Director, Principal Gifts

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Why join Harvard Business School?

Harvard Business School, located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, was founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University. It is among the world's most trusted sources of management education and thought leadership. For more than a century, the School's faculty has combined a passion for teaching with rigorous research conducted alongside practitioners at world-leading organizations to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.

Through a dynamic ecosystem of research, learning, and entrepreneurship that includes MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs, as well as numerous initiatives, centers, institutes, and labs, Harvard Business School fosters bold new ideas and collaborative learning networks that shape the future of business.

The External Relations team at Harvard Business School (HBS) is dedicated to strengthening the lifelong relationship between alumni and the School by delivering meaningful engagement and learning and by inspiring philanthropy that supports and extends the HBS mission of educating leaders who make a difference in the world.

Our organization is unequivocally committed to the core values of racial equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and empowers all staff to embody these principles in our internal work with colleagues and our external work with alumni, donors, and friends of the School.

Following the conclusion of a successful campaign which raised $1.4B – the largest campaign in the history of graduate business education – and deepened relationships between alumni and the institution, Harvard Business School remains committed to leadership in the advancement field. Propelled by a spirit of innovation and with a dean who has articulated an ambitious and bold set of priorities for the future, now is an exciting time to join the External Relations team at HBS.

We are looking to hire two seasoned fundraising officers to help our Principal Gifts team build on its strong foundation and expand philanthropic efforts and impact at the School. Reporting to the Director of Development, each Director, Principal Gifts, will be a key member of the Harvard Business School (HBS) frontline fundraising team and will be responsible for securing 7+ figure philanthropic commitments for HBS.

Each director will manage the qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of approximately 125 households. They will be expected to develop strategies to maximize philanthropy from their respective portfolios, partnering closely with colleagues across the External Relations (ER) organization, the School, and the University. In collaboration with ER colleagues, each Director, Principal Gifts, will engage in the development and execution of strategic engagement activities to support development objectives.

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of ~125 HBS households with the capacity to make 6, 7 and 8‑figure philanthropic commitments.
• Develop an understanding of and travel frequently to assigned region(s) to achieve annual fundraising goals and to develop pipeline of future fundraising activity.
• Develop and represent a strong working knowledge of the top fundraising priorities for the School, other HBS activities and initiatives, and the School's presence in the officer's assigned region(s).
• Be a champion of the HBS Fund, working towards securing unrestricted annual support from your prospects for this important initiative.
• Contribute to the planning of regional events, engagement opportunities, and faculty/senior leadership travel.
• Draft briefings and correspondence for senior leadership and faculty.
• Demonstrate a commitment to ongoing professional development, including the articulation of an annual professional development plan.
• Build trust and collaboration by being…