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Director-Development

Employer
Northeastern University
Location
Massachusetts, United States
Salary
Salary Not specified
Date posted
Jul 29, 2021

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Director-Development & Alumni Relations

About Northeastern:
Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global research university and the recognized leader in experience-driven lifelong learning. Our world-renowned experiential approach empowers our students, faculty, alumni, and partners to create impact far beyond the confines of discipline, degree, and campus.

Our locations—in Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; London; Portland, Maine; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Toronto; Vancouver; and the Massachusetts communities of Burlington and Nahant—are nodes in our growing global university system. Through this network, we expand opportunities for flexible, student-centered learning and collaborative, solutions-focused research.

Northeastern's comprehensive array of undergraduate and graduate programs— in a variety of on-campus and online formats—lead to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools. Among these, we offer more than 195 multi-discipline majors and degrees designed to prepare students for purposeful lives and careers.

About the Opportunity:
Northeastern University seeks a highly motivated, strategic, collaborative, and entrepreneurial Director of Development and Alumni/ae Relations who will develop and execute a visionary philanthropic plan for its School of Law. A global leader in experiential legal education, the School of Law promotes social justice and enhances understanding of law's impact on individuals, enterprises and communities, at home and around the world through teaching, scholarship and public service. Working closely with the Dean, the Director of Development and Alumni/ae Relations will lead the School of Law's advancement operation, providing the strategic, tactical and managerial leadership for both development and alumni/ae relations efforts. The Director will build on a record breaking FY21 fundraising, which included securing the single largest endowed gift in the School of Law's history, and continue to strategically move the School to the next level of achievement.

As the chief development officer for the School of Law, the Director of Development and Alumni/ae Relations will organize and lead fundraising efforts and will set clear objectives for their team in reaching ambitious fundraising goals. The Director will generate strategic and operational plans for the Office of Development and Alumni/ae Relations (ODAR) unit to sustain the long term success of the advancement program. The Director will continue to integrate ODAR efforts with those of other departments engaged in outreach such as the Center for Co-op and Career Development and the Admissions office.

Reporting to both the Dean of the School of Law and the Assistant Vice President, Advancement, the Director of Development is responsible for planning, developing, and achieving the School's fundraising strategies. Managing a team of three development professionals and drawing upon the expertise of central Advancement colleagues, the Director oversees the daily execution of major gift, annual giving and alumni/ae relations plans and the School's progress toward annual performance goals. In addition to collaborating with the Dean to achieve fundraising goals, the Director will have the opportunity to partner with University Advancement colleagues to identify and advance multi-disciplinary initiatives at Northeastern that benefit the School of Law and enhance the collective resources of the university. Leading by example, the Director will manage a select portfolio of major/principal gift prospects and, via personal visits, will engage, solicit, and close those in their portfolio.

Interested applicants should submit their resume and cover letter to law-dod@pearlstreetcollective.com

Responsibilities:
Collaboration:

-Be a generous and proactively informative partner with University Advancement to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to development and to fully leverage the skills and connections of colleagues in pursuit of fundraising goals. The Director will thus be a resource as well as a beneficiary of a hybrid

-development system by matching college faculty and programs to philanthropic opportunities and assisting the work of central colleagues in their efforts to cultivate gifts relevant to the School of Law

-Readily share information and contacts that stand to be of benefit to university goals.

-Identify and facilitate novel approaches and opportunities for attracting support for multi-disciplinary efforts in programmatic areas and faculty research where the School of Law is a partner or potential beneficiary.

Strategic Leadership

-Develop and execute strategies to ensure the Law School successfully achieves or surpasses its targeted fundraising goals.

-Responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive ODAR program that not only focuses on principal, major, planned, and annual gifts, but one that also builds a truly integrated and progressive alumni/ae relations program that strengthens existing ties with law school alumni/ae and also attracts alumni/ae who are not currently involved to become active participants in the Northeastern Law community.

-Serve as an active member of the law school's senior leadership team to ensure that ODAR provides voice and perspective in law school operations.

Prospect and Donor Engagement

-Manage a portfolio of principal/major gift prospects; devise and execute strategies for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of gifts at the six and seven figure level.

-Create a multi-year strategic development plan and proactively oversee the implementation of that plan in order to serve the priorities of the Dean and School; give attention to both meeting an annual fundraising goal and developing a prospect pipeline that can ensure the long-term sustainability of the School.

-Through interactions with the Dean and School leadership and faculty, gain a thorough understanding of potential needs and opportunities for which development could play an important role in moving strategic priorities forward. Determine the appropriate NUSL related contacts (trustee, alumni/ae, volunteers, and friends) to be pursued vis-à-vis each prospect and direct cultivating efforts by these contacts.

-Make strategic use of the Dean's time and energy to advance key relationships and gift discussions; provide data and information that will maximize fundraising efforts.

-Travel frequently - both individually and as part of a school/university team - to qualify new prospects and build relationships with alumni/ae and friends who possess major and principal gift capacity.

Management of Staff

-Provide creative, collaborative, energetic, and strategic leadership to the Law School's full scale ODAR program including major/principal gifts, annual giving, and alumni/ae relations.

-Work to ensure a positive, collaborative, congenial work environment and develop strategies for retaining staff and rewarding outstanding performers.

-Directly supervise a staff of three, which includes the Director of External Relations, the Leadership Giving Officer, and a Development Associate. This position will also draw upon the expertise of University Advancement colleagues from Corporate and Foundation Relations, Gift Planning, Donor Relations, etc.

-Analyze department performance by initiating reports and conducting studies of the planning, objectives, effectiveness, and direction of the ODAR program and operations. Direct the team's efforts to provide the Dean with a weekly and annual report from the ODAR department.

-Provide leadership and oversight for the ODAR departmental budget, with a particular focus on allocating resources effectively.

Qualifications:
Bachelor's Degree required; Advanced degree such as JD preferred. The School of Law is seeking a highly independent, entrepreneurial, energetic individual who has 7-10 years of progressive Development/Advancement experience. Demonstrated ability in strategic planning for a comprehensive, sustained operation necessary to carry out the vision, goals, and fundraising aspirations of the School of Law and the University. Integrity, transparency, confidence, superior judgment, enthusiasm, entrepreneurial, analytical ability, commitment to collaboration, the capacity to inspire and empower a team, understanding of the vital importance of applied and experiential higher education, a sense of humor, and understanding the breadth and complexity of a major research university.

Proven success in fundraising. Demonstrated ability to work closely with high-level decision makers, trustees, and other top level volunteers. Strong interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with external (donors, prospects, trustees) and internal (deans, faculty, staff) constituents. Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Highly strategic, collaborative, self-motivated, and solution-oriented in approach. Strong management skills. Ability to travel as needed. Flexible schedule required on nights and weekends for events.

Salary Grade:
15

Additional Information:
Interested applicants should submit their resume and cover letter to law-dod@pearlstreetcollective.com

Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

To learn more about Northeastern University's commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see www.northeastern.edu/diversity.



To apply, visit https://careers.pageuppeople.com/879/cw/en-us/job/506446

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