Director of Advancement

Riverbend School is an innovative Toddler-8th Grade Montessori community located in Natick, MA. Our community of faculty and staff embrace teaching the whole child and commit to their own ongoing growth and development as educators and as human beings. Riverbend prides itself on its diverse and gender-inclusive staff and student population, and welcomes candidates from a variety of races, ethnicities, cultural backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

Reports to: Head of School

Classification: Full Time, Exempt 

Supervises: Communications Associate

Marketing Associate

Scope of Work: Planning, implementing, and overseeing Riverbend’s fundraising, marketing, and communications efforts

Experience Requirements:

• Experience with development work for a minimum of 3-5 years
• Experience with marketing work for 1-3 years (preferred)
• Experience leading successful teams and managing direct reports (strongly preferred)
• Experience overseeing events and fundraising projects 
• Proficient at utilizing donor software and other digital platforms
• Ability to communicate effectively and persuasively, both orally and in writing
• Experience managing parent volunteers, cultivating donors, and building relationships through casual and curated community interactions
• Experience implementing and/or managing a capital campaign
• Must be comfortable working in a culturally diverse environment and committed to embracing differences and valuing multiple perspectives

Education/Certification Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree

General Responsibilities: The Director of Advancement provides strategic oversight of the School’s fundraising and internal/external communications for all constituents including families, alumni, faculty/staff, and the community at large. Responsibilities include annual giving, capital campaign management, alumni relations, volunteer management, board relations, budget management, philanthropic and marketing analytics and reporting, all School communications (both print and digital), and planning and attending certain School events. The Director of Advancement regularly attends Board meetings and is a member of the Board’s Advancement Committee. The Director of Advancement is a member of the senior leadership team and manages two direct reports.

Specific Responsibilities:

Constituent Relations

• Maintain collaborative relationships with the Board of Directors through regular attendance at Board meetings and accurate and timely reporting on all development matters
• Build productive relations with parents through:

• Leading volunteer meetings with parents to help with fundraising efforts 
• Having a positive presence in the School community
• Using interpersonal skills to build and maintain relationships with Riverbend families

• Build collaborative relations with other administrators and be supportive of the Riverbend faculty and staff
• Build positive relations with community organizations and alumni
• Ensure volunteers are cultivated and thanked by planning and hosting appreciation events and highlighting volunteer efforts in communications

Development

• Develop a yearlong comprehensive plan for the annual fund, including all fundraising and marketing details

• Oversee the tracking and analysis of fundraising efforts and create and maintain initiatives to increase Riverbend’s ability and capacity to raise funds
• Research and identify top giving prospects and collaborate with Head of School to cultivate, solicit, and steward potential donors
• Enter data and track alumni accurately into donor software 

• Provide clear and timely correspondence to the community about fundraising, alumni and other events
• Mail out and/or email thank you notes and solicitation letters regularly as needed for fundraising 
• Create monthly reports that help the Board of Directors understand the School’s fundraising status and convey information that is reportable to the greater community
• Oversee the production of all materials in support of fundraising efforts, such as the annual report, annual fund brochure, and other collateral and digital materials as needed
• Plan and oversee select events designed to encourage community involvement, cultivate donors, and fundraise for the School
• Welcome new families, cultivating them as donors and providing education about fundraising at independent schools
• Lead ongoing development education with the School community
• Attend and help plan regular Advancement Committee Meetings in partnership with the committee co-chairs

Oversee Marketing and Communications Associates as they

• Utilize marketing methods to attract new employees to the School
• Provide clear, consistent messaging and updates to Riverbend families
• Coordinate with the Director of Enrollment Management to strategically market the School to prospective families
• Update the School’s website
• Ensure a strong social media presence for the School
• Leverage tools to ensure ongoing and overall health of the School's digital platforms
• Manage site reporting needs, compiling and reporting on key site usage metrics and recommend improvement actions on the basis of those metrics
• Take photographs at School events for publications 
• Handle and write public communications (press releases)
• Design ads, invitations, flyers, brochures, and other collateral materials

School Culture

• Demonstrate a strong commitment to professional ethics
• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Montessori education; model the Montessori values of grace, courtesy, and respect 
• Consistently invite parent leadership and work respectfully with them to execute fundraising efforts
• Assist with the planning of all-school events, attending most of them along with other members of the administrative team
• Serve as a member of the senior leadership team, actively working to create a culture of inclusivity, positivity, and support at Riverbend School

Finance

• Provide recommendations to the Head of School and board of directors regarding the development and marketing budgets
• Provide Business Manager with timely updates on fundraising projections 

Additional duties, as assigned by the Head of School

It is expected that all administrators will function as self-directed members in a team effort. All activities and performances should meet appropriate professional standards and adhere to the philosophy and mission of the Riverbend School.

Commitment to DEIJ:

Riverbend School is committed to becoming an anti-bias and anti-racist community. All candidates must be committed to furthering this work by embracing differences; exploring and affirming the identities and intersections of all which include race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomics, social class, family structures, learning differences, and differences in ability. Candidates must be comfortable working in a culturally diverse environment. 

We strongly encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQIA candidates, or candidates from communities that are historically underrepresented in independent schools. 

EEO Statement:

Riverbend School is committed to providing equal opportunity in employment. Riverbend strictly prohibits discrimination or harassment of any kind based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, pregnancy, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, veteran status, or any other class protected under applicable federal, state or local law.