Director of Principal Gifts

Director of Principal Gifts About the Department/College

NAU Advancement | Foundation engages students, alumni, parents, friends, and the broader NAU community to connect, invest, and inspire current and future Lumberjacks.

As a leader of the Principal Gifts team, the Director of Principal Gifts holds the primary responsibility for planning and executing development strategies for securing principal gifts (gifts of $1 million or more). A principal gift is defined as strategic philanthropy supporting solutions for societal problems. These gifts come from donors who believe in Northern Arizona University, see it as a formidable partner for change, and believe NAU’s work is worth a heightened level of investment.

The Director collaborates closely with the Advancement | Foundation development directors and central advancement staff to strategically coordinate engagement and stewardship for the university’s most significant donors who are interested in supporting NAU’s strategic priorities aligned with NAU 2025 – Elevating Excellence. This position is critical in securing lead gifts, leading strategy for top prospects, and partnering with development staff to scale major gifts during the university’s comprehensive campaign.

The Director models coordination, transparency, and encourages collaboration across academic departments, university divisions, and other internal partners. The Director partners with division colleagues to elevate the donor engagement process stages of identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. The position provides guidance and support to donor engagement and solicitation activities institution‑wide, while preserving and nurturing existing relationships at individual and program levels.

The Director works closely with all development directors to drive principal gifts in a consistent, systematic way. The position is responsible for setting goals and is held accountable for achieving performance metrics. The strategic integration of academic partners and other key partners is crucial for nurturing donor relationships, collaborating on the development and implementation of a focused and intentional principal gift strategy, and ensuring excellent stewardship of the gift.

Contributing to organizational effectiveness, the Director provides substantial input on employment decisions, influences, motivates, and supervises a team. The position also evaluates and reports employee performance. NAU seeks an experienced, dynamic leader to partner, strategize, and pursue leadership‑level philanthropic support.

This position reports directly to the Associate Vice President of Central Advancement. The work location can be the Flagstaff Mountain Campus or the Phoenix North Valley Campus.

• Prioritize portfolio of NAU’s top principal gift prospects and work collaboratively to execute principal gift fundraising goals.
• Meet and achieve quantifiable fundraising and engagement goals and metrics.
• Conceptualize, implement, and lead leadership‑level fundraising strategies that enhance and support the university’s fundraising priorities.
• Lead and coordinate the cultivation‑solicitation‑stewardship cycle of significant university prospects and donors, ensuring cross‑departmental collaboration through the creation of case statements, complex gift agreements, proposals, donor acknowledgements, and customized impact reports.
• In coordination with Donor Relations, develop and implement enhanced bespoke stewardship strategies for significant donors and coordinate engagement actions with the appropriate office (President, Provost, Dean, etc.) and Advancement | Foundation.
• Assist, and when appropriate, lead the development of complex proposals for soliciting individual, corporate, or foundation prospects, using knowledge from varied sources to ensure they are accurate and complete.

• Oversee operating expenses, prepare budget requests, and monitor expenditures.
• Develop, manage, and execute the strategic plan and goals for the principal gifts program.
• Oversee unit data and provide timely…