Associate Director, Major Gifts - New York

Target hiring range for this position is between $95,000 - $100,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

About the Role

The Associate Director of Major Gifts will identify, cultivate, and solicit major gift support from a prospect pool of alumni, friends, and family members in the New York tri-state area. This frontline fundraiser will develop and manage a fluid portfolio of prospects through qualification visits, cultivation efforts, and customized solicitations that align with prospect interests and financial capacity.

This position collaborates with colleagues across Alumni Relations and Development and the greater University, including deans, faculty, program directors, and other University volunteers, to plan and execute compelling prospect meetings and solicitations. The role is based in Northwestern University’s New York Regional Office and reports to the Executive Director of Development, New York.

The candidate must be a self-starter who is highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize multiple tasks. This is an ideal position for someone proactive, motivated, able to incorporate feedback, and resilient in uncovering prospects to become loyal donors. The office operates in a hybrid model, offering the option of working three days in the office and two days remote. Occasional work outside of standard business hours is required for donor engagement events.

This role includes structured professional development through Plus Delta’s Discipline of Frontline Fundraising program, providing high-quality training to strengthen fundamental skills in donor cultivation, solicitation, portfolio management, and strategic relationship building. Additional ARD resources connect Northwestern policies and processes with best practices introduced in Plus Delta’s curriculum.

Responsibilities

Strategic Planning

• Gathers data, assesses leads, and develops strategies designed to realize the current and lifetime giving potential of individual prospects.
• Maintains consistent and appropriate contact.
• Facilitates or makes direct solicitations.
• Ensures effective stewardship.

Collaboration

• Involves moderate- to-high-level collaboration with internal department partners and a moderate level of collaboration with broader University partners to identify and integrate resources to accomplish strategic goals and objectives.

Prospects & Gifts

• Develops, plans, and implements strategies and approaches to identify, personally solicit, and steadily close major gifts of six-figures or more.
• Collaborates with New York Major Gift and Donor Engagement teams and other areas of alumni relations and development, including Schools & Programs and Planned Gifts, to coordinate donor strategies.
• Builds a portfolio through discovery and qualification with a target of 40 prospects at a time.
• Manages portfolio by strategically moving prospects through the major gift pipeline.
• Secures visits with prospects and effectively articulates University fundraising priorities to gauge donor interest and capacity.
• Collects and synthesizes information from a wide array of sources to prepare compelling donor proposals that strategically align with donor interests and their full philanthropic capacity.
• Oversees and completes associated stewardship activities, maintains up-to-date best practices, and evaluates closed projects.
• Gathers, records, and retrieves information about prospects and donors utilizing the University’s donor and alumni database, internet, meetings with development staff, faculty, etc.
• Prepares contact reports on meetings and interactions with alumni.

Events

• Supports strategy for regional donor engagement events.
• Staffs alumni and donor engagement events to advance prospect pool and giving.

Administration

• Proactive, productive team contributor with a positive attitude and commitment to an inclusive workplace.
• Offers recommendations to enhance innovation, objectives, and goals.
• Demonstrated ability to follow through and take responsibility for outcomes.
• Driven by challenging individual and team fundraising goals.
• Requires travel throughout the New York tri-state region and periodic travel to the Evanston campus.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree or higher.
• 4 years of development, marketing, sales, or equivalent experience.

Minimum Competencies

• Analytical Thinker: Able to analyze a broad set of data and synthesize information into compelling and succinct points.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in addition to being an active listener. Strong interpersonal skills with a diverse group of internal and external constituencies.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Effective team player who understands individual performance drives overall team success and organizational outcomes.
• Strategic and Critical Thinking: Organized in planning both short- and long-term goals. Uses logic and reasoning to assess alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems and ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in development frontline fundraising at a higher education institution or complex nonprofit organization.
• Experience with CRM databases.
• Experience connecting with prospective donors—or similar audiences—via events and other engagement opportunities.

Preferred Competencies

• Proven ability to personally solicit and close major gifts and pledges of six-figures or more.
• Understanding of the New York tri-state philanthropic landscape.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook).
• Ability to function at a high level within a complex organization.

Benefits

At Northwestern, we provide meaningful and competitive benefits, including:

• Health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance.
• Paid vacation and holidays; paid medical/sick and parental leave.
• Tuition benefits for the employee and dependents.
• Pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care.
• Generous retirement savings options.
• Wellness programs.

Work-Life and Wellness

• Flexible work arrangements where possible.
• Programs to help locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care.

Professional Growth & Development

• Career development support, including tools and resources for professional potential and continuing formal education.