Chief Advancement Officer

Job Description

Carney, Sandoe & Associates , an education recruitment firm, has partnered with The Quad Preparatory School to find their next Chief Advancement Officer.

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The Quad Preparatory School seeks an entrepreneurial, generalist Chief Advancement Officer to lead the school into its next chapter of philanthropic maturity building the school's philanthropic capacity while shaping how it tells its story to families, staff, donors, and the broader community.

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Responsibilities:

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Development & Fundraising

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• Design and lead the school's annual giving strategy, growing participation and gift size year over year.
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• Lead capital campaign efforts from feasibility and case-for-support development through solicitation and stewardship.
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• Build the school's first endowment, including educating and mobilizing the Board of Directors around gift policies and long-term giving strategy.
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• Formalize corporate and foundation relations, converting ad hoc, parent-solicited sponsorships into a structured, scalable partnerships program.
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Communications & Storytelling

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• Develop and execute an annual communications strategy aligned with the school's mission and fundraising priorities.
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• Oversee the school's website, social media channels, newsletters, and donor/family email communications.
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• Manage brand identity and ensure a consistent voice and visual standard across development and school-wide materials.
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Team & Budget Management

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• Lead a development and communications team — currently three — as the office scales to match institutional ambition
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• Manage the combined development and communications budget, including vendor and agency relationships
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• Track and report fundraising metrics (gift totals, participation, pipeline) and communications metrics (engagement, reach, media coverage) to leadership and the Board.
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Qualifications:

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• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
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• 10–15+ years of progressive experience in development/advancement, communications, or a closely related field, with demonstrated leadership experience.
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• An entrepreneurial builder's mindset: genuine enthusiasm for creating something from a limited starting point, not simply optimizing an existing program.
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• A true generalist skill set: comfort and competence across the full advancement portfolio, annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate/foundation relations, donor communications, events, and volunteer management rather than deep specialization in a single lane.
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• Ability to move fluidly between donor-facing relationship work and strategic messaging/storytelling.
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• Proven, verifiable experience running a capital or comprehensive campaign from feasibility study through public phase and close ideally including experience articulating a compelling case for support and managing volunteer campaign leadership.
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• Proven experience leading major communications/brand initiatives at a comparable scale.
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• Endowment strategy and board education: experience helping a board and leadership team understand, embrace, and act on the case for endowment, including gift acceptance policies, spending policies, and the discipline required to build permanent capital rather than spend down annual gifts.
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Benefits:

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Competitive pay

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Professional Development Opportunities

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✏️ Classroom Resources

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Medical, dental and vision insurance

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401(k) plan – Employer match

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⛱️ Paid holidays, vacation and personal time

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Housing (boarding schools)

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About CS&A

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Our job placement service is free to job seekers. By getting to know you personally beyond just your resume, we connect you directly with hiring schools whose open positions match your specific requirements (location, school type, position type, etc.) and skills, saving you the time of sorting through hundreds of job postings and getting lost in a pile of resumes.

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Carney Sandoe does not discriminate on the basis of physical handicap, sex, race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its services, consulting, events, professional development, or other programs.