Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations

Bucks County Community College•Newtown, PA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Bucks County Community College seeks an experienced leader and frontline fundraiser to serve as Vice President for Advancement & Alumni Relations. The role involves increasing philanthropy by engaging alumni, friends, foundations, and corporations to support the college's mission. Reporting to the President & CEO, the Vice President is a member of the college cabinet, collaborates with college leaders, manages a team, and facilitates the work of volunteers on various boards. This position offers the opportunity to lead a newly constituted team to build a high-performing advancement operation for one of Pennsylvania's top community colleges. A key responsibility will be planning and leading the college's first comprehensive capital campaign since 2019. The role requires building a high-functioning advancement operation, refining assessment methodologies, mentoring staff, and developing a comprehensive fundraising strategy aligned with the college's mission and goals. The Vice President will secure transformative gifts, foster connections with donors, corporations, and foundations, and leverage the talent of volunteer boards. This includes articulating the college's needs and values, identifying and cultivating prospects, supervising and mentoring staff, developing annual goals and budgets, and launching the capital campaign. The role also involves supporting volunteer boards, traveling to build relationships, and meeting fundraising metrics.

Requirements

Dynamic and focused leaders with experience developing high performing teams, motivating and guiding volunteers, and increasing philanthropic gifts.
Successfully raised major gifts and understand the workings of high-quality fundraising operations.
Bachelor’s degree or higher
8+ years of relevant experience
3+ years as a supervisor
Experience in managing and leading goal-oriented teams and in planning development strategies
Experience building prospect pools from scratch and developing case for support materials
A track record of success in personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts and meeting fundraising goals
Experience planning board meetings and engaging volunteers
Exemplary interpersonal and communication skills, with a particular sensitivity to working with College leaders, faculty, and volunteers
Impeccable writing, presentation skills, and ability to use various technologies
A passion for higher education and the capacity to clearly communicate the mission and value of Bucks County Community College
Must be permitted to legally work in the United States without employer sponsorship.

Responsibilities

Build a high-functioning advancement operation that includes motivated professional staff members, dedicated volunteers, and engaged College leadership in order to position the College for long term success in fundraising.
Refine assessment methodologies and mentor a dedicated advancement and alumni relations team to implement best practices in Collegiate fundraising.
Develop and manage a comprehensive fundraising strategy that aligns with the College’s mission and philanthropic goals, working closely with the president, leadership team, and deans to drive advancement efforts.
Secure transformative gifts while fostering vital connections with key donors, corporations and foundations throughout Bucks County and across the Greater Philadelphia region.
Facilitate the work and leverage the talent and dedication of the Alumni Council, BCCC Foundation Board, and various advisory boards to fully engage and support them in realizing the Colleges’ philanthropic priorities.
Articulate Bucks County Community College’s needs, ambitions, and values through excellent informal and formal communications, including written proposals
Identify a pool and a pipeline of prospects for immediate and long-term cultivation
Supervise, train, and mentor a team of fundraisers, alumni relations professionals, and support staff, with a sustained focus on fostering relationships that yield meaningful results
Develop annual goals, metrics, plans, and budgets for a comprehensive, strategy-driven fundraising program
Develop the tools, capability, and capacity to launch the College’s first comprehensive capital campaign since 2019
Support and facilitate the work of dedicated volunteer boards with meaningful roles and responsibilities in the fundraising process
Travel and attend events throughout the region to build enduring relationships, tracked to a fixed and appropriately aggressive set of fundraising metrics