Northwestern University

Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts

Northwestern University$110K — $120K *
Education, Government & Non-Profit
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience required
  • 6+ years in development, marketing, sales, or a related field
  • Strong strategic thinking and analytical skills
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
  • Experience in alumni engagement or fundraising at a higher education institution preferred

Responsibilities

  • Develop and execute comprehensive communication plans to enhance alumni philanthropy awareness
  • Collaborate with internal teams and university partners for common fundraising goals
  • Identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts ranging from $50K to $5M from 100+ potential donors annually
  • Coordinate with other development areas to maximize donor engagement
  • Maintain and update donor database with prospect management information
  • Prepare reports and documents for donor relations and proposals
  • Supervise and train staff in fundraising strategies and execution

Benefits

  • Competitive health care plans
  • Retirement benefits and tuition discounts
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Programs for quality childcare and elder care support
  • Employee career development resources
Full Job Description
Department: Kellogg Advancement
Salary/Grade: EXS/12

Job Summary

Reporting to the Director, Major Gifts, the Senior Associate Director develops and manages a significant portfolio of finance-related and other Kellogg alumni individual major gift-level prospective donors and donors. This position collaborates with school leadership, volunteers, and faculty to identify, research, create, coordinate, and execute customized engagement, compelling funding opportunities, proposals, and solicitations to generate significant philanthropic gift support that supports students, faculty members, and facilities. This includes working closely with Kellogg's dean, senior leaders, faculty members, and other development staff to align prospect passion, financial capacity, giving vehicles, and stewardship opportunities for major donors. Goal is to generate multiple major gifts of $250,000-$5M per year on behalf of Kellogg, in a sector network model.

Specific Responsibilities

Strategic Planning
  • Plans, develops & implements overall communication plan to encourage education of philanthropy & heightened awareness of fundraising needs among the donor & alumni community to maintain & increase the amount & level of major gift donors.
Collaboration
  • Involves high level of collaboration with both internal department and broader University partners to identify common goals & develop & execute strategies to increase integration.
  • Please bullet examples of key partnerships and work involved below:
Prospects & Gifts
  • Identifies, researches, cultivates and personally solicits major gifts of $50K to $5M by managing a portfolio of approximately 100+ prospects annually.
  • Partners with other areas of development, specifically Annual & Planned Giving to coordinate contacts.
  • Researches & develops prospects including up-to-date knowledge on assigned groups & works with other areas of development to coordinate contacts.
  • Requires travel throughout the region or country.
Administration
  • 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.
Supervisory
  • Provides training to staff within or outside of immediate dept or division in regard to function.
  • Completes other duties as assigned.
Minimum 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.
Minimum Competencies:
  • Strategic thinking and analytical skills
  • Global and organizational perspective
  • Ability to bring ideas and value to the team and constituent groups
  • Complex problem solving
  • Ability to work in fast-paced environment
Preferred Qualifications:
  • Demonstrated experience personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts through face-to-face donor engagement.
  • Record of securing six-figure gifts from individuals, including the ability to develop solicitation strategies, present compelling funding opportunities, and guide donors through the decision-making process.
  • Evidence of measurable fundraising results, such as documented progress toward individual or organizational revenue goals, number and value of gifts closed, portfolio growth, or increased donor engagement.
  • Experience in development/advancement at a research University.
  • Fundraising campaign experience
  • Demonstrated experience with highest level of customer service and business and partnership development
  • Experience in the fields of finance, wealth management, entrepreneurship, higher education, health care, or other professional fields.
Preferred Competencies:
  • Demonstrated skill in cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts, including experience making face-to-face asks and securing six-figure commitments.
  • Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust and engage effectively with donors, alumni, faculty, senior leaders, volunteers, and colleagues.
  • High degree of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, discretion, and sound judgment.
  • Strong written, verbal, listening, and presentation skills, including the ability to develop and communicate compelling, donor-centered cases for support.
  • Strong organizational, prioritization, and follow-through skills.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
Target hiring range for this position will be $110,000 - $120,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

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 .

#LI-AS1

About Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. It was founded in 1851 by nine men whose goal was to establish a university that would serve the Northwest Territory. Northwestern is a member of the Big Ten Conference and the Association of American Universities. Northwestern has 12 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees. Northwestern has a diverse student body with over 21,000 students from all 50 states and 100 countries. The university has a strong focus on research and has produced 19 Nobel laureates, as well as numerous Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship winners.
Learn more about Northwestern University
Size
1,483 employees
Market Cap
$3.3 billion
Industry
Net Income
$155.2 million
5 Year Trend
+1.8%
Revenue
$1.1 billion
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Northwestern University

More Education, Government & Non-Profit Jobs

  • State Of Delaware
    Director of Accounting
    $130K *
    State Of Delaware
    Dover, DE 19904 (Kent County)
  • Deputy Building Official
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)
  • Deputy Assessor
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)
  • Civil Engineer II
    $80K — $150K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)
  • Accounting Manager
    $80K — $100K + gloucester county government offers an excellent benefit package *
    Gloucester County
    Gloucester, VA 23061 (Gloucester County)

Find similar Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts jobs: