Development Director, Strategic Giving-College of Liberal Arts

University of Central Oklahoma•Edmond, OK

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Development Director, Strategic Giving serves as a strategic fundraising partner to the College of Liberal Arts and the Foundation. The position manages an existing portfolio of College of Liberal Arts donors and develops emerging mid-range donors to the college and Foundation. As the primary development director for the College of Liberal Arts, the role also supports the Foundation’s broader fundraising strategy by establishing, strengthening, and managing new and mid-range donor pipelines university-wide. The Director identifies donors with greater capacity, qualifies emerging prospects, develops upgrade strategies, and cultivates donors toward increasingly significant philanthropic commitments. The role works closely with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Directors of Development, and the Annual Giving Director to develop and maintain a pipeline of prospective major-gift donors to the University. This is a regular, full-time, salaried, exempt, benefit-eligible staff position. The position typically works 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at UCO’s main campus in Edmond, Oklahoma. Occasional evening or weekend work and local and regional travel may be required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 4 years of progressive experience in fundraising, sales, and/or gift-planning-related roles, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and ability to operate a typical motor vehicle.
Strong understanding of fundraising principles and best practices, including the ability to articulate best practices and craft multidimensional fundraising strategies for individual donor development and broad-based appeals.
Ability to develop, maintain, and grow interpersonal relationships with university alumni, donors and friends, administrators, faculty, students, and staff.
Demonstrated ability to solicit gifts, including face-to-face direct solicitation.
Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to make effective presentations to large and small groups.
Excellent organizational and prioritization skills, with the ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines.
Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a community.
Ability to recognize opportunities intuitively.
Ability to work independently or in a team environment.
Exceptional goal orientation.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and ability to learn customized online software applications and basic data analysis.
Ability to evaluate projects and programs effectively and produce comprehensive reports.
Adherence to the ethical standards of the profession.

Nice To Haves

CFRE certification is preferred but not required.
Experience with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge or a similar application.
Three to five years of responsible experience in public relations, marketing, or fundraising, preferably at a public or private higher education institution, or comparable volunteer experience.
Fundraising experience.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary development professional responsible for advancing philanthropic support for the College of Liberal Arts.
Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising plan for the College of Liberal Arts.
Manage a portfolio of major, mid-level, leadership, and emerging major-gift prospects and donors.
Build meaningful relationships with alumni, friends, corporations, foundations, and other college constituents.
Work with the Dean, department chairs, school director, faculty, and college leadership to understand strategic priorities and translate them into compelling funding opportunities.
Work with the Senior Director of Development on goal setting, metrics plans, and evaluations of progress.
Work with the Director of Development team on fundraising initiatives, priorities, and mentorship.
Conduct donor meetings, initial discovery visits, campus visits, lunches, events, and other engagement opportunities.
Prepare and coordinate proposals, solicitations, gift agreements, and stewardship plans.
Identify annual or new donors with the capacity and inclination to increase their giving.
Identify donors who may be ready to transition from annual giving to mid-range giving or major-gift portfolios.
Work with Directors of Development on strategies for emerging prospects.
Create meaningful opportunities for donors to become more deeply connected to the University.
Move qualified donors into prospective Director of Development portfolios and assist with scheduling introductory meetings.
Partner with other development officers when donors have interests across multiple colleges or University priorities.
Monitor donor movement through the pipeline, identify gaps, and recommend strategies to address them.
Re-engage lapsed or declining mid-level donors university-wide.
Travel locally and regionally as needed to engage key stakeholders.