Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving

The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) assists in achieving the Office of External Relations unit goals, including development and alumni relations, and is responsible for the college’s overall annual giving strategy. BSOS is a diverse and interdisciplinary college, including 10 departments and multiple centers and over 70,000 alumni constituents. The academic, research, and staff units of BSOS are solutions-driven, engaging in meaningful actions to investigate, inform, and improve the human condition.

The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving raises private funds from individuals to help meet the fundraising goals for the college. Primary responsibilities are to discover, cultivate, solicit and close individual leadership annual gifts managing a portfolio of prospects with annual giving capacity. The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving will also coordinate special department fundraising initiatives and liaise with central giving units for events such as “Giving Day.” The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving is expected to develop a deep knowledge of the college’s offerings. The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving is also expected to make prospect visits each month, both locally and nationally. The Assistant Director develops a prospect pipeline by “cold calling” alumni and friends who may or may not have been contacted previously. This will require extensive time out of the office meeting with prospective donors.

This position reports to the BSOS Director of Development. The Assistant Director of Development, Annual Giving also coordinates with the Development and Alumni Relations staff on alumni and development events.   Education (include licenses, certifications, etc.):
Bachelor’s degree required.

Experience:
Minimum of five years of successful development experience, particularly in the areas of fundraising and stewardship, or comparable experience. Ideally, possessing a record of working effectively in higher education, working with volunteers and/or high-level individuals; building donor relationships and developing stewardship activities; and soliciting and closing gifts of four to five figures.

Demonstrated fundraising, proposal writing, sales and/or other ‘outreach’ success through professional experience, volunteer work, and/or internships required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Energetic professional with a proven track record of building excellent donor/client relationships.
• Willingness and ability to make “cold calls” and to cultivate relationships with and solicit alumni and non-alumni friends of the University for gifts.
• Ability to synthesize complex material and have great attention to detail.
• Ability to manage many projects simultaneously, and a demonstrated record of completing assignments.
• Strong customer service ethic and experience.
• Strong interpersonal skills that will enable him or her to work well with diverse groups of constituents and colleagues.
• Demonstrate the aptitude to represent the University in a highly professional and effective manner.