Associate Vice President/Chief Development Officer

University of Florida•Gainesville, FL

1d•$325,000 - $375,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Associate Vice President/Chief Development Officer (AVP/CDO) will serve as an integral member of the Advancement senior executive leadership team and be responsible for designing, executing, and continuously optimizing the organization’s comprehensive fundraising strategy. This role will provide strategic oversight of all philanthropic initiatives, including major gifts, corporate and foundation relations, gift planning and principal gifts and serve as the senior leader for all aspects of the multi-year fundraising campaign. The AVP/CDO will ensure alignment between fundraising priorities and institutional goals, drive revenue growth, strengthen donor engagement, and foster a high-performing advancement culture that supports long-term, sustainable success. The AVP/CDO will partner closely with the Vice President for UF Advancement, deans, senior academic leaders, and campus partners to architect fundraising strategies, optimize prospect pipelines, and engage leadership in high-impact donor activity. They will monitor and report on fundraising results, including campaign progress, total commitments and executive level insights, and recommend course corrections as needed. In addition, the AVP/CDO will personally manage a small portfolio of major and principal gift prospects, cultivate meaningful alumni, volunteer, and donor engagement, strengthen partnerships across campus and build a high-performance, data-informed advancement culture that supports sustainable growth and long-term institutional success.

Requirements

Master's degree in an appropriate area of specialization and eight years of appropriate experience; or a bachelor’s degree in an appropriate area of specialization and ten years of appropriate experience with demonstrated success soliciting gifts at $1 million and above in an institution of higher education.

Nice To Haves

An inspiring and inclusive leadership style, with the ability to cultivate trust, transparency and collaboration, and prioritize the professional success of staff with the goal to build a high-performing team that consistently exceeds goals.
The capacity to shape and advance strategic vision within a high-performing organization, with the ambition and creativity to help define what a modern advancement enterprise can achieve.
Experience working in a comprehensive or research-intensive university, with a deep understanding of academic culture, shared governance, and unit-based fundraising models operating within a decentralized/centralized advancement framework.
Executive-level strategic and operational leadership experience with the ability to lead at scale within matrixed, dual-reporting environments.
Demonstrated success in high-level fundraising with high-potential donors at the major and principal gift level and in complex, multi-stakeholder solicitations.
An ability to effectively engage senior leadership, boards, deans, faculty, donors, volunteers and external stakeholders and influence decision-making while maintaining fiduciary responsibility and institutional integrity.
A high-level of technological, analytical, and operational fluency, including proficiency with enterprise productivity platforms and demonstrated experience leveraging CRM and donor management systems, reporting tools and dashboards to ensure compliance, data governance, performance monitoring and informed decision-making.
Experience successfully designing and implementing constituency and volunteer engagement strategies that advance institutional priorities while adhering to established governance and stewardship standards.
An ability to clearly articulate strategy, policy and complex institutional priorities in written and verbal contexts.
Compliance and governance acumen, including experience operating within institutional, state, federal and donor-related regulations.
A demonstrated understanding of gift acceptance policies, naming policies, ethical fundraising standards, data privacy and risk management principles.
A commitment to the mission of the University of Florida – to enable its students to lead and influence the next generation and beyond for economic, cultural and societal benefit.

Responsibilities

Lead and coach Senior Assistant Vice Presidents, select leaders of high performing college/unit advancement teams, and set clear performance expectations, succession plans, and development pathways.
Provide guidance to the Senior Assistant Vice President as they partner with deans, academic leaders, and senior development leaders to architect unit fundraising strategies.
Advise on organizational design, portfolio strategy, pipeline optimization and data-informed moves management.
Operate effectively within a dual reporting environment to ensure clarity of accountability and shared outcomes.
Monitor and report on development program performance, providing executive level insights and recommendations.
Recruit, retain and develop top talent and establish aligned fundraising goals, including KPIs and accountability cadences, such as quarterly reviews, pipeline health checks and forecast assessments.
Foster a collaborative and results-driven team environment and provide guidance and professional development opportunities to ensure the team's success in achieving fundraising goals.
Collaborate closely with other departments to align fundraising efforts with broader institutional goals.
Communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, presenting the organization's case for support and demonstrating the impact of donor contributions.
Serve as team leader for monitoring and reporting fundraising activity, as it relates to campaign goals and total commitments, while collaborating and diving deeply into each of the components that comprise annual fundraising activities.
Provide leadership for Senior Development Team Meetings and Development Staff Meetings focused on annual fundraising goals, progress toward goals, recognition of excellence and KPI-driven strategies.
Serve on the Senior Leaders Committee, contributing to the operational infrastructure of systems, processes, and talent required to meet current and future organization objectives.
Provide strategic oversight of industry standards, emerging trends, innovations and best practices.
Guide and integrate advancement activities involving volunteers, prospects, faculty leadership and senior administration.
Manage the development budget and set direction and accountability for advancement programs and resources in alignment with UF Advancement’s Mission.
Establish and enforce enterprise-level standards for operational excellence, systems, data governance and record retention.
Ensure optimal deployment of strategic tools, technologies and resources to support mission-critical outcomes.
In partnership with the Vice President, provide bold vision and strategic direction for the University’s fifth campaign, co-chair campaign governance and lead workgroups responsible for campaign planning and strategic planning deliverables.
Lead all campaign and strategic fundraising initiatives from conception through implementation, including feasibility studies, goal setting, solicitation strategies, and progress tracking and oversee campaign goals and initiatives with senior leadership.
In partnership with the Vice President and unit leads (AVPs), implement and manage strategies, set goals, define audiences, execute tactics, and coordinate teams across channels to ensure consistent, data-driven messaging and maximum ROI for the campaign.
Manage campaign consulting relationships, acting as the main point of contact for UF Advancement and ensuring consultants deliver on agreed-upon results.
Facilitate strategic planning sessions with key university leaders to align unit and organization-level campaign priorities.
Conceptualize and operationalize campaign initiatives with defined milestones, resourcing plans and performance metrics (OKRs/KPIs) to ensure an integrated, coordinated and effective organization-wide approach.
Collaborate with the Chief Operating Officer to scale infrastructure, including talent, processes, technology and analytics, and strengthen cross-campus partnerships that accelerate campaign outcomes.
In consultation with Strategic Communications, Marketing & Engagement, develop and execute compelling donor engagement strategies that inspire giving and communicate campaign impact.
Track and report campaign progress against KPIs, provide ongoing executive updates, and recommend strategic adjustments to maintain momentum and goal attainment.
Manage a high-value portfolio of major and principal gift prospects, including corporate and foundation relationships.
Advance and close complex solicitations through intentional, face-to-face engagement strategies.
Design and oversee stewardship plans that reinforce impact, strengthen affinity and support long-term donor relationships.
Apply a disciplined moves-management strategy across qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
Cultivate influential networks among alumni, friends, volunteers, faculty leadership and internal partners to expand the pipeline and elevate institutional visibility.
Serve as a lead ambassador for UF Advancement priorities, clearly articulating the case for support within the broader mission, goals and impact narrative.