Assistant Director of Leadership & Family Giving

Assistant Director of Leadership & Family Giving Assistant Director of Leadership & Family Giving

Posted: September 11, 2026

Position Code: 2092

Position

Description:

Merrimack College seeks a highly motivated, relationship-oriented advancement professional to serve as Assistant Director of Leadership & Family Giving. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice President for Principal Gifts & Family Philanthropy, the Assistant Director will help build Merrimack’s pipeline of future major and principal gift donors, with particular focus on current and former families, leadership annual donors and other high- potential individuals.

The Assistant Director will manage a portfolio of leadership and emerging major gift prospects, developing relationships and creating pathways that move donors toward greater engagement and philanthropic support. The position will also provide programmatic and administrative support for Merrimack’s family philanthropy initiatives, including the Parents Leadership Council, and the College’s Boards of Advisors (BOA).

Working closely with the Senior Associate Vice President, Prospect Research, Annual Giving, Major Gifts and colleagues across the College, the successful candidate will combine fundraising and relationship-building skills with strong organization and follow-through to help grow Merrimack’s philanthropic pipeline.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Family Giving

• Manage a portfolio of current and former families, leadership annual donors and other emerging major gift prospects, developing individualized strategies to increase engagement and philanthropic support.
• Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward donors with the potential to increase their giving and develop into major gift prospects.
• Conduct discovery and qualification meetings to understand prospective donors’ interests, capacity and connection to Merrimack.
• Partner with Annual Giving and Prospect Research to identify donors demonstrating increased engagement, giving and philanthropic potential.
• Develop and execute strategies to move qualified prospects from annual and leadership giving toward major gift relationships.
• Coordinate with Major Gifts and the Senior Associate Vice President to ensure appropriate assignment and transition of prospects as relationships develop.
• Maintain an active pace of donor engagement, solicitations and closed gifts consistent with established annual goals.
• Track prospect activity, moves management and pipeline development consistently within the College’s advancement systems.

Family Philanthropy & Parents Leadership Council

• Support the continued development and growth of Merrimack’s family philanthropy program.
• Partner with the Senior Associate Vice President to engage and develop current and former families with leadership, major and principal gift potential.
• Support the growth and operation of the Parents Leadership Council, including prospective member identification, recruitment, engagement, communications, meetings and events, annual commitments and stewardship.
• Build and manage a pipeline of prospective Parents Leadership Council members with the interest, capacity and engagement to assume greater philanthropic leadership.
• Develop relationships with Council members and other families, identifying opportunities for increased giving, volunteer involvement, referrals and introductions.
• Coordinate follow-up from family events, meetings and engagement opportunities to advance relationships and philanthropic opportunities.
• Work with colleagues across the College to create meaningful opportunities for families to connect with Merrimack’s students, faculty, leadership and institutional priorities.

Boards of Advisors & Strategic Engagement

• Provide programmatic and administrative…