Sr Director/Gift Planning

Sr Director/Gift Planning

Position Number: S-2990
Type of Recruitment: External

Position Summary:
The Senior Director of Gift Planning represents Central Michigan University's Advancement office as the senior advisor for planned gifts that range from simple bequests to complicated transformational philanthropic investments. The Senior Director will develop philanthropic partnerships with individuals that lead to significant increases in planned gifts. The Senior Director will develop and deliver a planned giving training and mentor program using both their expertise and knowledge as well as utilizing the skills of national experts in the field. Responsibilities include cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective and existing donors; oversight of gift planning marketing; and administration and stewardship of life income gifts, bequest expectancies, realized bequests, gifts-in-kind, real estate gifts, and other complex assets. Maintain and steward ongoing relationships with donors, while identifying new prospects from a national territory. This position will be a direct report to the Vice President for Advancement. The Senior Director will have a nationwide territory, be required to meet as appropriate with the Vice President and have the ability to work offsite. This position carries the campus wide responsibility of training all Development Officers on planned giving. This person is also responsible for working with the Vice President to make sure the deans, athletic director and key administrators have professional training opportunities on a regular basis. This person will carry a prospect load of 80 individuals that have six or seven figure and up capacity.

Required Qualifications:
Bachelors degree.
Minimum of 5 years of planned gift fundraising experience, legal, or financial experience with charitable gift planning, including tax and inheritance law
Considerable knowledge of best practices in planned giving, including relevant rules, regulations, and programs/policies which comply with various planned giving vehicles.
Considerable knowledge and a successful record of donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
Extensive knowledge of and skill in using fundraising databases and planned giving software.
Considerable experience in development and implementation of a successful marketing plan for a planned giving program.
Positive attitude that enables the incumbent to be an effective mentor.
Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain relationships with a diverse constituent base.

Preferred Qualifications:
Previous experience working in higher education
Track record of securing six and seven figure major and/or planned gifts
Comprehensive campaign experience
Ability to mentor and train other Directors that leads to increased knowledge and productivity

Duties & Responsibilities:
Maintain a select portfolio of 80 prospects mainly with six and seven figure planned gift potential.
Develop and implement detailed cultivation, solicitation and stewardship plans to secure planned gifts from these prospects.
Meet or exceed assigned metrics.
120+ annual face to face visits.
$3.5 million in documented gifts annually.
Work directly with donors (and their financial advisors) to market, negotiate, and close a wide range of outright and planned giving arrangements including, but not limited to: charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder and lead trusts, retained life estates, gifts of real estate, life insurance, and bequests.
Work with Research team to identify potential planned gift prospects.
Deliver training, including traveling with and/or on behalf of college or athletic Development Directors on planned gifts, mainly those above $500,000.
Develop and manage an aggressive marketing plan for the Planned Giving program.
The incumbent will have shared support staff for administrative and planned giving marketing assignments.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Supervision Exercised:
None.

Employee Group: Professional & Administrative -Salary
Staff Pay Level:
Pay Range: $95,000 - $115,000
Division: University Advancement
Department: Advancement - Vice President
Position Status: Regular
Position End Date:
Employment Status: Full Time
FTE: 1.00
Position Type: 12 month
Weekly Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; weekends and nights as needed
Location: Mount Pleasant, MI
Posting Ends:
Open Until Filled: Yes

About the Department:


About CMU:
Central Michigan University has a more than 125-year legacy of preparing students to become leaders and changemakers in their communities and in their personal and professional lives.

We serve nearly 15,500 students on our Mount Pleasant campus, in satellite locations around the state and throughout the country, and through flexible online programs. Many of our approximately 300 undergraduate, master’s, specialist and doctoral programs in the arts, media, business, education, human services, health professions, liberal arts, social sciences, medicine, science and engineering are nationally ranked for excellence.

CMU leads the nation in leadership development programming through our Sarah R. Opperman Leadership Institute, and we are proud to be among only 5% of U.S. universities in the top two Carnegie research classifications. Our faculty work with graduate and undergraduate students in areas such as Great Lakes research, medical innovation, engineering technology and more.

Central is home to 17 men’s and women’s Division 1 sports including football, basketball, gymnastics, baseball, wrestling and more. Our student-athletes achieve great success in competition and in the classroom, capturing Mid-American Conference championships and maintaining an average cumulative GPA of 3.17.

CMU is located in Mount Pleasant, a community that blends the best of small-town living with big-city amenities. It’s part of the culturally varied and vibrant Great Lakes Bay Region that also includes Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and the state’s largest Native American community, centered on the Saginaw Chippewa Isabella Reservation in Mount Pleasant.

Area residents enjoy the mix of outdoor activities, cultural events, shopping and dining options, and family attractions. Other major Michigan destinations and attractions — Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Traverse City, wineries, beaches, golf and ski resorts, and many more — are within easy reach of the city’s central location in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.

CMU employees enjoy access to a nationally recognized wellness program along with health care and benefits that exceed regional, state and national norms.

CMU Leadership Standards:
Central Michigan University is a place where we value students and work for their success, where we act as family, and where employees are engaged, appreciated and have extraordinary opportunities to make a difference.

We intentionally maintain and strengthen the hallmark CMU culture that sets us apart from our peers by expecting CMU leaders and employees to model the following Leadership Standards and develop them within their teams.

Please review the Leadership Standards before applying for this position.

Message to Applicants:
Central Michigan University is dedicated to fostering a broadly diverse and inclusive campus that respects all social identities, experiences, and perspectives. In an effort to further this initiative, we are especially interested in candidates who will advance and promote an inclusive and supportive environment for every member of our university community.

You must submit an on-line application in order to be considered as an applicant for this position.

Cover letters may be addressed to the Hiring Committee.

To apply, visit https://www.jobs.cmich.edu/postings/37944

CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community. CMU does not discriminate against persons based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, familial status, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, height, marital status, national origin, political persuasion, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, race, religion, sex, sex‐based stereotypes, sexual orientation, transgender status, veteran status, or weight (see https://www.cmich.edu/offices-departments/OCRIE).
If you wish to see “EEO is the Law” posters, please click here.
CMU does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, including admission and employment, and is required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 not to discriminate in such a matter.
Inquiries about the application of Title IX can be made to CMU’s Title IX Coordinator, the US Department of Education’s Assistant Secretary, or both.
CMU’s Title IX Coordinator can be reached at:

Phone: 989-774-3253
Office: 103 E. Preston St.
Bovee University Center, suite 306
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
Email: titleix@cmich.edu


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