Director of Institutional Advancement

The Orthodox Union (OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for people with disabilities, localized religious study programs, and international units. The OU maintains a kosher certification service, whose circled U symbol, , is found on the labels of many kosher commercial and consumer food products.

Institutional Advancement, this role provides strategic and operational leadership for the OU’s fundraising efforts. The position leads the development and execution of comprehensive fundraising strategies, supports major fundraising initiatives, oversees core advancement operations, and ensures that fundraising activities are coordinated across Institutional Advancement and program departments.

The role serves as a strategic partner to program leadership and helps build Institutional Advancement into an organization-wide Fundraising Center of Excellence by establishing best practices, shared resources, performance measures, and systems that strengthen fundraising effectiveness. This position leads and develops staff, fosters cross-organizational collaboration, and translates the OU’s priorities into measurable fundraising results.

Fundraising Strategy and Execution

• Develop and execute comprehensive fundraising strategies aligned with organizational and departmental priorities.
• Lead the development of fundraising plans that include goals, audiences, donor pipelines, cultivation and stewardship strategies, timelines, and performance measures.
• Guide and support major fundraising initiatives, including major gifts, direct response, planned giving, corporate sponsor ships, capital campaigns, and special events.
• Monitor fundraising performance, identify opportunities and challenges, and adjust strategies based on data and results.
• Ensure fundraising initiatives are coordinated across IA and program departments.

Program Department Support

• Serve as a strategic fundraising partner to program departments, helping them assess needs, identify opportunities, and develop effective fundraising strategies.
• Ensure departments have access to the tools, data, expertise, and shared services needed to achieve their fundraising goals.
• Establish clear guidelines for determining when initiatives should be led by IA, a program department, or jointly.
• Strengthen collaboration, reduce duplication, and promote a coordinated approach to donor engagement across the organization.

Fundraising Operations

• Oversee core fundraising operations, including prospect research, data services, gift processing, reporting, donor services, direct response, and campaign support.
• Establish clear workflows, service standards, responsibilities, and turnaround times.
• Partner with Finance, Data Services, IT, Marketing and Communications, and other stakeholders to improve systems, reporting, and operational processes.
• Ensure fundraising records, transactions, acknowledgments, and reports are accurate, timely, compliant, and consistently managed.
• Evaluate and improve fundraising systems, technologies, vendors, and processes to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Center of Excellence and Performance Management

• Help build IA into an organization-wide Fundraising Center of Excellence that provides strategy, expertise, infrastructure, and support.
• Develop fundraising standards, tools, templates, policies, training, and best practices.
• Convene development professionals and program leaders to share knowledge, address common challenges, and identify collaborative opportunities.
• Establish key performance indicators, dashboards, and reporting systems to…