Senior Director of Development, College of Engineering
Essential Job Duties
● The Senior Director will be a proven fundraiser with excellent leadership skills who appreciates and nurtures an accountable, goal-oriented, and values-based work environment. The Senior Director will actively manage a focused portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and donors by guiding their cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship while at the same time setting goals to expand the base of major gift prospects. The Senior Director will build strong and mutually beneficial relationships between academic leadership, faculty, and staff and donors, alumni, business, and community leaders. While managing a team of 2-3 major gift officers and his/her own fundraising portfolio, the Senior Director’s primary focus will be to drive fundraising activity at the major gift level of $50,000 – $1M+.
● As a senior member of the COE advancement team, the Senior Director will exemplify a strong work ethic, use of best practices, and maintaining a high standard in fundraising activity and outcomes. The Senior Director will inspire donors and colleagues alike through enthusiasm for COE’s mission and high-quality fundraising to meet that mission.
● The successful candidate will contribute to strengthening the fundraising culture in COE with a laser-like focus on portfolio management, pipeline building, and accountability and will augment the collaborative culture with an eagerness to work with colleagues from across campus to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward supporters of COE. The Senior Director will also have a strong track record of working effectively with volunteers, faculty, and administrators, engaging them in the life of the institution and assisting them in improving their effectiveness in all aspects of fundraising.
● The ability to create an effective fundraising plan and strategy in collaboration with other senior leadership will be an important part of the job. The successful candidate should have strong analytical skills and the ability to be creative in establishing and implementing processes.
● A collaborative approach to leadership is a critical requirement. The Senior Director must interface with a significant number and wide diversity of people and programs to optimize performance. For this reason, diplomacy, tact, exceptional communication, interpersonal skills, and, above all, unquestioned integrity are necessary ingredients.
● Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Development, the Senior Director of Development will manage and help oversee the complete range of development activities in support of the College of Engineering. This work will include leveraging NCSU’s fundraising technology and training tools (e.g. Blackbaud FPM and Plus Delta curriculum), related to major gift fundraising from individuals to achieve annual goals for meetings, solicitation, and gifts closed.
● Serve as a member of the College’s advancement leadership team and leading/executing projects related to the major gifts program (e.g. leading Plus Delta refresher meetings, staff a Foundation board committee, and facilitating team prospect strategy meetings in the Assistant Dean’s absence)
● Supervise a staff of 2-3 front-line major gift officers and/or Leadership Annual Giving officer
● Manage a portfolio of major gift prospects, at times requiring evening work hours and overnight travel, with a focus on pipeline development
● Gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundraising priority areas across the College and other special projects/college initiatives and make a persuasive oral and written case for supporting key programs
● Conduct personal meetings with prospects and donors throughout the year and lead / participate in solicitations with university leaders and development colleagues to achieve institutional goals
● Staff 1-2 committees of the College of Engineering Foundation board and supporting the Assistant Dean for Development in overall board engagement
● Serve as a strategic partner for 3-4 engineering department heads and helping set appropriate departmental advancement plans/goals annually
Other Responsibilities
● Perform other duties as required or assigned.
● Attend a variety of events throughout the year.
● Regular travel and occasional night and weekend work is required
Minimum Education and Experience
● A Masters Degree from an accredited college or university or a substantially equivalent combination of education and experience may be substituted for an advanced degree. At least 8 years of experience in institutional advancement. Five or more years of direct experience and a track record of success soliciting and closing seven-figure gifts.
Other Required Qualifications
● Eight or more years of work experience in institutional advancement or a related field such as sales, wealth management, or alumni relations.
● Experience managing and motivating advancement professionals or a revenue-generating team in a sales or alumni relations environment
● Excellent interpersonal and relationship-building skills
● Demonstrated understanding of higher education fundraising best practices for front-line fundraisers, specifically major gift and leadership annual gift officers.
● Understanding of the major gift donor giving cycle and comfort level qualifying prospects within NCSU’s campus-wide Active Management Protocol (AMP)
● Strong written and oral communication skills
● Demonstrated understanding of how to navigate appropriate approvals of complex gift agreements, to include the legal instruments and documentation employed in planned gifts
● Excellent written and verbal communication skills; outstanding interpersonal skills
● Unrelenting commitment to a collegial team approach with the primary College unit and across the campus’ larger advancement program
● Exceptional reasoning, problem-solving, and analytical skills
● Strong organizational skills with high attention to detail
● Creative, professional, and entrepreneurial spirit
● Self-motivated and self-starting
● Optimism, perseverance, and a positive attitude
Preferred Qualifications
● Master’s degree or other advanced degrees/certificate credentials
● Experience managing and motivating volunteers in a fundraising context
● Experience collaborating with senior colleagues and working across multiple internal constituencies; experience working with faculty and academic administrators preferred
● An understanding of the land grant, research Tier One university environment
● Familiarity with NC State University
Required Licenses or Certifications
● A valid North Carolina Driver’s License is required within 60 days of the start date. Must be maintained as a condition of employment.
To apply for this position:
Go to: https://jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/141742
