Senior Director of Development, School of Law

Responsibilities

• Works collaboratively with the Dean of the School of Law to engage major prospects to secure philanthropic support for the School’s funding priorities and strategic initiatives.
• Provides counsel, coaching and briefing to Dean prior to and after donor meetings.
• Engages with School of Law faculty and staff and educates them about development at the School.
• Conducts a minimum of 120 intentional personal visits with current and prospective donors.
• Promptly documents all contacts with donor in CRM to build the donor’s story and history with the University.
• Creatively cultivates, solicits, and stewards, prospects and donors, and conducts meaningful discovery work to build the major gift pipeline.
• Plans and executes personalized donor strategy plans and well-written proposals.
• Connects highly qualified benefactors to the President, Dean and faculty to deepen their relationship with the University and increase their philanthropic commitment.
• Maintains a portfolio of major prospects for the purpose of supporting the University.
• Leverages available resources to maximize alumni support and collaborates with colleagues in Planned Giving, Parent Development, Annual Giving, Alumni Affairs, and Advancement Services in support of divisional and institutional goals.
• Develops new programs and initiatives to provide opportunities for meaningful prospect engagement with the School.
• Crafts strategy for School of Law around annual giving activities, Bobcats Unite, and other crowdfunding opportunities as may arise from time to time.
• Utilizes events within the School of Law and at the University to highlight the work of our students and faculty to engage major prospects based on their unique interests.
• Collaborates with School of Law and Alumni Affairs on alumni event strategies and attends events as appropriate.
• Willingness to adapt to shifting priorities and accept new responsibilities as requested.
• Utilizes institutional knowledge and experience to build a culture of philanthropy at the University.
• Captivates on network to identify/enlist alumni to serve on boards, committees, and leadership roles at the University.
• Maintains knowledge of other unit and institutional priorities and university events to align donor interests and passions with meaningful areas of support and engagement.
• Sustains collegial and collaborative relationships with colleagues and campus partners and responds to inquiries in a timely manner.
• Adept at relating to constituents of diverse backgrounds and engaging them with the University.
• Manages University resources and budget judiciously.
• Effectively works remotely and ability to work independently, while collaborating with colleagues as needed.

Qualifications

• Seven to ten years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, with demonstrated success securing major gifts of $50,000+, preferably in higher education, legal education, healthcare, or another complex nonprofit environment.
• Proven ability to cultivate, solicit, negotiate, and steward major and principal gift donors through all stages of the donor cycle.
• Experience partnering effectively with deans, faculty, senior leaders, volunteers, and advisory boards to advance fundraising priorities.
• Exceptional relationship-building, interpersonal, and communication skills, with the ability to engage and inspire diverse constituencies.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking with the ability to develop and execute comprehensive fundraising plans that achieve measurable results.
• Strong proposal writing, presentation, and storytelling skills with the ability to translate institutional priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities.
• Experience using constituent relationship management (CRM) systems, such as Blackbaud CRM, Raiser's Edge NXT, Salesforce, or a comparable donor database.
• Willingness and ability to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends to support donor engagement and University events.
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with individuals from varied backgrounds.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree is required.
• Master's degree is required.