Major Gifts Officer

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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.

Harvard University's Central Administration (CADM) is a 5,000+ employee organization that supports the university's overall excellence by understanding and serving the needs of its schools, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and surrounding communities. Through dynamic and collaborative partnerships, CADM provides high‑quality and efficient services to the schools to help them achieve their goals.

The Harvard Art Museums, housing one of the largest and most prestigious collections of art in the country, is looking for someone who is successful in development and donor relations to take the next career step and join its creative, energetic and goal‑oriented Institutional Advancement (IA) team. Reporting to the Director of Individual Giving, the Major Gifts Officer (MGO) will carry a portfolio of prospects capable of making leadership and major gift level gifts to the Harvard Art Museums.

The MGO will conduct personal visits and other meaningful interactions to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and close annual and special gifts at the five, six, and seven‑figure level as well as provide stewardship to their donors. The MGO is responsible for ensuring maximum results by recommending the strategies needed to successfully solicit their portfolio for annual and special gift support.

The MGO will create and successfully execute strategies to expand the major gifts pipeline, deepen philanthropic relationships with those in a position to be most generous, and maximize philanthropic achievement.

• Support or conduct face‑to‑face visits, solicitations, and other high‑level interactions with major gift donors and prospects either independently or along with another colleague as individual strategies may require. Conduct 12–15 prospect visits per month.
• Meet the requisite benchmarks and achievement levels for the assigned portfolio to contribute to the overall achievement of the Harvard Art Museums’ annual and long‑term fundraising goals.
• Identify new sources of support from individual major gift prospects and renew existing annual gifts as needed at the $10,000+ level.
• Identify potential candidates for planned giving cultivation and solicitation, as well as additional major gift prospects.
• Work both independently and as a team member to manage relationship building, cultivation, and solicitation within an assigned portfolio of individual major gift donors and prospects with the capacity to make annual and multi‑year leadership and major gifts. Assess giving potential, recommend target ask amounts, develop personalized strategies, and secure gifts from each respective prospect.
• Partner with senior members of the Harvard Art Museums staff on strategy, cultivation, and face‑to‑face visits with donors.
• Work with IA and Finance Office colleagues, as needed, to ensure full redemption of all pledges.
• Participate actively in Major Gift Team meetings with other IA staff to share and invite participation in cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Work with IA team members to prioritize research needs and develop presentation materials to underpin prospect strategies, including background information and talking points. Prepare proposals as needed to support solicitations.
• Track all prospect outreach and information in Advance (customer relationship management software) in a timely fashion. Prepare and file contact reports and follow effective prospect management recording guidelines.
• In coordination with IA team colleagues, ensure appropriate and meaningful donor recognition and manage the stewardship process for individuals within the assigned portfolio, including preparing gift agreements.
• Ensure ethical handling of confidential donor and prospect information.
• Communic…