AVP, Leadership Giving (West/Midwest)

Core Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and manage a team of 3–5 Leadership Gift Officers, with clear individual revenue targets, activity metrics, and development plans for each team member.
• Accountable for the team's collective annual revenue goal of $15M–$25M+, in addition to a personal portfolio revenue goal of $3M–$5M.
• Conduct structured monthly 1:1 portfolio strategy sessions with each team member and lead quarterly team-wide strategy review meetings to maximize qualification of new donors, portfolio coverage and revenue.
• Hold clear, documented performance expectations for every team member; address performance concerns promptly and directly.
• Own all $1M+ strategy decisions for team members: review, refine, and co-lead strategy on every principal gift account across the team.
• Ensure involvement in strategy development and approval of key solicitations of each team member.
• Proactively review each team member's portfolio for high-capacity accounts that should be escalated; rather than relying solely on self-reporting.
• Manage a personal portfolio of ~50 accounts, weighted toward $1M–$5M+ gift capacity; lead personal solicitations in this range with VP support on $5M+ opportunities.
• Facilitate regular prospect strategy and portfolio health meetings; use CRM data and analytics to identify pipeline gaps, stalled relationships, and emerging opportunities.
• Implement and monitor KPIs, activity metrics, and pipeline benchmarks across the team; use data to drive strategic adjustments and individual coaching.
• Partner with Prospect Research to ensure briefing materials, capacity assessments, and research support are consistently deployed across the team.
• Collaborate with Territory Executives, Divisional AVPs, volunteer leaders, and chapter staff to identify, cultivate, and steward leadership and principal giving prospects.
• Partner across Philanthropic Engagement to develop multi-channel donor strategies integrating corporate, institutional, planned, and leadership giving capacity.
• Serve as a Leadership Giving partner to chapters during staff vacancies, to support team members as appropriate and as needed to ensure continuity of relationships and fundraising during transitions.
• Develop and implement individualized professional development plans for each team member, building toward clear career advancement milestones.
• Formally assign mentoring relationships between relevant colleagues; facilitate those relationships and monitor outcomes.
• Model the escalation and collaboration culture the team is expected to practice: be visible in seeking VP partnership on transformational gift strategies.
• Build a team environment where proactive transparency — surfacing problems, escalating opportunities, seeking support — is celebrated rather than penalized.
• Recognize, celebrate and prepare team members who demonstrate consistent achievement for advancement, ensuring appropriate career pathway planning is documented and in place for all team members.
• Ensure consistent application of the Leadership Giving Playbook and best practices across the team.
• Maintain team CRM health; hold team members accountable to data accuracy and timeliness.
• Partner with the National Director, Strategic Operations on program infrastructure, reporting, and operational alignment.
• Support the VP in LG portfolio review presentations, budget development and data-informed strategy development.
• Present such information in key leadership meetings as assigned.

  Qualifications

  • Minimum 10 years of progressive fundraising experience with at least 5 years in major gift fundraising; demonstrated success closing gifts of $1M+.
  • Minimum 3 years directly managing a major gift fundraising team, with a record of building team performance and developing staff.
  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience; advanced degree or CFRE preferred.
  • Proven ability to balance frontline donor engagement with operational management, KPI accountability, and staff development.
  • Experience developing and executing professional development plans and succession pipelines for major gift teams.
  • Strong project management and strategic problem-solving skills; ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, matrixed organization.
  • Demonstrated experience with complex, multi-asset gift strategies (outright, planned, blended, corporate, foundation).
  • Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills; ability to present to and engage with sophisticated philanthropists and volunteer leaders.
  • Proficiency in Salesforce or comparable CRM and Microsoft Office suite.
  • Willingness to travel approximately 30–40% of the time, including occasional evenings and weekends.
  • Entrepreneurial spirit, sound professional judgment, and a genuine commitment to Breakthrough T1D's mission.

    Essential Functions

    • Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
    • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.
    • The employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
    • The employee frequently is required to use hands or fingers, handle or feel objects, tools or controls.
    • The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl.
    • The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds, and infrequently up to 50 pounds.
    • The specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and the ability to adjust focus.
    • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

      Benefits

      • Competitive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a 403(b) retirement plan, voluntary benefits, flexible spending and commuter benefit accounts, an employee assistance program (EAP), life and disability insurance, performance-based bonuses, and generous paid time off.
      • Benefits may vary by job level and full time or part time status.
      • Additional Information Requests for medical, religious, and other exemptions will be considered on an individual basis.
      • Breakthrough T1D will comply with all federal, state, and local laws.
      • Breakthrough T1D supports a diverse and inclusive workforce.
      • Breakthrough T1D is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
      • All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.