Executive Director

Executive Director, Advancement

About the Opportunity

JOB SUMMARY

The Executive Director, Advancement (ED), as part of an interdisciplinary advancement team, reports to the Senior Associate Vice President of Development and partners with colleagues at the Assistant, Associate, and Senior Associate Vice President level(s), as well as with the Vice President for Development and the Senior Vice President for Advancement. Multidisciplinary collaboration is essential to transformative research and learning. The ED will provide structure and strategy to teams integral to Northeastern's ambitious fundraising to support its leadership in global experiential higher education.

The ED will be part of an evolving organizational model that creates a comprehensive team of Northeastern advancement generalists with access to content and expertise within the colleges, programs, and campuses. The ED will collaborate with academic leaders to develop individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies yielding major and principal gifts.

In addition to managing a portfolio of top prospects, the ED will manage a small team of advancement professionals within this structure, working closely with colleagues responsible for other content specialty areas to identify new major and principal gift prospects across disciplines; to develop and manage comprehensive and compelling solicitation strategies; and to cultivate, solicit, and steward university-wide prospects and donors, thus securing significant philanthropic revenue for the university.

The ED will plan, organize, and execute the major gifts fundraising program for alumni, parents, and friends for their colleges/programs/campuses. They will manage a small team of advancement professionals.

The ED works closely with colleagues responsible for other content specialty areas to identify new major and principal gift prospects across disciplines; to develop comprehensive and compelling solicitation strategies; and to cultivate, solicit, and steward university-wide prospects and donors, thus securing significant philanthropic revenue for the university. They will oversee and provide strategic direction for their content and specialty expertise for not only their own advancement teams but also for colleagues within the global network.

They will work with advancement and other content partners to develop interdisciplinary fundraising programs that support areas within the global network.

The ED will manage a portfolio of 80+ prospects and donors and will actively solicit prospects at the $500K+ major gifts level and $1-5M principal gifts level. They will meet or exceed a goal of 80 personal contacts (virtual meetings, phone meetings, and personal visits) per year, utilizing virtual technology and travel to visit identified donors, prospects, and suspects, and meet or exceed annual fundraising and strategic goals.

They will build and enhance relationships with Northeastern prospects and donors, involving them strategically in special programs and events, and connecting them to other university leaders and supporters to maximize their involvement with the university. They will use a donor database (Ascend) to track activity on donors, prospects, and suspects in a timely and accurate fashion while maintaining appropriate records, reports, and analyses as required.

They will oversee the design and production of regularly produced reports on progress toward annual goals for use by colleagues at the Assistant/Associate/Senior Associate/Vice President level(s).

This position is Boston-based and not available for remote work.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree required;
Master's Degree preferred

• The university is seeking a highly entrepreneurial, energetic, and collaborative individual who has 8+ years of progressive major gifts fund-raising experience, preferably in higher education

• Proven track record in soliciting and closing major and principal gifts

• Demonstrated ability to strategically lead a team, manage a comprehensive program, and hold fundraisers accountable for meeting ambitious fundraising goals

• Data- and metric-driven mindset

• Tested ability to work closely…