Associate Vice President for Development

Palm Beach Atlantic University • West Palm Beach, FL

2d • Onsite

About The Position

In support of the university's mission and objectives, the Associate Vice President for Development serves as a strategic partner to the Executive Vice President (EVP) for Advancement in leading the university's comprehensive fundraising program. This role provides strategic and operational leadership for the Development division while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and donor-centered philanthropy. This position leads fundraising strategy, campaign execution, stewardship, operational excellence, talent development, and cross-campus partnerships while maintaining a select portfolio of leadership-level prospects and advancing institutional priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, public relations, or related field, required
• 5+ years of experience working in wide-ranging development capacities, preferably through a fundraising campaign, preferably at an educational institution.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic plans for development activities, aligned with the organization’s overall mission and goals.
• Experience in building and maintaining relationships with individual donors, corporate sponsors, and foundation representatives to secure funding and support.
• Proven track record of successful fundraising initiatives and campaigns, including major gifts, annual funds, and capital campaigns.
• Experience coaching and mentoring staff in development skills and best practices to build a high-performing team.
• Ability to operate a PBA vehicle, equipment, or transport groups of students, including operating a van, car, golf cart, utility vehicle.
• Must possess a valid U.S. driver’s license.
• Must have the ability to travel locally using a personal vehicle.
• Ability to work non-routine hours during certain times of the year.
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods of time.
• Ability to traverse campus and stairs.
• Ability to lift/move objects up to 25 pounds.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree preferred, or equivalent experience.
• Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification, preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provides visionary leadership to the development team by building a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and donor-centered fundraising.
• Oversees overall development and philanthropic efforts at PBA including prospect research, gift services, donor relations, donor communications, grants, gifts-in-kind, foundation and corporate relations, major gifts, planned gifts, campaign activities, and donor-supported scholarships.
• Monitors goals across all areas and the overall fiscal year fundraising goal.
• Establishes clear expectations, measurable goals, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs) for every functional area measuring both fundraising outcomes and leading indicators of success.
• Develops team members as leaders and performers through coaching, mentoring, and regular accountability meetings, including by guiding them to meet established goals within their roles and departments.
• Evaluates and advances organizational effectiveness regularly and continuously improves systems, workflows, and fundraising strategies.
• Identifies areas where goals are not met to develop improvement plans within systems and departments.
• Partners across academic and administrative units aligning philanthropic priorities with institutional priorities.
• Builds strong relationships and maintains regular communication with the Provost and Deans.
• Monitors fundraising performance, strategic plan KPIs, accreditation reporting, budgets, and operational effectiveness; advises team members on the development of reports for EVP and other leadership.
• Engages donors in cultivation and stewardship activities and promotes the curation of meaningful donor experiences to be executed by the team.
• Leads giving society strategies and collaborates with the team on ideation and execution of strategies.
• Manages relationships with scholarship-centric donors ensuring proper accounting of scholarship funds including regular reporting and stewardship.
• Maintains a portfolio of approximately 25–35 leadership-level prospects, consistently moving relationships to a meaningful, proactive solicitation and hitting target fundraising goals for leadership prospects within the portfolio.
• Supports the EVP and President in principal and transformational gift strategies.
• Leads stewardship and engagement strategies for leadership giving societies.
• Ensures donor strategies and moves management are documented and executed consistently by team members.
• Partners closely with the EVP to execute God-Sized Dreams Campaign initiatives, translating institutional priorities into measurable fundraising strategies.
• Provides strategic leadership in coordination with EVP and campaign consultants for campaign planning, execution, naming opportunities, reporting, and campaign communications.
• Ensures campaign reports are regularly updated to track success against goals.
• Oversees the production of proposals and donor agreements for top-tier campaign donors, ensuring that all activities are accurately reflected and tracked in the donor CRM.
• Oversees campaign prospect research for use by campaign leadership committee, EVP, and other leadership.
• Partners closely with marketing to execute on messaging, communications, and storytelling to support the campaign.
• Leverages fundraising data and emerging philanthropic trends to strengthen the campaign and large gift strategies.
• Provides leadership to the fundraising team in building relationships and making proactive solicitations for university priorities.
• Coordinates with cross-campus departments (academic units, business office, President's office) to resolve operational issues and ensure alignment on Advancement initiatives, events, and communications.
• Provides strategic leadership and oversight of the PBA Alumni Association Board of Directors.
• Oversees all alumni board meetings; presents university updates and reports back key information to the EVP of Advancement.
• Interfaces with members of the Alumni Board providing opportunities to connect with the alumni community.
• Partners with the Events team to plan and execute alumni meetings, programs, and events.
• Coordinates with internal departments to facilitate alumni data requests and list pulls.
• Collaborates with the marketing team on any necessary collateral and communication pieces needed for alumni-related events and initiatives.
• Assembles and submits annual accreditation reports for alumni-related benchmarks.
• Interfaces with the Parent’s Council leadership for ongoing engagement.
• Collaborates with the events team for on and off-campus parent events.
• Evaluates and identifies PBA parents for potential caseload cultivation.
• Assembles and submits annual accreditation reports for parent-related benchmarks.

Benefits

• Comprehensive fundraising program
• Culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, and donor-centered philanthropy
• Select portfolio of leadership-level prospects
• Advancing institutional priorities
• Strategic and operational leadership
• Talent development
• Cross-campus partnerships
• Prospect research
• Gift services
• Donor relations
• Donor communications
• Grants
• Gifts-in-kind
• Foundation and corporate relations
• Major gifts
• Planned gifts
• Campaign activities
• Donor-supported scholarships
• Clear expectations, measurable goals, dashboards, and key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Coaching and mentoring
• Regular accountability meetings
• Organizational effectiveness evaluation
• Systems, workflows, and fundraising strategy improvement
• Alignment with institutional priorities
• Regular communication with Provost and Deans
• Fundraising performance monitoring
• Strategic plan KPIs
• Accreditation reporting
• Budgets
• Operational effectiveness advising
• Cultivation and stewardship activities
• Meaningful donor experiences
• Giving society strategies
• Scholarship fund accounting, reporting, and stewardship
• Principal and transformational gift strategies
• Stewardship and engagement strategies for leadership giving societies
• Donor strategies and moves management documentation and execution
• Campaign planning, execution, naming opportunities, reporting, and communications
• Campaign prospect research
• Messaging, communications, and storytelling for campaign support
• Strengthening campaign and large gift strategies
• Building relationships and making proactive solicitations
• Coordination with cross-campus departments
• PBA Alumni Association Board of Directors oversight
• Alumni board meeting facilitation
• University updates and reporting
• Alumni community connection opportunities
• Alumni meetings, programs, and events planning and execution
• Alumni data requests and list pulls facilitation
• Collateral and communication pieces for alumni initiatives
• Annual accreditation reports for alumni benchmarks
• Parent's Council leadership engagement
• On and off-campus parent events
• Parent caseload cultivation identification
• Annual accreditation reports for parent benchmarks
• Travel Percentage: Up to 25%
• Travels up to 20% of the time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior