Chief Institutional Advancement Officer

Bennett College•Greensboro, NC

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Bennett College seeks a mission-driven Chief Institutional Advancement Officer (CIAO) to serve as a senior executive, member of the enterprise leadership team, and strategic partner to the President. Reporting directly to the President, the CIAO designs and executes a comprehensive, data-informed advancement strategy to grow philanthropic investment, strengthen financial resilience, and elevate the College’s visibility and relationships with key constituencies. The role directs major and principal gifts, annual giving, campaign strategy, alumnae engagement, foundation and corporate relations, grant development, donor stewardship, and strategic partnerships. The CIAO will build a high-performing advancement operation, maintain an active portfolio of high-impact relationships, and align fundraising priorities with the College’s academic, capital, and institutional growth objectives in collaboration with executive leaders and governing stakeholders. The position calls for strategic vision and hands-on execution, including securing significant philanthropic support, setting measurable goals, stewarding donor confidence, and developing sustainable fundraising infrastructure. This is a full-time, exempt, highly visible, campus-facing executive position based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The role requires regular engagement with the President, campus leaders, donors, alumnae, trustees, and external partners. Periodic evening, weekend, and travel commitments should be expected based on advancement activities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required.
At least 8–10 years of progressively responsible experience in advancement, philanthropy, development, or a closely related field, including senior leadership of fundraising strategy and teams.
Demonstrated success leading comprehensive fundraising programs and personally securing significant major gifts in higher education or a similarly complex mission-driven organization.
Documented success cultivating, soliciting, securing, and stewarding major gifts.
Experience building fundraising pipelines and achieving measurable revenue goals.
Experience working closely with a president or CEO, trustees, senior executives, donors, and external partners.
Strong relationship management, executive communication, negotiation, and donor solicitation capabilities, including engagement with high-net-worth individuals and governing boards.
Ability to connect institutional strategy and philanthropic priorities to measurable revenue growth and execute multi-year fundraising plans.
Ability to build a high-performing advancement culture, lead through change, coach teams, and collaborate across academic and administrative functions.
Data fluency in fundraising forecasts, portfolio analysis, donor segmentation, campaign performance, and advancement CRM systems.
Sound financial stewardship, professionalism, discretion, integrity, and commitment to Bennett College’s mission and legacy.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in nonprofit management, higher education administration, business, or a related discipline.
Higher education experience and knowledge of HBCU advancement environments.
Demonstrated effectiveness in resource-constrained or institution-building settings.
Experience leading significant fundraising campaigns, expanding foundation or corporate support, or strengthening advancement systems.

Responsibilities

Lead and execute a multi-year institutional advancement strategy aligned with the President’s priorities, the strategic plan, and long-term financial sustainability objectives.
Advise the President on philanthropy, campaign readiness, external funding opportunities, donor strategy, and advancement performance; support high-level donor and trustee engagement.
Partner with the enterprise leadership team to develop investment opportunities tied to student success, academic innovation, facilities and capital needs, and strategic growth.
Set annual and multi-year fundraising goals, performance indicators, forecasts, and accountability measures; report progress, risks, and recommendations to the President and governing stakeholders.
Develop and personally manage a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects, including cultivation, solicitation, closing, and long-term stewardship.
Plan and execute fundraising initiatives, including annual giving, planned giving, targeted campaigns, and, as appropriate, capital or comprehensive campaigns.
Diversify philanthropic revenue through individual, alumnae, family, corporate, foundation, and other mission-aligned channels; establish disciplined prospect development and pipeline management practices.
Collaborate with the President and institutional partners on high-value gift proposals, campaign priorities, and donor engagement strategies.
Build and sustain relationships with alumnae, trustees, philanthropists, corporations, foundations, and community leaders to advance institutional visibility, resources, and impact.
Provide strategic oversight of alumnae relations, constituent engagement, and donor stewardship to increase participation, retention, and long-term affinity.
Guide competitive funding strategies and grant opportunities with program leaders, coordinating them with institutional priorities.
Represent Bennett College at donor, civic, corporate, and institutional engagements.
Lead, coach, and hold the Institutional Advancement division accountable; assess team structure, talent needs, workflows, and investment priorities.
Strengthen advancement infrastructure, including donor data integrity, CRM utilization, prospect research, gift stewardship, reporting, and moves management.
Develop and manage advancement operating budgets; deploy resources thoughtfully and monitor fundraising effectiveness and return on investment.
Promote ethical fundraising, donor confidentiality, gift acceptance stewardship, and appropriate coordination with finance and institutional leadership.
Use dashboards and performance measures—including dollars raised, pipeline value, major-gift activity, donor retention, participation, and campaign progress—to guide decisions and communicate outcomes.