Assistant Vice President of Advancement Services

Dominican University•River Forest, IL

6d•$110,000 - $115,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Advancement Services is a member of the University Advancement (UA) team and reports directly to the Vice President of University Advancement (VPUA). The AVP provides strategic leadership, operational oversight, and technical direction for the University Advancement division’s infrastructure. This position oversees gift processing, donor administration and records, data analytics, prospect research, talent management, budget administration, and information technology. The primary focus of this role is optimizing the institutional ecosystem with Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT to build a metric-driven fundraising operation. The AVP will design, implement, and scale the infrastructure required to launch, execute, and track an upcoming multi-million-dollar comprehensive capital campaign. By enhancing data analytics, predictive reporting, and portfolio moves management, the AVP ensures data integrity, regulatory compliance, and modern technological solutions to drive philanthropic growth.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, information systems, non-profit management, or a related field.
Minimum of 7–10 years of progressive leadership experience in advancement services, non-profit operations, or higher education administration.
Minimum of 7-10 years of direct supervisory experience managing professional-level staff, specifically leading technical or analytical roles.
Advanced, hands-on administration experience with Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge NXT, including building custom dashboards and managing global changes.
Proven track record of designing infrastructure for comprehensive fundraising campaigns exceeding $50M+.
Expert knowledge of fundraising mechanics, donor stewardship, and IRS charitable contribution rules.
Deep understanding of moves management theories and how to operationalize them within database workflows.
Exceptional leadership skills with a proven ability to manage, mentor, and align diverse professional teams.
Strong communication skills to translate complex technical metrics for non-technical stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or relevant professional certifications (e.g., CFRE).
Experience integrating Raiser's Edge NXT data with advanced visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI, Cognos).

Responsibilities

Design, build, and deploy the reporting frameworks, gift-tracking mechanisms, and counting policies required for the upcoming comprehensive capital campaign.
Direct daily operations of advancement services, data governance, and administrative functions.
In collaboration with VPUA, manage the department’s operating budget, resource allocation, and financial reporting.
Serve as the strategic owner for Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT, maximizing database utility, custom attributes, integrations, and user permissions.
Architect advanced dashboards, business intelligence tools, and predictive models to deliver real-time insights on campaign progress, pipeline health, and departmental key performance indicators.
Oversee accurate processing, automated receipting, and complex date clean-up projects to guarantee date precision across the NXT platform.
Partner with campus IT and Blackbaud support to manage software updates, third-party integrations, and automated data feeds.
Design, enforce, and audit a rigorous, metrics-driven moves management system with Raiser’s Edge NXT to track donor pipelines from discovery to stewardship.
Partner with fundraising leadership to conduct regular portfolio reviews, evaluating fundraiser activity metrics, relationship progression, and solicitation cycles.
Guide data mining and wealth screening initiatives to identify new leadership and principal gifts prospects for the campaign pipeline.
Ensure strict compliance with IRS regulations, CASE guidelines, FASB standards, and data privacy laws.
Establish internal operational workflows, gift acceptance policies, and data-sharing agreements aligned with university policy.
Provide direct supervision and mentorship to direct reports; oversee their management of gift accounting, donor stewardship and records, database hygiene, and daily administrative workflows.
Undertaking other duties and responsibilities as assigned and appropriate, recognizing the University Advancement is an integrated office requiring occasional participation in assignments that do not fall under this specific job description.