Associate Director of Major Gifts

About the role

The Associate Director of Major Gifts will play a pivotal role in advancing the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD)’s highest priorities—students, faculty, and programs—by developing and executing thoughtful, data-informed strategies for identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a portfolio of approximately 150–250 major gift prospects across individuals, corporations, and foundations, with an emphasis on six-figure gifts and select seven-figure opportunities.
• Develop and implement individualized strategies for each prospect, guiding them through the full donor cycle: identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Lead the strategy and execution of complex solicitations, including multi-year commitments and endowed funds, collaborating with faculty and institutional leadership as appropriate.
• Maintain an active schedule of in-person and virtual visits, with extensive (primarily domestic) travel to engage prospects and donors.
• Proactively identify and qualify new major gift prospects, building and strengthening a robust pipeline for major and principal gifts.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues in Development and Alumni Relations, and across the University as appropriate, to share intelligence and coordinate engagement strategies.
• Use data, research, and performance metrics to prioritize activity, inform decision-making, and drive toward ambitious revenue and activity goals.
• Serve as a compelling and informed ambassador for the GSD, articulating the School’s mission, vision, and priorities—and the urgency of design’s role in addressing global challenges—in a clear and inspiring way.
• Partner effectively with faculty, School leadership and staff, and University partners, preparing them for donor interactions and supporting their roles in the cultivation and solicitation process.
• Contribute positively to a collaborative team culture that values openness, learning, and shared success across all Development and Alumni Relations functions.
• Participate actively in the GSD campus community.
• Ensure high-quality stewardship for major donors, informing tailored impact reporting, recognition, and ongoing engagement aligned with donor interests.
• Collaborate with colleagues to develop creative engagement opportunities—events, campus visits, program presentations, and other experiences—that deepen donors’ connection to the GSD’s work.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of all donor and prospect activity in the Development CRM, supporting transparency, continuity, and institutional memory.
• Meet or exceed annual goals for visits, solicitations, dollars raised, and other key performance indicators.
• Regularly review portfolio performance, pipeline health, and progress against goals with the Senior Director of Major Gifts and Individual Philanthropy.
• Contribute to the ongoing refinement and elevation of the GSD’s major and principal gifts strategies across the team, bringing forward new ideas, best practices, and lessons learned.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8 years of frontline fundraising experience (or equivalent experience in a directly transferable area of development or institutional advancement), with a demonstrated track record of securing five- and six-figure gifts.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to present complex ideas clearly and persuasively to a range of audiences.
• General computer literacy, including proficiency with standard office software (e.g., Microsoft Office or Google Workspace) and experience with at least one Development CRM (e.g., Advance, Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, or similar).
• Willingness and ability to travel extensively (primarily domestic) and to work occasional evenings and weekends as donor and event schedules require.
• Commitment to working in person on campus in Cambridge at least one day per week as part of a hybrid work arrangement.