Director for Advancement, Graduate School

University of Washington Medical Center•Seattle, WA

13d•$120,216 - $132,732•Hybrid

About The Position

The University of Washington Graduate School has an exciting opening for a Director for Advancement. This is a full-time permanent position. The Director for Advancement is a leadership-level role responsible for generating individual and organizational support, enhancing marketing and communications strategies and strengthening advocacy and engagement among alumni and community partners to advance graduate education at the University of Washington. The Director manages sophisticated fundraising initiatives and complex gift strategies, primarily involving high-capacity individual donors and collaborates as needed on corporate and foundation engagement. This role works with the Dean of the Graduate School and the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic & Student Affairs Advancement to help elevate the profile of graduate education and design and implement development programs to sustain donor identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. In addition to supporting the Graduate School (GS), this role also serves on the executive leadership team for Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) Advancement to support the University’s commitment to educational excellence and opportunity by advancing strategies that attract, engage and foster the success of a diverse and talented student community.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree AND at least six years of experience in development/advancement.

Nice To Haves

Experience cultivating and soliciting major gifts, preferably in an R1 higher education environment.
Ability to manage, develop, mentor and coach staff and colleagues on advancement principles.
Ability to effectively communicate objectives, energize and inspire staff to achieve results and meet goals while creating a culture of trust and collaboration.
Proven stakeholder management experience, including shaping consensus within groups with conflicting viewpoints.
Ability to make decisions and meet goals in ambiguous situations while exercising good, data-informed judgment in a fast paced, dynamic and deadline driven environment.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite for correspondence, special reports, spreadsheets, databases, forms, etc.
Demonstrated creativity, organizational ability and strong attention to detail.

Responsibilities

Direct the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of individual prospects, alumni and corporate partners.
Manage a portfolio of prospects, with an emphasis on high capacity-level donors.
Create and execute strategies to build strong, long-term relationships between unit leaders and donor prospects.
Utilize the University’s prospect management and tracking system to maintain accurate data.
Work closely with the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic and Student Affairs Advancement and the Dean of the Graduate School to establish short- and long-term advancement goals, annual objectives, strategies and an operating plan aligned with institutional priorities.
Develop and implement an integrated communications strategy to promote fundraising priorities, donor impact and engagement opportunities in support of graduate education.
Partner with UW Retirement Association leadership to engage members as advocates and philanthropic supporters of graduate education through targeted outreach, stewardship and engagement strategies.
Provide strategic oversight of the Graduate School Advancement budget, ensuring alignment of resources with fundraising priorities, engagement strategies and stewardship initiatives and advising leadership on adjustments that support advancement goals.
Regularly review donor portfolio trends and giving histories to inform fundraising strategy, pipeline development and stewardship approaches, translating insights into actions that strengthen relationship management and philanthropic outcomes.
Contribute to strategic planning by helping determine value-add funding needs and priorities for graduate student success, including fellowships, Top Scholar Program, Office of Graduate Student Equity & Excellence (GSEE) and Office of Public Lectures.
Lead and support a team that implements all aspects of the Graduate School’s advancement programs, including annual gifts, major and planned gifts, corporate and foundation gifts, donor recognition and stewardship.
Work closely with the Achievement Reward for College Scientists (ARCS) liaison to support our partnership with the Seattle chapter.
Collaborate with advancement teams across campus on shared initiatives.
Other duties as assigned.