Senior Director of Leadership Giving & Donor Development

Senior Director Of Leadership Giving & Donor Development

The Senior Director of Leadership Giving & Donor Development leads the execution of Colby's leadership annual giving and donor development strategy, overseeing frontline fundraising activity, leadership-level donor engagement, volunteer fundraising initiatives, and donor movement across the primary giving ecosystem.

Reporting to the Executive Director of Annual Giving, the Senior Director translates institutional strategy into operational execution, providing leadership, accountability, and direct supervision and coaching for Leadership Annual Giving (LAGO) and Digital Donor Experience (DXO) Officers while advancing a portfolio of leadership-level current-use donors and volunteers. The Senior Director works across Advancement to strengthen donor participation, retention, upgrading, and pipeline development, ensuring donors are effectively engaged and positioned for long-term philanthropic growth.

The hiring range for this position is 106,000 to 140,000.

Essential Functions

• Frontline Fundraising Leadership & Management. This role oversees the Annual Giving frontline fundraising team.
• Lead, coach, and supervise frontline fundraising staff, including Leadership Annual Giving Officers (LAGOs), Digital Donor Experience Officers (DXOs), Class Philanthropy Officers, and other assigned team members.
• Establish clear expectations, goals, and performance metrics aligned with annual giving and donor development priorities.
• Conduct regular portfolio reviews, performance discussions, and donor strategy sessions.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and donor-centered fundraising.
• Support staff professional development through coaching, mentorship, and performance feedback.

• Leadership Giving & Donor Development. This role develops top annual giving donor relationships.
• Manage a portfolio of leadership-level current-use donors and volunteers.
• Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership annual giving prospects.
• Recruit and engage volunteer and peer-to-peer fundraising leaders; establish a new leadership annual giving program leveraging volunteer solicitors to strengthen giving in the $10,000 - $100,000 tier.
• Partner with Advancement colleagues to strengthen donor movement from participation through leadership and major giving.
• Support the development and execution of leadership donor engagement strategies designed to increase donor retention, revenue, and long-term philanthropic commitment.

• Donor Pipeline & Portfolio Management. This role owns the upper half of the Annual Giving program preparing donors for future major gift engagement.
• Implement donor movement strategies designed to accelerate participation, retention, upgrading, and leadership giving growth.
• Oversee qualification, assignment, and portfolio management processes for frontline fundraising staff.
• Partner with Prospect Management, Analytics, and Advancement Services to ensure portfolio integrity and effective donor tracking.
• Monitor donor pipeline health and identify opportunities to improve donor progression and engagement.
• Support smooth referral and handoff processes between Annual Giving, Major Giving, and other fundraising teams.

• Program Execution & Operational Accountability. This role is a builder; establishing the business and workflow processes that bring the vision for Annual Giving at Colby to life.
• Operationalize annual fundraising priorities established by the Executive Director of Annual Giving.
• Coordinate implementation of leadership giving initiatives, volunteer fundraising efforts, donor journeys, and fundraising programs.
• Ensure timely execution of fundraising plans, outreach strategies, and campaign-related activities.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Advancement to align donor outreach and fundraising activity.
• Monitor progress toward annual goals and implement corrective actions as needed to improve performance.

• Collaboration & Cross-Team Partnership. This role is a player-coach who works alongside and elevates Advancement colleagues because stronger collaboration and shared success lead to better outcomes across the division.
• Collaborate…