Assistant Dean of Development, SPA

American University•Washington, DC

10d•$150,000 - $170,000•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs (“SPA”) is the principal fundraiser for SPA at American University. The Assistant Dean of Development works on behalf of the Dean of SPA, shaping and executing plans for fundraising to meet the financial needs of the Dean’s academic priorities for the School. The Assistant Dean of Development works primarily in the area of major gift fundraising for SPA and participates in the Dean’s senior management team in order to understand fully and discuss the implications of academic programs for development. The Assistant Dean of Development plans, implements, and oversees the major gift fundraising program for SPA with emphasis on gifts of $100,000 to $1,000,000+, as well as collaborates with the principal gifts program, parent philanthropy, annual giving, as well as foundation/corporate giving. The Assistant Dean of Development coordinates closely with the Senior Director of Development, Annual Giving to ensure messages and priorities are consistent for the mail and phone programs; as well as with directors in other areas (Planned Giving, Leadership Annual Giving, Strategic Partnerships, other units) on mutual interest prospects and programs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited educational institution.
8-10 years of relevant experience.
Eight or more years progressively responsible development experience required, with at least four years in demonstrated success in securing major gifts of $100,000+.
Familiarity with and experience following guidelines of an established Prospect Development system; computer literacy with MS Office suite or equivalent and familiarity with fundraising systems; superior written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or equivalent.
8-10 years of relevant experience.
Experience in higher education, working with high-level executives/academics/leaders, managing volunteers, major gift solicitation and closure at the $500,000+ level.
Attention to detail, ability to analyze and articulate reasons for giving, strong priority setting, ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously in a deadline-oriented environment. Maturity and diplomacy. Analytical, research, and project management skills.

Responsibilities

Major Gift Strategy With the Dean and independently, aggressively work major gifts portfolio under the prospect development guidelines, actively setting and executing strategies on assigned major gift prospects, meeting or exceeding established benchmarks for visits, contacts, and solicitations, and securing gifts that support the academic priorities of the Dean, other units, or the University as a whole.
Lead Fundraising Strategy Develop, execute, manage, fundraising strategies, priorities, schedules and tactics for the Dean of the School of Public Affairs, including but not limited to: Identifying and engaging prospects around the Dean’s academic priorities for the School. Planning travel and individual meetings. Managing regular communication with key prospects. Adding a development perspective to relevant matters that emerge in the School or on the Dean’s leadership team. Managing all aspects of the Dean’s Advocacy Council, including developing strategy to cultivate and solicit council members for leadership giving at SPA. Management and strategy development of a pool of 150 assigned, rated, and staged prospects generally rated $100,000-$1,000,000+. Meaningful contact or consistently demonstrated attempted contact of 100% of the assigned portfolio during any six month period. Regular maintenance of prospect pipeline (i.e., planned and executed solicitations) to reflect a minimum of 15 major gift solicitations per year. Varying by stage of cultivation, consistent movement of prospects in assigned portfolio in prescribed time frame. (As an example, it is expected that prospects will only be in qualification and early cultivation mode for 6 months, regular cultivation for 12 months, and pre-solicitation cultivation and consideration mode for 6 months). A minimum of 10 planned, strategic visits per month with many other interactions, meetings, events, and unplanned visits. Regular updates to contacts, staging, ratings so that all reports are current for supervision meetings and monthly progress reports. Work in concert with University Advancement colleagues, including particularly close collaboration with the Planned Giving Team, and Office of Prospect Development to conduct entrepreneurial prospect identification and qualification work equal to approximately 10-20% of all activity. (More if Assistant Dean of Development meets expectations of progress with assigned portfolio). The Assistant Dean of Development’s financial objectives will be established collaboratively and with close review of the capacity and readiness indicators of the Assistant Dean of Development’s prospect portfolio.
Lead and Manage Team Members Manage, motivate, and evaluate the School of Public Affairs Development team: Director of Development, SPA and Development Coordinator, SPA. Develop major gift strategies and revenue expectations, donor stewardship initiatives, and special event plans. Delegate and assign tasks, including creation and design of related publications.
Coordinate Annual Giving Work with AU’s Annual Giving team to effectively manage annual giving techniques and messages utilized in AU’s direct marketing and phone programs, assuming responsibility for making sure the information about the School of Public Affairs used in these programs is accurate, up to date, and in line with the School’s current fundraising objectives. Work closely with the Director of Development, Annual Giving, on annual Dean’s letter or other equivalent solicitation pieces, insuring that they occupy a reasonable and productive spot in AU’s direct marketing calendar.
Other Duties As Assigned