Executive Director of Development, Penn Libraries

University of Pennsylvania•Houghton, MI

61d

About The Position

Unit Overview: The Penn Libraries provides a network of information resources and knowledge services that are vital to teaching, research, and learning at the University of Pennsylvania. This network includes 19 physical libraries, recognized for their collections, and a digital library known for innovation and richness of content. Through dynamic programming and exhibitions, and through the acquisition and preservation of literary and artistic artifacts, the Penn Libraries documents a wealth of social and historical periods, bringing scholarship to life at the University and in the various communities it serves. The Penn Libraries development program has distinguished itself as a destination for donors who want to support and engage with the breadth of the University’s academic enterprise. With its placement at the heart of the University, Penn Libraries is uniquely positioned to impact the entire institution and provide a comprehensive donor experience. Recent fundraising successes include a campaign to renovate the 5th floor of Van Pelt Dietrich Library Center to create a state of the art home for the Center for Global Collections, as well as a naming gift for the recently-renovated Holman Biotech Commons. Position Summary: Reporting jointly to the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of Libraries, and the Associate Vice President for University Development, Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), the Libraries Executive Director of Development is responsible for the overall conceptualization, planning and execution of a coordinated program of fundraising and donor communications for the Penn Libraries. As the lead fundraiser for the program, the Executive Director of Development is also responsible for growing and maintaining a robust overall pool and individual pipeline of prospects, donors and volunteer leaders on the Libraries’ behalf. The Executive Director of Development serves as an integral member of the Vice Provost’s senior leadership team and plays a key leadership role. They will work closely with the Vice Provost, senior leadership team, the Board of Advisors, other volunteer groups to promote their active involvement in the fundraising process, and orchestrating the use of their time and talent to advance the Libraries’ quest for gift and grant support, as well as further Penn alumni engagement and public awareness. In addition, the Executive Director of Development partners intimately with the Director of Strategic Communications, who is responsible for developing and fostering a comprehensive, technology-rich strategic marketing and communications plan to promote the services, collections and programs of the Penn Libraries to an external audience, including but not limited to current members of the Penn community (faculty, staff, students, administrators); Penn Alumni; Penn parents; private, public and governmental agencies; other research libraries and more. As part of the University of Pennsylvania’s hybrid centralized/decentralized DAR structure, the Executive Director of Development also serves as a valued member of Central DAR’s University Development Program and will be included in leadership planning within the program. Within this structure, the Executive Director of Development has responsibility for cultivating and sustaining deeply collaborative relationships with Central DAR programs and colleagues in order to fully activate the additional capacity of the University’s centralized functions. Duties also include supervision, mentoring and professional development of a staff of four FTEs and one dotted line report who lead the major gift fundraising, gift-in-kind, volunteer leadership, annual giving, stewardship, events and donor communications programs for the School.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science and 7 to 10 years of successful fund-raising and leadership experience, including a proven record of success in securing six and seven figure gifts with increasingly more responsible fund-raising duties or equivalent combination of education and experience is required, preferably at a major educational or cultural institution.
Familiarity and appreciation of the role and mission of the Penn Libraries and its relationship to the University as well as understanding the importance of academic research libraries; capacity to articulate that role and interact comfortably with those individuals and constituency groups crucial to the advancement of the Penn Libraries.
Demonstrated track record in the identification, cultivation and stewardship of leadership and major gifts ($100,000+).
Strong management and program administration skills and the ability to establish objectives, set performance standards, and organize and motivate staff, faculty and volunteers to achieve fund-raising goals.
Demonstrated experience in establishing effective relationships with volunteers.
Strong written and oral communication skills.
Adaptability, flexibility and diplomacy.
High motivation and a capacity for hard work within the context of a goal-driven environment.
A demonstrated ability to analyze funding sources and relate their potential to the unit’s long range goals; more particularly, to organize practical strategies to bring closure to gift and grant opportunities is required.
Ability to function well independently, yet relate comfortably to a centralized framework for fund raising, participating in and contributing to a total team effort.
Travel and evening work required.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead a coordinated and comprehensive program of institutional advancement that includes: developing and executing multi-year strategic plans involving development and communications-related initiatives; managing staff and budgets; maintaining and analyzing data in support of strategic planning; developing effective cases for support for institutional priorities that hinge to the University’s strategic fame work: In Principle and Practice; building meaningful volunteer and donor engagement opportunities; overseeing a broad-based annual giving program pointed at both alumni and non-alumni friends of the Libraries; organizing development events and visibility opportunities in support of strategic initiatives; planning and executing campaigns as needed.
Coordinate a robust annual calendar of development and engagement events that includes: Bi-annual meetings of the Board of Advisors Spring Leadership Celebration Dinner Regional cultivation events in major hubs (New York, Miami, and Los Angeles) Reunion, Homecoming, and Family Weekend events on campus Virtual and hybrid programs to cultivate and identify new donors Others as determined by programmatic needs, such as donor-funded programs and campaign-specific events.
Understand and guide a complex program of cultivation and stewardship for gifts-in-kind, or scholarly materials that the Libraries wishes to accept. Gifts-in-kind may have significant cash values, complex copyright implications, and often require specialized expertise from within and outside of the University.
Cultivate, solicit and steward the Libraries’ top prospects and manage a pipeline of these top prospects. Engage the Vice Provost, senior staff, board and volunteers in executing the required cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities to advance the Libraries’ quest for gift and grant support as well as alumni and donor engagement.
Expand and strengthen the Libraries’ fundraising pool and pipeline of potential new donors through sophisticated methods of entrepreneurial prospecting including data analysis, internal prospect research, collaboration with the Central DAR frontline, sourcing leads through board members and other volunteers, etc. Organize practical strategies to secure funding from such sources.
With the Vice Provost and in collaboration with both Central DAR and the Office of the University Secretary, establish a plan to manage, engage and expand the Libraries’ Board of Advisors, its premier volunteer organization. Responsibility for managing and staffing the Chair of the Board and key Board leaders in a timely and efficient manner.
Manage and Lead a staff to achieve optimum results by: Communicating financial and key performance indicators and results to direct reports; Establishing priorities and goals for each staff member; Managing staffing needs and identifying areas for organizational development updates or changes; Guiding the talent identification and professional development needs, processes and outcomes within the department Setting clear performance expectations and holding staff accountable for outcomes through frequent feedback and coaching; Ensuring open communication among staff, practicing team building efforts and holding regular staff meetings that promote belonging and engagement. Inspiring and motivating staff to achieve optimum results.
Supervise and mentor the Development staff to sustain the successful achievement of departmental and individual goals, foster a strong team culture and further professionally develop individual staff members.
Serve as a member of the Vice Provost’s senior administrative leadership team and collaborate with other senior Libraries leaders on schoolwide priorities.
Collaborate with colleagues and partners throughout the University’s Central Development and Alumni Relations department as well as other schools and centers across Penn to communicate priorities, collaborate around key strategies and solicitations, provide data, coordinate external activities and otherwise maximize the University’s DAR capacity in support of the Libraries’ development and engagement efforts.

Benefits

Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.