Individual Gifts Officer

Careers At Sidwell Friends School

Welcome to the Human Resources Department at Sidwell Friends School. Sidwell Friends prides itself in offering a high quality educational experience to those who will lead the next generation. To that end, we are seeking qualified individuals with the knowledge, skills and abilities to enhance the student experience at Sidwell Friends. We encourage you to review the job postings below and to contact us for additional information.

Individual Gifts Officer Department: Office of School Advancement Location: Washington, DC
Position Start Date: Immediately
Status: Full-Time


REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Individual Giving

Sidwell Friends, a coeducational Quaker day school, seeks a full-time Individual Gifts Officer to work with the Advancement Department, located on its DC campus. The Individual Gifts Officer works to support the comprehensive capital campaign and to build and enhance relationships with constituents for the purpose of increasing philanthropic support to Sidwell Friends School.

The Individual Gifts Officer is responsible for engaging and soliciting support from Annual Fund leadership and Mid-Major gifts ($10,000 - $100,000+), seeking commitments in support of a comprehensive capital campaign and for specific projects.

The Individual Gifts Officer will also be responsible for supporting the Assistant Head of School for Advancement and Senior Director of Individual Giving with volunteer solicitor management and engagement including affinity interests and campaign committees as well as other campaign administrative duties as assigned.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with the Senior Director of Individual Giving to determine strategies and action steps needed to identify, qualify, cultivate, and solicit mid-major gift donors.
• Collaborate with senior leaders and campaign counsel on a comprehensive capital campaign.
• Manage and engage the volunteer solicitor engagement for affinity / constituent groups.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 75-125 prospective donors (parents, past parents, and young alumni) to engage their support in specific initiatives approved by the Board of Trustees.
• Plan and execute a target of 50+ prospective donor visits per year.
• Develop and implement individual strategies for cultivating and soliciting mid-major prospects and submit moves management goals that contain specific timelines, projected results, and outcomes.
• Collaborate with Engagement Team to oversee prospect stewardship through correspondence, donor engagement, professional proposals, mailings, and acknowledgements.
• Document all activity in the database and track personal and program goals.
• Achieve personal fundraising and activity goals monthly, quarterly, and annually.
• Attend all appropriate Advancement meetings as well as other school-related events as appropriate.
• Work collaboratively with the School Advancement staff to ensure appropriate coordination and communication.
• Supports the campaign consultant as needed.

Qualifications:

The position requires a bachelor’s degree and a candidate with strong interpersonal, oral and written communication, and database skills. Two to three years in campaign and individual gifts or sales experience preferred. Experience engaging and managing volunteer partners is also preferred. Knowledge of educational fundraising culture is an asset and experience with moves management systems is preferred. This staff person should have the ability to work independently and as a member of a team in a fast-paced environment and be able to prioritize and manage multiple tasks effectively and efficiently. Some national travel involved.

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred
• Two-three years of experience with Campaigns and Fundraising or Sales
• Interest in development, fundraising, public relations/marketing, and/or independent education; previous campaign experience preferred
• Excellent computer skills with working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Google suite and Asana; preferred database experience
• Knowledge of a CRM database, preferably RE NXT
• Integrity: previous experience with highly confidential information preferred
• Positive, team-player attitude, willingness to be supportive to all advancement partners
• Outstanding interpersonal communication skills (verbal and written)
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work independently and to make good decisions
• Ability to “manage up” and work in a fast-paced, multi-tasked environment

As a condition of employment, all employees who are employed with the school are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and able to provide proof of such vaccination. To make application for a medical or religious exemption, please contact the human resources department.

Interested candidates should upload a resume, cover letter and contact information for three professional references via our on-line application.