expectations and proposal goals as established which averages to 20 major gift proposals annually and makes 10-12 visits monthly. Completes successful discovery work and moves prospects along the donor continuum. May be called upon to qualify and cultivate major gift prospects who are not traditional members of the Oxy community but for whom one or more of our fundraising priorities would appeal to their philanthropic interests. Solicits a pipeline of future bequest gifts and gift agreements governing these future commitments. - (Essential)
• 20% - Team Leadership - Manages the major gifts team, including identifying and recruiting members, providing strategy and support, meeting regularly (either by phone or in person), offering frequent updates, ensuring proper recognition, and requesting feedback. Oversee the student assistant program, which provides administrative support to frontline team members. Leads by example in advancing prospect relationships with persistence, professionalism, and dedication. Models donor-centric strategies while balancing team leadership with high-performance fundraising. - (Essential)
• 10% - Institutional Advancement Duties - Understands the mission and priorities of the Office of Institutional Advancement and serves as an advocate for the department. Adheres to the principles of ethics and standard practices as articulated in the Council for Advancement and Support of Advancement (CASE) Donor Bill of Rights from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA) Statement of Ethics and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Code of Ethical Principles and Standards as well as the standards of practice of his/her departmental profession, as appropriate. Participates fully during the planning, as deemed necessary, and execution of “tent-pole events” including and not limited to Homecoming and Family Weekend, Founders Day, and Reunion Weekend. - (Essential)
• 10% - Administrative Responsibilities - Thoroughly documents all donor activity in a timely manner in line with policies and procedures. Adheres to College spending and expense guidelines related to hosting, planning and communicating to team regarding upcoming visits and travel. - (Essential)
  
  

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with preference for liberal arts, fundraising and development, marketing, communications or other fields related to position responsibilities.
• Seven or more years of progressive fundraising/development experience.
• Three years of experience soliciting for and securing major gifts from $100,000 and more.
• Two years of supervisory experience.
• In depth knowledge of fundraising principles and techniques.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google drives/folders/forms, Adobe Acrobat, Web Editing, and social media applications or any combination of productivity programs applicable to position responsibilities.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating and preventing potential problems and handling a wide variety of tasks with efficiency and accuracy.
• Strong commitment to a quality work product.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing and electronically.
• Effective interpersonal skills as evidenced in the ability to collaborate with a variety of constituencies.
• Demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, inclusion & diversity.
• Demonstrated skill in adapting to and performing work effectively in high-volume, high accountability, confidential environment with multiple and changing priorities.
• Effective organizational, logistical, time management and planning skills with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks projects simultaneously, prioritize and fulfill the functions of an office in a timely manner.
• Ability to self-motivate and work independently.
• Ability to provide effective leadership and training, and to work effectively and professionally across functions, disciplines, levels, and with diverse groups.
• Knowledge of contemporary leadership and management methods to ensure employee success and achievement, and demonstration of related and applicable skills as evidenced by the ability to effectively direct, assess and evaluate performance of direct reports.
• Ability to effectively design, define, describe and document job functions, responsibilities, tasks, and required qualifications associated with supervised positions, and the demonstrated skills in assessing candidates’ experience, knowledge, skills and abilities when hiring for vacant positions, ensuring the best choice of candidate.
• Ability to provide employee development, training and opportunities for direct reports to demonstrate performance achievement and success, recognizing performance of both above standards and needs improvement and respond accordingly.
• Skilled at communicating feedback verbally, in writing and electronically; and documenting performance via introductory and annual performance appraisals.
• Skilled in developing and determining corrective employment/performance/behavioral strategies, as needed. Demonstrated ability to design and execute performance improvement plans, conducting disciplinary action and/or determining the appropriateness of employment continuation.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in advancement, marketing, communications or other fields related to position responsibilities.
• Five years of experience fundraising in a college or university environment.
• Experience working in a performance-based environment with tracking of meeting goals, contacts, and dollars raised.
  
  

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $140,000/yr-$145,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.