Associate Director, Major Gifts

Associate Director Of Major Gifts

The Associate Director of Major Gifts will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gift support from a prospect pool of alumni, friends, and family members. This frontline fundraiser will develop and manage a fluid portfolio of prospects through qualification visits, cultivation efforts, and customized solicitations that align with prospect interests and financial capacity. This position collaborates with colleagues across Alumni Relations and Development and the greater University, including deans, faculty, program directors, and other University volunteers to plan and execute compelling prospect meetings and solicitations of donors.

The candidate must be a self-starter who is highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize multiple tasks. This is an ideal position for someone who is proactive, motivated, able to incorporate feedback, and demonstrates resilience in uncovering prospects to become loyal donors. Our office operates in a hybrid model and offers the option of working three days in the office and two days remote.

Requires travel.

Specific Responsibilities:

• Strategic Planning:
  Gathers data, assesses leads, and develops strategies designed to realize the current and lifetime giving potential of individual prospects. Maintains consistent and appropriate contact. Facilitates or makes direct solicitations. Ensures effective stewardship.
• Collaboration:
  
  Involves moderate- to-high-level of collaboration with both internal department partners and moderate level of collaboration with broader University partners to identify & integrate resources in order to accomplish strategic goals & objectives. Collaborates with areas of alumni relations and development, including Schools & Programs and Planned Gifts, to coordinate donor strategies.
• Prospects & Gifts:
  Develops, plans, and implements strategies and approaches to identify, personally solicit, and steadily close major gifts of six-figures or more. Builds a portfolio through discovery and qualification with a target of 40 prospects at a time. Manages portfolio by strategically moving them through the major gift pipeline. Secures visits with prospects and effectively articulates University fundraising priorities to gauge donor interest and capacity.
  
  Collects and synthesizes information from a wide array of sources to prepare compelling donor proposals that strategically align with donor interests and their full philanthropic capacity. Oversees and completes associated stewardship activities, maintains up-to-date best practices, and evaluates closed projects. Gathers, records, and retrieves information about prospects and donors utilizing University's donor and alumni database, internet, meetings with development staff, faculty, etc.
  
  Prepares contact reports on meetings and interactions with alumni.
• Events:
  Supports strategy for donor engagement events. Staff alumni and donor engagement events to advance prospect pool and giving.
• Miscellaneous:
  Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 4 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required.

Minimum

Competencies:

• Analytical Thinker:
  Able to analyze a broad set of data and synthesize information into compelling and succinct points.
• Communication:
  Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in addition to being an active listener. Strong interpersonal skills with a diverse group of internal and external constituencies.
• Teamwork and
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Effective team player who understands individual performance drives overall team success and organizational outcomes.
• Strategic and Critical Thinking:
  Organized in planning both short-and long-term goals. Uses logic and reasoning to assess alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems and ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in development frontline fundraising at a higher education institution or complex nonprofit organization.
• Experience with CRM databases.
• Proven ability to personally solicit and close major gifts and pledges of six-figures or more/and or sales experience

Preferred

Competencies:

• Knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook) or relevant tools.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The…