Director of Institutional Support

Position Description

Reporting to the Vice President for Advancement,
the Director of Institutional Support is responsible for the development of a comprehensive program for strategically engaging philanthropic institutions and partners to generate support for the University’s priorities. The Director will work closely with administrators, faculty, and program staff to help identify, solicit, and steward institutional prospects and donors, including the preparation of foundation, corporate, government and church funding proposals. He/she will possess the strategic ability to elevate outcomes from the University’s grants programs in order to significantly impact our programs and priorities.

Design, implement, and manage a comprehensive proactive development plan focused on expanding and enhancing key relationships by directing and coordinating activities related to obtaining support from institutions such as foundations, corporations, government and churches. Develop high value corporate alliances and identify, evaluate, cultivate and solicit five- and particularly six figure (and larger) philanthropic commitments to support the mission and goals of the University.

Assist in determining annual giving goals for grant funding and build strategic and tactical plans for achieving these goals in partnership with the Vice President for Advancement and the Associate Vice President for Advancement.

Manage a prospect pool of institutional funders and prospects with annual goals for visits, solicitations and giving outcomes. Develop highly competitive proposals and manage institutional relationships in support of university goals and priorities. Maintain a rigorous strategy of awareness building within institutional representatives, creating moves management plans, compelling presentations and comprehensive fundraising proposals. Monitor proposal deadlines, write/edit proposals, and manage proposal/LOI applications averaging a minimum of four monthly submissions.

Work closely with Advancement colleagues, faculty, staff, and administration to uncover opportunities and significantly expand fundraising relationships among corporate and foundation constituencies. Identify key alumni within corporations/foundations/churches and keep current on foundation trends and corporate profiles that suggest potential relationships because of common interests.

Maintain a high-quality stewardship process for active institutional donors. Ensure that stewardship and reporting requirements are met with excellence and timeliness in order to transform programmatic support into successful, long-term philanthropic partnerships.

Engage faculty, administrators, and staff and prepare them for involvement in the grant‑seeking process. Initiate opportunities for faculty, administrators, and deans to interact with institutional prospects and interpret corporate and foundation interests to university constituencies. Work directly with the campus deans/faculty to develop grant applications and to initiate the cultivation/fundraising process.

Supervise the daily operations, including budget. Submit plans, maintain progress reports and manage budgets to track revenue and expenses. Ensure Vice President & AVP for Advancement are briefed on all aspects of progress, challenges, and successes. Coordinate with the Finance Office to ensure the timely and thorough use of funds for purposes outlined by the funding source, and communication of proposed variances to use of funds as necessary.

Collaborate with Finance and Institutional Research on the collection and analysis of budget information for cost applications as well as grant reports.

Coach, mentor, and directly lead a growing team that includes the Assistant Director of Institutional Support and additional hires that may occur overtime. Provide appropriate direction, feedback, and instructions so employees under the Director’s supervision feel supported, have clarity about responsibilities, and are held accountable to deliver on them in a timely manner while adhering to the highest…