Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts - West Coast

About the role

This position reports to the Executive Director of the West Coast Regional Office and is located in San Francisco. The Senior Associate Director of Major Gifts is responsible for managing a significant major gift donor portfolio consisting of alumni, friends, and parents in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Responsibilities

• 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 solicitations.
• Closes major gifts for the University ($100K+).
• Ensures effective stewardship.
• Involves high level of collaboration with both internal department and broader University partners to identify common goals and develop and execute strategies to increase integration.
• Buys a portfolio through discovery and qualification of approximately 40+ prospects annually in the region they are assigned to.
• Identifies, researches, cultivates and personally solicits major gifts of $100K to $5M.
• Partners with other areas of development, specifically Annual and Planned Giving to coordinate contacts.
• Researches and develops prospects including up-to-date knowledge on assigned groups and works with other areas of development to coordinate contacts.
• Interacts with volunteers on the West Coast; attends meetings and utilizes volunteer help as needed.
• Serves as a strategic partner for the donor engagement team to support and advance long-term event strategy aligned with regional fundraising goals.
• Serves as a liaison between the donor engagement and major gift teams to enhance event processes aligned with prospect identification, donor cultivation, and stewardship.
• Writes correspondence and proposals to prospective donors.
• Prepares contact reports on meetings and interactions with alumni.
• Updates and maintains prospect management information in the donor database.
• Tracks and manages the prospective donor pool to develop reports and monitor program results.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.
• 6 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in frontline fundraising within higher education, healthcare, or another complex nonprofit environment.
• Experience managing a regional donor portfolio or building relationships across a geographically dispersed prospect pool.
• Experience collaborating with faculty, institutional leadership, or cross-functional teams to advance donor strategies.
• Familiarity with CRM systems used in advancement operations (e.g., Salesforce, Advance, or similar donor databases).
• Experience supporting donor engagement events or volunteer leadership activities that contribute to fundraising strategy.

Benefits

At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful and competitive benefits. The available benefits package for this position will include 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; and wellness programs. For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html.

Work-Life and Wellness

Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development

Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you’re interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.