Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts

Apply for Job Job ID 53319
Location Evanston, Illinois
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Department: Kellogg Advancement
Salary/Grade: EXS/12

Job Summary

The Kellogg School of Management (Kellogg) at Northwestern University is an elite business school that is proud of its global network of more than 72,000 alumni. With a network as broad as ours, we know how important it is to facilitate connections with our alumni, between and among each other and the school, to build a strong, engaged, supportive community.

Our alumni are Kellogg Leaders who exemplify excellence in management and represent the competitive advantage of the Kellogg experience that uniquely positions us to drive meaningful change through business education. To sustain and elevate our ability to create positive impact, Kellogg has recently launched the $600M Full Circle Campaign, supported by the Major Gifts fundraising team. As a vital role on this team, a Senior Associate Director contributes to a best-in-class, highly effective, major gifts fundraising team that works closely with Kellogg's dean, faculty members, board and council members, and other senior leaders and volunteers to create curated alumni engagement opportunities and new philanthropic support to advance Kellogg's priorities.

Reporting to the Director, Major Gifts, the Senior Associate Director develops and manages a significant portfolio of finance-related and other Kellogg alumni individual major gift-level prospective donors and donors. This position collaborates with school leadership, volunteers, and faculty to identify, research, create, coordinate, and execute customized engagement, compelling funding opportunities, proposals, and solicitations to generate significant philanthropic gift support that supports students, faculty members, and facilities. This includes working closely with Kellogg's dean, senior leaders, faculty members, and other development staff to align prospect passion, financial capacity, giving vehicles, and stewardship opportunities for major donors. Goal is to generate multiple major gifts of $250,000-$5M per year on behalf of Kellogg, in a sector network model.

Specific Responsibilities

Strategic Planning

• Plans, develops & implements overall communication plan to encourage education of philanthropy & heightened awareness of fundraising needs among the donor & alumni community to maintain & increase the amount & level of major gift donors.

Collaboration

• Involves high level of collaboration with both internal department and broader University partners to identify common goals & develop & execute strategies to increase integration.

• Please bullet examples of key partnerships and work involved below:

Prospects & Gifts

• Identifies, researches, cultivates and personally solicits major gifts of $50K to $5M by managing a portfolio of approximately 100+ prospects annually.

• Partners with other areas of development, specifically Annual & Planned Giving to coordinate contacts.

• Researches & develops prospects including up-to-date knowledge on assigned groups & works with other areas of development to coordinate contacts.

• Requires travel throughout the region or country.

Administration

• Writes correspondence and proposals to prospective donors.

• Prepares contact reports on meetings and interactions with alumni.

• Updates and maintains prospect management information in the donor database.

• Tracks and manages the prospective donor pool to develop reports and monitor program results.

Supervisory

• Provides training to staff within or outside of immediate dept or division in regard to function.

• Completes other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience.

• 6 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required.

Minimum Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and analytical skills

• Global and organizational perspective

• Ability to bring ideas and value to the team and constituent groups

• Complex problem solving

• Ability to work in fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts through face-to-face donor engagement.

• Record of securing six-figure gifts from individuals, including the ability to develop solicitation strategies, present compelling funding opportunities, and guide donors through the decision-making process.

• Evidence of measurable fundraising results, such as documented progress toward individual or organizational revenue goals, number and value of gifts closed, portfolio growth, or increased donor engagement.

• Experience in development/advancement at a research University.

• Fundraising campaign experience

• Demonstrated experience with highest level of customer service and business and partnership development

• Experience in the fields of finance, wealth management, entrepreneurship, higher education, health care, or other professional fields.

Preferred Competencies:

• Demonstrated skill in cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts, including experience making face-to-face asks and securing six-figure commitments.

• Strong relationship management skills, with the ability to build trust and engage effectively with donors, alumni, faculty, senior leaders, volunteers, and colleagues.

• High degree of emotional intelligence, self-awareness, discretion, and sound judgment.

• Strong written, verbal, listening, and presentation skills, including the ability to develop and communicate compelling, donor-centered cases for support.

• Strong organizational, prioritization, and follow-through skills.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.

Target hiring range for this position will be $110,000 - $120,000 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.

Benefits:
At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness:
Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.
We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development:
Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at to learn more .

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement . Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process .

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