Senior Director of Development

Fuel innovation. Empower future leaders. Transform what's possible.

At Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), we don't just educate -- we solve, build, and lead. We are seeking a visionary Senior Director of Development to drive philanthropic impact at a pivotal moment in our institution's growth. This is more than a fundraising role -- it's an opportunity to connect passionate donors with bold ideas, lead a high-performing team, and help shape the future of our students' success.

Your work will directly support a university defined by hands-on learning and meaningful outcomes.

MSOE invites applications for a full-time Senior Director of Development to join our University Advancement team. Under the direction of the Vice President of University Advancement (VPUA), the Senior Director of Development is a mission-driven, strategic fundraising leader responsible for securing major and principal gifts that advance MSOE's top institutional priorities. Duties include oversight and management of the development staff and campaigns to achieve the philanthropic goals of the university, in accordance with MSOE's established policies and procedures.

The Senior Director plays a pivotal role in strengthening MSOE's long-term financial sustainability, expanding philanthropic partnerships, and stewarding donors who fuel innovation and student success. This leader manages a portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects; partners closely with academic and administrative leadership; and provides guidance to development staff to ensure an integrated, high-performing fundraising program.

• Partners with the VPUA to refine and execute long-term fundraising strategies aligned with MSOE's mission and campaign goals.
• Provides strategic leadership and day-to-day management of fundraising campaigns to ensure successful execution and achievement of revenue and participation goals.
• Leads by example to foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, transparency and donor-centered stewardship.
• Works closely with Office of the President, chairs, faculty and campus leaders to translate institutional priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities and collaborating on donor engagement strategies.
• Collaborates across UA to ensure an integrated advancement function and seamless donor experiences.

• The Senior Director of Development is responsible for the development and management of a portfolio of qualified major and principal prospects and donors at the $25,000 level and above. This includes discovery of new prospects and managing them effectively through the early cultivation, advanced cultivation, solicitations, closed gift and stewardship stages to achieve annual metrics in line with MSOE's strategic priorities.
  
  The Senior Director of Development will complete a minimum of 100 personal meetings that meet the standard for qualified action. In addition, he/she will achieve metrics for prospects added to the development portfolio, number of solicitations, number of solicitations closed and total dollars committed during each fiscal year.
• Prepares compelling proposals, briefings, and donor materials in collaboration with UA team.
• Responsible for developing a cultivation and solicitation strategy for each prospect under management and entering call reports for each completed action in a timely manner.
• Responsible for the timely completion for gift agreements, letters-of-intent and in-kind gift forms to document donor commitments.

• The Senior Director of Development is responsible for leading and managing a development team to include annual giving, major gifts and deferred giving including the supervision, coaching and evaluation of the team, fostering a high-performance culture focused on donor strategy, accountability and shared goals. He/she will develop an annual plan and budget for the development program.
• In consultation with the VPUA, the Senior Director of Development provides oversight for the Director of Annual Giving to develop an annual plan and budget to achieve fundraising goals for unrestricted and restricted funds s includes targeted goals for direct mail, phonathon, e-appeals (including "Giving Day"), crowdfunding and constituent based fundraising programs. Additionally, the Senior Director reviews the annual leadership and major gift portfolio for the Director of Annual Giving and the Assistant Director of Annual Giving to develop annual metrics for each staff member.
  
  The Senior Director of Development provides management review and support to ensure annual goals are achieved.
• In consultation with the VPUA, the Senior Director of Development provides oversight for the major and planned giving staff. He/she conducts an annual review of each development staff member's assigned portfolio and development annual metrics for qualified actions, number and value of…