About the Opportunity
The Senior Director of Major Gifts, College of Science (COS), is the content specialist responsible for building and executing COS’s fund-raising strategy.
Reporting to the Executive Director - Advancement, the Senior Director of Major Gifts works with the faculty at COS and Advancement staff across the university to discover, identify, and build relationships with prospective donors—developing strategies for their cultivation and soliciting gifts. The Director of Major Gifts plans, organizes, and carries out COS’s major gifts fund-raising program for alumni, parents, and friends of COS.
They discover, build, and manage a portfolio of 100 + prospective donors who exhibit considerable promise for evolving to major gift capacity over time and whose philanthropic priorities match the education and research programs at COS. They solicit gifts in the $100K-$1M+ range. They identify key regions nationally for cultivating and soliciting prospective donors.
The Senior Director of Major Gifts coordinates efforts with Advancement colleagues, and works collaboratively, where appropriate, with colleagues in corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy, as well as with other directors of major gifts, on special cross-disciplinary projects.
This position is Boston-based and is not available for remote work.
Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities
Lead major gifts fund-raising effort and serve as the COS content expert for Advancement
Cultivate, solicit, and build alumni, parent, and friend relationships. Strategize with faculty and other colleagues on next steps with prospects within COS and across disciplines. Travel as needed to build relationships with existing volunteers, prospects, and donors. Solicit gifts in the $100K – $1M+ range. Work with the Executive Director, Advancement and other advancement teams (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to ensure the development goals of COS are met. Advise faculty, fund-raising colleagues, and administrators on alumni and parent areas of interest. Partner with fund-raising colleagues (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to develop interdisciplinary strategies for donors providing support across the university.
Management of Staff
Mentor and develop the Assistant Director - Major Gifts. Empower their efforts to manage their own prospect pools with also fostering collaborative, multi-unit strategies. Provide strategic guidance and motivation that enables staff to achieve activity and dollar metrics. Promote best professional practices via exemplary behavior, staff training, and professional development opportunities.
Building Prospect Portfolio and Pipeline
Discover new prospects and build pipeline to feed gifts at the major gift level. Work closely with the Executive Director to create a strategic development plan for COS and develop and manage a large portfolio of prospects (approximately 120+). Establish region-based plans for cultivating and soliciting alumni and current parents in targeted areas nationally. Engage faculty strategically with prospects; maintain correspondence; and keep the Executive Director, faculty, and appropriate University administrators apprised of funding opportunities and trends. Travel as needed to strategically identified regions to support prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Achieve annual fund-raising goals and activity (visits, video meetings, calls, proposals, etc.) metrics set by the Executive Director.
Maintain Prospect Portfolio
Maintain high-quality development process for active alumni, parent, and friend prospects and donors. Create call reports and maintain database system. Maintain the data integrity of prospect portfolio using the Development Office data management systems (Ascend). Prepare monthly progress prospect reports for the Executive Director. Work with Advancement’s Stewardship team to ensure that past, present, and future donors are appropriately recognized, including their administration and accounting.
Knowledge, Skill Sets, and Experience
- 4-6 years of professional experience with at least 3 years of demonstrated success in soliciting and closing six- and seven-figure gifts in support of a non-profit institution
- Demonstrated experience cultivating and soliciting, alumni, parents, and friends, and maintaining positive relationships with donors
- Superior communication skills—highly collaborative and entrepreneurial in approach and possessing interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with various university constituents, both internal and external
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of the Northeastern University Advancement team
- Data- and metric-driven mindset
- An appreciation and understanding of the mission of Northeastern University
- Overnight travel and some evening and weekend work required
- BA/BS degree required (STEM degree a plus but not required)
Position Type
AdvancementAdditional Information
Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.
Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.
All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
Compensation Grade/Pay Type:
114SExpected Hiring Range:
$129,010.00 - $187,060.00With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.
Top Skills
Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts, USA Office
360 Huntington Ave, , , , Boston, MA , United States, 02115-5005
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