Leadership Gifts Officer

Located in Lewiston, Maine, Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college. We are proud to offer a highly personalized education that centers on deep and sustained interactions among students, faculty, and community. We are engaging the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.

The Leadership Gifts Officer is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding a portfolio of current and potential donors with the capacity to make gifts of $50,000, or greater, in support of college initiatives. The successful candidate will develop and implement strategic plans aimed at maximizing each individual's support of the college by working with colleagues in College Advancement, faculty, Purposeful Work, Admission and high-level volunteers.

• Create opportunities to conduct face-to-face meetings for the purposes of cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding an assigned portfolio of 125 current and prospective donors according to best-practice standards.
• Create detailed cultivation/solicitation plans for the top 50 donor prospects each year.
• Spend 8-10 days of each four-week period traveling both independently and with key volunteers or other members of the college administration to meet with current and prospective donors.
• Work with a departmental team to identify, qualify and assign new leadership gift prospects.
• Plan and organize events for high-level donors to showcase Bates and college priorities.
• Develop a thorough knowledge of Bates history, academic, extracurricular and athletic programs, and its faculty, students and administration.
• Maintain a thorough understanding of the college’s priorities and initiatives of the faculty and administration.
• Participate in departmental and professional training programs to increase expertise in the profession.
• Understand and meet departmental standards, policies, and procedures with respect to all aspects of work.
• Serve as the department point person for specific projects, priorities or for campus partners.

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Driver’s license required.

• 5+ years of experience in advancement in a higher education setting or equivalent experience.
• Progressive achievement in fundraising, financial services, marketing/sales or educational management.
• Proven experience cultivating and closing major or deferred gift commitments.

• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and serving the needs of a culturally and educationally diverse community.
• High attention to detail balanced with a strategic vision for multifaceted programs.
• Self-starting strategic thinker whose hallmark qualities include being persistent, personable, team-oriented, and possessing a desire to succeed.
• Must be able to relate to a variety of people of all ages and backgrounds.
• A personal commitment to excellence and the mission of an atop-tier liberal arts college, and the ability to work in a goal-oriented environment.
• Flexibility and a sense of humor are both essential.
• Excellent communication (written, verbal and presentation) skills. Ability to write concise, logical, analytical reports to convey complex issues. Lead group discussions.
• Ability to remain composed, friendly and demonstrate poise under stress while working in a deadline driven environment.
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills; ability to synthesize complex or diverse information; and experience working with complex data sets.
• Impeccable organizational skills and ability to coordinate resources and staff within the college community.
• Strong presentation skills and…