Senior Director of Development, Western Region

Position Number: S80830 | Grade: 12 - 40

About the Role

Lehigh University's Development and Alumni Relations team is building meaningful, lasting relationships with alumni and donors who share a deep belief in what higher education can do. As Senior Director of Development, West, you'll lead that work across some of the country's most active philanthropic markets, bringing Lehigh's story to donors in the Bay Area, Southern California, Seattle, Dallas, Houston, and Chicago. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Major Gifts, you'll serve as a senior voice within an eleven-member Regional Individual Giving team, managing a robust major gifts portfolio and building the kind of donor relationships that translate into transformative commitments.

Responsibilities

• Direct, motivate, and oversee the day-to-day operations of the Western and Midwest major gifts team, serving as a model for organizational values.
• Recruit, interview, hire, train, and mentor staff; clearly establish job accountabilities, evaluate performance, and provide regular feedback or improvement plans.
• Meet regularly with direct reports to track goals, and partner with the AVP of Major Gifts to analyze organizational needs, team structure, and job content.
• Integrate key activities across Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) functions to effectively leverage staff resources, optimize programming, and ensure clear communication.
• Personally secure 6- and 7-figure philanthropic commitments for the university through the full donor lifecycle: identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Actively manage a portfolio of 50–75 highly rated individual prospects, primarily consisting of donors with a giving capacity of $2 million or more.
• Conduct face-to-face visits to assess donor capacity and inclination, build a strategic solicitation pipeline, and lead engagement opportunities such as cultivation events.
• Judiciously engage senior leadership, deans, faculty, and staff with prospects, and prepare accurate, compelling, and customized proposals and reports.
• Master institutional fundraising priorities to connect donors with impactful opportunities, developing and executing tailored strategies for each major gift prospect to guide pipeline activity and travel.
• Monitor and track regional fundraising progress—including pipeline movement, LYBUNT/SYBUNT retention, and new prospect activity—providing regular updates during 1:1 and department meetings.
• Assist in identifying, recruiting, and managing key fundraising volunteers to support regional advancement efforts.
• Coordinate with prospect management to ensure gifts are booked properly under university policies and accounting standards, troubleshoot discrepancies, and submit travel expenses efficiently.
• Inform colleagues of relevant developments impacting their areas in a timely manner and manage personalized stewardship efforts for assigned prospects.
• Lead regular, action-oriented team and 1:1 meetings, collaborate with the AVP of Major Gifts to identify and budget for staff training, and foster a respectful, collaborative, and high-achieving work culture.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field
• At least eight years of work-related experience
• Over eight years of related work experience in a development position in which external relationships have been strongly established
• Familiarity with philanthropy in the Bay Area
• Strong skills in prospect discovery, qualification, and long-horizon relationship building
• Comfort working independently in a remote, travel-intensive environment while staying closely connected to a collaborative central team
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex institutional priorities into compelling cases for support specific to Lehigh's academic and research mission
• A valid driver's license with a good driving record

Special Considerations

• This position requires driving as a routine function.
• The duties of this position may allow for partial remote work as deemed appropriate by the supervisor.
• Weekends and evenings required to support events and donor engagement.
• Extensive travel required for regional portfolio management.
• Successful completion of standard background checks including but not limited to: social security verification, education verification, national criminal background checks, motor vehicle checks, PATCH, FBI fingerprinting, Child Abuse Clearance, and credit history based upon the requirements of the position.

Pay

Approximate salary range of $144,690-$176,020, subject to change based on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Benefits

Lehigh offers a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, generous leave provisions, and strong retirement contributions—alongside the intellectual energy of a university that takes its mission seriously.