Associate Director of Greater New York, Development and Alumni Relations

About the role

This full-time exempt position offers the chance to work directly with potential and current major gift level donors to Lehigh University. You'll manage a comprehensive portfolio of donors and prospective donors, guiding them through every phase of the gift cycle from initial contact to successful closure and ongoing stewardship.

Responsibilities

• Secures a minimum of $1 million annually in philanthropic support for university priorities through the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major gift donors.
• Cultivates relationships with current and prospective major donors through face-to-face visits to assess giving capacity and institutional alignment, building a strategic pipeline of solicitations.
• Arranges and staffs campus visits, tours, and cultivation events, while judiciously engaging senior leadership, deans, and faculty to deepen donor connection to the university.
• Prepares strategic briefing materials, standardized correspondence, and compelling, customized fundraising proposals and impact reports for prospective and current donors.
• Plans and executes targeted strategies to qualify, cultivate, and solicit major gift-rated prospects within an assigned portfolio and geographic region to support institutional fundraising.
• Masters university fundraising priorities and cases for support to align donor passions with institutional needs, while assisting in the recruitment and management of key fundraising volunteers.
• Monitors and tracks overall fundraising progress, regional activity, and pipeline metrics—including LYBUNT, SYBUNT, and new prospect development—providing regular status reports to management.
• Utilizes alumni relations events, programming, and regional networks to drive engagement and create strategic touchpoints that facilitate philanthropic cultivation.
• Maintains accurate records in the development database, prepares pipeline updates for leadership meetings, and collaborates with prospect management to ensure gifts are properly booked, troubleshooting any financial discrepancies.
• Manages internal communications by providing regular performance reports to supervisors and keeping colleagues informed of relevant updates, while efficiently handling travel expenses and coordinating personalized stewardship efforts for assigned prospects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree
• One or two years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Over seven years related work experience in a development position in which external relationships have been strongly established
• Valid Driver's License and good driving record
• Works well with in a collaborative team environment
• Ability to work weekends and evenings