Senior Regional Director of Development, Major Gifts

Job Summary

The Senior Regional Director, a full‑time, exempt position on the FAS Major Gifts team, will develop and execute sophisticated cultivation and solicitation strategies that result in six‑ and seven‑figure major gifts from an assigned portfolio of approximately 85–100 alumni and parent prospects in the West Coast Region.

• Manage a targeted portfolio of approximately 85–100 households in the West Coast Region.
• Meet or exceed assigned goals, including proactive strategies to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni, parents, and friends of the College, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, focusing on blended solicitations involving flexible current‑use support, gift‑planning vehicles, and complex asset involvement.
• Acquire a deep understanding of prospects’ philanthropic interests, capacity, and inclination through face‑to‑face and virtual meetings.
• Use prospects’ interests to develop and execute robust, multi‑step prospect strategies that strategically leverage academic leadership, faculty, and other members of the Harvard community to secure six‑ and seven‑figure gifts.
• Foster relationships between prospective donors and academic leadership, faculty, and the broader Harvard community to deepen prospects’ engagement with the university.
• Travel frequently with senior academic and administrative leaders. Secure anchor visits for all leaders and construct meetings that leverage each senior leader’s time, and communicate meeting strategies through written briefings and pre‑visit briefings or calls.
• Collaborate closely with senior fundraising leaders within FAS Development, the University Development Office, and other Harvard schools to coordinate strategies for prospects with multi‑school affiliations or interests, maximizing giving potential through broad interests.
• Serve as a leader, resource, and mentor for other fundraisers, leveraging experience and knowledge of FAS content to inform prospect strategies, and contribute to prospect‑strategy reviews and trainings.
• Ensure timely entry of contact reports and accurate upkeep of prospect stage and solicitation records in the alumni database.
• Take on programmatic responsibilities as needed, which may shift portfolio composition.
• Drive routine travel within the West Coast Region—approximately 35% of workdays.
• Perform other duties as required or necessary.

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum eight years of experience in university fundraising or a relevant transferable experience.
• Commitment to attend certain events, such as spring reunions, and participate in department retreats held on the Cambridge campus.

• Knowledge of complex academic institutions and experience of staffing academic leaders in development work strongly preferred.
• Highly sophisticated and comprehensive understanding of fundraising best practices.
• Proven track record of closing six‑ and seven‑figure gifts or relevant transferable experience strongly preferred.
• Strong active listening skills, and ability to ask sensitive questions with tact; ability to uncover motivations and objections from prospective donors.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, persuasiveness, and rapid relationship building with internal and external constituencies.
• Willingness to learn, embrace new ideas, be flexible, open to change, and maintain confidentiality and trustworthiness.
• Adaptable to challenges, with good judgment in handling confidential information.
• High emotional intelligence, collaboration, influence, patience, humor, and dedication to excellence.
• Superb organizational skills; strategic thinking; ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Computer literacy with Windows PCs and prospect‑management databases.

• Standard Hours/
  
  Schedule:
  
  40 hours per week
• Orientation and Review Period: 6 months
• Visa Sponsorship Information: Harvard University is unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position
• Pre‑Employment Screening: Identity, Education
• Please include a cover letter with your application.

This position may involve duties…