Vice President, Management

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WGU Advancement, the university’s fundraising arm, embodies WGU’s commitment to growth and impact. The Vice President, Advancement (VP) is responsible for designing and implementing a comprehensive and forward-thinking strategy that prioritizes the deepening of relationships with alumni, donors, foundations, and strategic partners that guides all fundraising efforts s strategy will be intricately aligned with WGU’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities and will reflect the university’s innovative model and student-centric approach to higher education.
Central to this role is fostering a culture of philanthropy across WGU, ensuring efficiency, sustainability, and impact through data-informed decision-making, innovative fundraising practices, and technology-enabled systems that strengthen fundraising initiatives that will resonate deeply with every stakeholder. The VP leads and develops a high-performing fundraising team, oversees advancement services, and manages grants administration—ensuring efficiency, sustainability, and impact.
The VP is responsible to foster close collaboration with academic leadership, enrollment, marketing, and student services to align messaging and maximize the impact of university-wide initiatives, As a key member of the President’s Leadership Team, the VP will actively contribute to shaping and communicating the President’s vision, strategic direction, and operational decisions affecting both the university and its affiliated initiatives.

• Develop and execute a bold and ambitious Advancement strategy to support WGU’s growth, long term sustainability, and transformative philanthropic partnerships and expansion in alignment with the organization’s priorities.
• Recruit, develop, and retain a diverse, high-performing Advancement team by modeling values driven leadership, setting clear expectations, and fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, professional growth, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Provide visionary leadership across all fundraising domains—including major gifts, annual giving, corporate and foundation relations, planned giving, and donor engagement—ensuring a cohesive and high-impact fundraising ecosystem.
• Oversee the grants administration team, ensuring a streamlined and efficient grant lifecycle—from identification and application to compliance and reporting.
• Establish and maintain best practices in donor stewardship, recognition, and engagement.
• Optimize the allocation of Advancement resources, ensuring investments align proportionally with generated funds.
• Manage the advancement services team to enhance donor management, gift processing, and fundraising analytics.
• Champion the strategic use of technology, CRM systems, and data analytics to inform fundraising strategy, personalize donor engagement, monitor performance, and drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate closely with WGU leaders, Trustees, and faculty, fostering a university-wide…