Major Gift Officer

Wellesley College • Wellesley, MA

59d • $130,000 - $135,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Wellesley College in the search for a Major Gift Officer. The Major Gift Officer will manage a portfolio of high-capacity prospects rated $250,000 to $1,000,000 or more, including alumnae, parents, and friends of the College. The Major Gift Officer will be responsible for developing personalized strategies for engagement and solicitation that maximize each individual’s philanthropic capacity and support for the College’s funding priorities, as well as broad-based engagement, qualification, and cultivation strategies for pool segments as a whole. The Major Gift Officer will collaborate across the department to move prospects and donors through the pipeline and solicit gifts, working closely with frontline colleagues in The Wellesley Fund, Gift Planning, and the Principal Gifts team. In addition to managing an assigned portfolio of prospects, the Major Gift Officer will be responsible for a special assignment to a particular Friends, affinity group, or strategic priority, serving as the captain, both building support for and serving as liaison with campus partners and bringing back to the Department information and updates. Wellesley College was founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant, who were passionate about the higher education of women. The first president, and nearly all the College’s early faculty and staff were women. Today, Wellesley is still known as a unique community that continues to send accomplished women out into the world, committed to making a difference. Situated on a breathtaking campus in the quintessentially New England town of Wellesley, and home to over 2,400 of the highest-achieving female undergraduates in the world, Wellesley is a lively learning community dedicated to probing inquiry and creative, cross-disciplinary thinking. With a focus on collaboration, students are encouraged to question, debate, and refine their points of view with each other, and the world-class faculty. As a private, liberal arts institution, Wellesley places a great deal of importance on preparing its graduates for the real world in all senses. The College’s full-engagement philosophy ensures that the student voice is central in decision-making with students serving on major committees of the Board of Trustees, participating in faculty searches, and contributing to strategic planning. Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, Wellesley grants bachelor’s degrees in more than 50 majors and boasts an 8:1 student to faculty ratio. Over 90 percent of students participate in at least one internship during their time at the College, and several hundred students choose to spend a semester, or longer, abroad each year. With a commitment to the importance of experiences beyond the traditional classroom, Wellesley offers more than 150 student organizations and provides both cultural centers and multifaith life on campus. The College also fields 13 athletic teams that compete in the NCAA Division III New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, which includes the 2022 NCAA Division III rowing champions. With an alumnae base of more than 35,000, the women of Wellesley continue to support the institution, and one another, long after they leave the beautiful campus. This powerful network of alumnae helped the College raise a record breaking $514 million in its most recent campaign, The Wellesley Effect. Wellesley’s motto, Non Ministrari sed Ministrare (Not to be ministered unto, but to minister), is evident in the College’s mission to provide an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world. This mission is advanced by working together as a community, focused on shared values of intellectual discovery and excellence; gender equality; diversity, equity, and inclusion; connection and community; empowerment and social change; and integrity and academic freedom. Wellesley graduates are ready to make a difference in the world, evidenced by the fact that 98 percent of the most recent graduating class were in jobs, graduate education, the military, or service within six months of graduation. The 2024 US News and World Report ranks Wellesley College as the fourth best national liberal arts college in the nation, #20 in best undergraduate teaching, and sixth in best value schools. Wellesley received an A+ rating from NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education). Wellesley is the only liberal arts college that consistently rates in the top 50 colleges and universities in producing the largest number of women Ph.D.s in STEM. Considered to have created the most powerful women’s network, Wellesley College was ranked #57 in the top colleges and universities of 2023 by Forbes and #36 in private colleges. Not forgetting the beautiful setting of Wellesley, the College was voted first among the best river and lake colleges by College Consensus.

Requirements

• Wellesley College seeks a Major Gift Officer with a commitment to the mission of Wellesley College—to provide an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world—and a desire to embrace Wellesley’s distinct traditions, values, and vision
• experience developing, closing, and stewarding prospects of high-net-worth
• experience working with a wide spectrum of volunteers and donors in an outward facing capacity
• excellent project management skills
• an ability to complete complex tasks and multiple projects simultaneously, working both independently and as a member of a team
• superior written and oral communication skills, including presentation skills appropriate for engaging prospects and members of the campus community
• strategic thinking and analytical skills, including an ability to draw informed conclusions from data
• an ability to adapt to changing circumstances
• comfort with ambiguity and an ability to pivot
• an innovative and creative temperament
• excellent interpersonal skills, an ability to work collaboratively, and an orientation toward customer service
• a commitment to confidentiality, professionalism, and discretion
• the comfort with technology needed to communicate and share information confidently, as well as experience with a prospect database
• A bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least five years of front-line fundraising or comparable experience, including conducting solicitations and closing gifts, familiarity with reunion giving and/or alumni/ae development, and management experience, preferably in an academic setting
• Must possess a valid driver’s license issued by the U.S. or its territories and obtain clearance per Wellesley College's Vehicle Use Policy. A Motor Vehicle Record check is required.

Responsibilities

• The Major Gift Officer will cultivate and solicit Wellesley alumnae, parents, and friends with the capacity to make gifts of $250,000 or more to support College priorities, employing appropriate strategies and tactics in prospect and portfolio management that meet donor interaction and dollar goals including traveling to meet with prospects and donors
• collaborate with other frontline colleagues in the department to identify prospects for The Wellesley Fund and Gift Planning, as well as those who might be principal gift prospects
• create and execute strategies and plans for an assigned portfolio of alumnae, parents, and friends of the College, traveling nationally and internationally across multiple geographic regions
• work with Donor Relations and Development Marketing to identify and create cultivation and stewardship collateral as needed
• participate in events on campus, as well as other national and international events as scheduled throughout the year at which alumnae, parents, and friends are present, such as Family & Friends Weekend, Commencement, and Reunion.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 51-100 employees