Regional Director of Development, Major Gifts

Harvard University • Cambridge, MA

13h • Hybrid

About The Position

This full-time, exempt position is a member of the FAS Major Gifts team and reports to the Deputy Director of Development, FAS Major Gifts. The incumbent will be charged with developing and executing sophisticated cultivation and solicitation strategies leading to the realization of six and seven-figure major gifts from an assigned portfolio of approximately 100+ alumni and parent prospect households on the West Coast. The Regional Director will partner with colleagues in the Principal Gifts, Major Gifts, Gift Planning, and Harvard College Fund teams, and with volunteers and others throughout AA&D to encourage major gift level support (beginning at $25,000 annually or in the form of $250,000+ multi-year pledges) across the FAS. At maturity, this role will generate $5 million+ per year.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum of 7 years of experience in university fundraising or relevant transferable experience required.
• Ability to travel approximately 35% of working days.
• You will be expected to work certain events/campus activities, such as reunions each Spring, and participate in department retreats that are taking place on campus in Cambridge, MA.
• Successful track record as a fundraiser or transferable experience, with a preference of 5+ years’ of direct solicitation/sales/relationship management experience.
• Knowledge of complex academic institutions and experience staffing academic leaders in development work strongly preferred.
• Sophisticated and comprehensive understanding of fundraising best- practices.
• Proven track record of significant gift closures and/or relevant transferable experience strongly preferred. Comfortable making solicitations.
• Strong active listening skills, including an ability to ask sensitive questions with tact. Demonstrated ability to uncover interests, motivations, and objections from prospective donors, clients, or others strongly preferred. Someone who is pleasantly persistent while exhibiting sound judgement.
• Willingness to learn and embrace new ideas and be flexible and open to change. Must be a professional, confidential, honest and trustworthy person. Must have an even disposition and be able to deal effectively and politely with people from all types of backgrounds and experience and in all types of difficult or challenging situations. Must be able to evaluate problems accurately and display good, sound judgment.
• Ability to exercise good judgment in the handling of confidential information.
• A natural affinity for collaboration, leading through influence, and a high level of emotional intelligence. Must be drawn to a challenge and exhibit the patience necessary to advance solutions in a complex and collaborative organization. Demonstrate a personal commitment to excellence as well as an ability to admit mistakes and forgive faults in others.
• Must be a self-starter who is organized, detail-oriented, and able to prioritize and balance multiple tasks in a fast-paced complex environment and has an ability to think strategically and conceptually.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to write persuasively and to quickly develop strong relationships with internal and external constituencies to promote a positive and effective collaboration to ensure success.
• Computer literacy required and experience with Windows-based PCs and prospect management databases such as Advance or other relational CRM databases.

Responsibilities

• Manage a targeted portfolio of 100+ households in the West Coast region.
• Responsible for meeting or exceeding assigned goals, including, but not limited to, goals for prospect visits, solicitations, successful gift closures, and dollars raised. Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio.
• Acquire a deep understanding of assigned prospects’ philanthropic interests, capacity, and inclination through face-to-face and virtual meetings.
• Through the development of thoughtful strategies and intentional prioritization of prospects, ensure revenue goals are met by focusing on upgrading donors and through maintaining an active regional presence.
• Utilize knowledge of prospects’ interests, to develop and execute robust, multi-step prospect strategies. Strategically leverage academic leadership, faculty, and other members of the Harvard community leading to successful solicitation and closure of six and seven-figure gifts.
• Adhere to all prospect management processes and policies around contact reports, proposals, stage codes etc. to ensure cross-departmental transparency and effectiveness.
• Serve as a partner to Harvard College Fund, Gift Planning, Major Gift, and Principal Gift colleagues by identifying new prospects, volunteers, and supporting the goals of elevating unrestricted and flexibly restricted support at FAS.
• Actively seek to improve professional skills, knowledge, and understanding of Harvard by developing relationships with colleagues across campus, attending campus events and activities, and participating in training activities.
• Travel occasionally with senior academic and administrative leaders. Responsible for securing visits for all leaders and for constructing meetings to effectively leverage each leader’s time to advance prospect strategies. Responsible for communicating meeting strategies through written briefings and pre-visit briefing meetings or calls.
• Work closely with senior fundraising leaders within FAS Development, the University Development Office, and other Harvard Schools to coordinate strategies for prospects with multi-school affiliations and/or interests. Embrace collaboration with these partners to deepen each prospect’s relationship with the university to maximize giving potential through broad interests.
• Serve as a leader, resource, and mentor for other fundraisers in the organization by leveraging their fundraising experience, as well as their knowledge of FAS content acquired through their prospect work to inform prospect strategies. Will be expected to contribute productively to prospect strategy reviews and trainings.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior