Director of Advancement 2025-2026 School Year

San Gabriel Mission High School (SGMHS) is a college-preparatory Catholic parish high school in the Dominican and Claretian traditions. We are located on the historic grounds of the San Gabriel Mission. Our faith-driven community provides a safe environment for young women to grow as spiritual, intellectual, creative, and athletic leaders. Our financially accessible opportunities serve a diverse and inclusive student body of local, commuter, and international students in the Greater Los Angeles area.

SGMHS is seeking a full time innovative and energetic leader to continue to grow the advancement efforts of the school for the 2025-2026 school year.

Job Summary:

The Director of Advancement is a key leadership role responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive advancement program that aligns with the school’s strategic mission, goals, and fiscal responsibilities. This includes overseeing all fundraising, marketing, communications, and admissions activities. The Director ensures that all outreach programs, publications, marketing materials, website content, press releases, and other communications effectively reflect and support the school’s mission and goals. This position reports directly to the Principal.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Strategic Planning & Goal Setting:

• By August 15th annually, in collaboration with the principal, create a comprehensive strategic plan for the department, utilizing past data as a framework. This plan should include measurable goals and strategies for all areas of advancement including but not limited to.
  • Marketing and Public Relations
  • Alumni Relations
  • Enrollment management goals.
  • Annual fundraising goals.
  • Identify and secure new funds equivalent to the Director’s salary over and above the total department’s operating budget (including full and part-time staff).
  • Maintaining previously secured funds (including CEF tuition assistance).
• Maintain and update a comprehensive database of all school donors.
• Maintain and update a comprehensive database of all school prospective students, families, and partner schools and their contacts.
• Collaborate with the Principal and Business manager to develop the school’s Annual Report.

Fundraising & Development:

• Develop and execute comprehensive fundraising strategies, including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, grants, sponsor a student, and special events.
• Identify and cultivate new funding sources, including grants, corporate sponsorships, individual donors, and bequests.
• Increase annual fund donations and pledges by 5% annually by June 30th.
• Increase grant funding by 5% annually by June 30th (excluding CEF tuition assistance and bequests).
• Oversee the implementation and coordination of the Sponsor-a-Student program.
• Manage the Planned Giving program, tracking progress of legacy and bequest gifts.
• Maintain accurate accounting of all unrestricted income and its sources in collaboration with the Business Manager.
• Establish and adhere to all fundraising protocols, including gift processing and reporting, in compliance with federal and state laws.
• Cultivate and coordinate the School’s Advancement Committee.

Marketing & Communications:

• Develop and maintain a database of all traditional press mediums, CBOs, and grassroots marketing opportunities within the school’s target cities.
• Develop and implement school promotional campaigns.
• Coordinate all social media content and maintain all platforms. Expand to other platforms as the trends grow.
• Maintain and strengthen the school’s overall brand by creating and enforcing a Branding Document across all school communications and branded merchandise.
• Serve as the school’s Public Relations Officer, creating press releases and feature articles for media outlets (excluding crisis situations referred to the Archdiocese). Establish and maintain positive relationships with media and local CBOs.
• Collaborate with the High School Marketing Team to continuously evaluate and improve all aspects of the admissions program to achieve enrollment benchmarks.
• Assist in the facilitation of relationships with public/private partner school principals and teachers.
• Assist with marketing department expense management within the approved budget.

Admissions:

• In collaboration with the Advancement Coordinator and Principal, manage and oversee all admissions-related documentation and materials for prospective parents, students, and stakeholders.
• Collaborate with the Advancement Coordinator and Principal throughout the admissions process.
• Collaborate with appropriate personnel to plan and implement marketing events, attending all priority community marketing events and advertised activities including but not limited to Open House, high school nights, classroom visits, marketing booth events, parish events and the like.
• Assist in conducting school tours.

Alumni Relations:

• Continue to develop and maintain the school’s alumni database.
• Increase the number of alumni in the database by 5% annually until it contains 90% of all school alumni.
• Support the Alumni Association Committee Chair and Board with their meetings and events.

Supervision:

• In collaboration with the Principal, directly supervise employees in the advancement department, where applicable, performing supervisory responsibilities in accordance with school and Archdiocesan policies and applicable laws.

Other Responsibilities:

• Attend required in-services, staff meetings, and DCS marketing training meetings and workshops.
• Assist and Represent the School on Boards and Committees as required by the Principal and/or Pastor.
• Provide regular reports to the school board and committees, and serve on the school’s Consultative School Board as requested.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Principal and/or Pastor.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in a related discipline; Master’s degree preferred.
• At least three years of experience in enrollment management, sales, or development, with progressively responsible experience in a secondary or post-secondary admissions office. Five years of experience in development/marketing/admissions preferred.
• Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church preferred.
• Proven success in designing and implementing annual and planned giving programs and enrollment management strategies.
• Proven success in cultivating and soliciting major donors.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. Persuasive speaking and writing skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and public speaking skills.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks and competing priorities.
• Knowledge of grant writing and procurement.
• Proficient in MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel), Canva, and Google Suite..
• Technology proficiency.
• Knowledge of information systems applicable to marketing, admissions, and development.
• Ability to train and direct and lead students, staff, and volunteers.
• Understanding of marketing practices and sales techniques.
• Commitment to Catholic education and the school’s mission.
• Passion for and understanding of the all-girls environment.
• Ability to represent and promote the school effectively and enthusiastically.
• Strategic, entrepreneurial, and creative mindset.
• Ability to work collaboratively.
• Strong administrative, organizational, and interpersonal skills.

Working Conditions:

• Typical office environment.
• May require occasional exertion of up to 50 lbs. (e.g., transporting marketing materials, event preparation).

Application deadline is March 15, 2025

Salary Range:

$47,000-$80,000 Compensation commensurate with level of experience, relevant professional certifications, and/or degrees earned. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles offers health benefits including medical, dental, and vision.

If interested please send your resume and cover letter to sgmhsemployment@missionpioneers.org

Wage Range
The rate of pay offered to the selected candidate is based on internal pay policy and budget. New hires are commonly paid at the minimum of the wage range or within the lower part of the range. We consider a number of factors when making compensation decisions including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience, training and other department needs.