Director of Advancement

Job Description

Carney, Sandoe & Associates, has been retained by the Northside Christian School to find their next Director of Advancement at a co-educational college preparatory school in St. Petersburg, FL.

The Director of Advancement is responsible for leading Northside Christian School’s comprehensive advancement program, including major gifts, capital campaign fundraising, donor relations, annual giving, advancement communications, community engagement, and related philanthropic activities.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive capital campaign with a goal of raising up to $15 million over five years.
• Develop and execute strategies for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major-gift prospects.
• Personally manage an active portfolio of qualified major donors and prospective donors.
• Establish and maintain a disciplined prospect-management process that moves individuals from identification and cultivation through solicitation, gift completion, and long-term stewardship.
• Conduct regular face-to-face meetings with donors and prospective donors.
• Develop individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for significant prospects.
• Establish annual fundraising goals, strategies, metrics, timelines, and accountability measures.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline of prospective donors at various giving levels.
• Strengthen annual giving while developing major, transformational, planned, and legacy giving opportunities.
• Develop strategies for planned giving, legacy giving, sponsorships, foundation support, corporate partnerships, and other appropriate sources of philanthropic revenue.
• Create meaningful opportunities for constituents to experience the school and understand the impact of Christian education.
• Build a collaborative, accountable, service-oriented department focused on advancing the mission of Northside Christian School.
• Ensure that departmental activities are coordinated, appropriately resourced, and aligned with institutional priorities.
• Evaluate departmental structures, processes, technology, staffing, and resource needs and recommend improvements when appropriate.
• Recruit, train, coach, evaluate, and retain effective advancement personnel.
• Establish regular communication and coordination among advancement staff and with other school departments.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Significant professional experience in fundraising, advancement, development, philanthropy, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts.
• Experience developing and managing relationships with high-capacity donors.
• Strong executive presence and exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships across a wide variety of constituencies.
• Experience leading employees and managing a multifaceted department or team.
• Strong organizational, project-management, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to develop strategy while personally executing the work required to achieve results.
• High degree of discretion, professionalism, integrity, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability and willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends for donor meetings, events, school activities, and other advancement responsibilities.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with a significant capital campaign.
• Demonstrated involvement in securing six-figure or seven-figure gifts.
• Experience within an independent school, Christian school, university, foundation, ministry, healthcare system, or sophisticated nonprofit advancement operation.
• Experience building or significantly expanding a major-gifts program.
• Knowledge of donor databases, CRM systems, prospect research, and moves-management practices.
• Experience working collaboratively with executive leadership and governing boards.
• Experience developing planned giving, legacy giving, foundation, corporate, sponsorship, or partnership programs.

Potential Benefits:

Competitive pay

Professional Development Opportunities

✏️ Classroom Resources

Medical, dental and vision insurance

401(k) plan – Employer match

⛱️ Paid holidays, vacation and personal time

Housing (boarding schools)

About CS&A

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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.