Director of Development, Parent & Family Giving and Student Experience

Director of Development, Parent & Family Giving and Student Experience

The Director of Development, Parent & Family Giving and Student Experience reports to the Senior Director of Development, PFG&SA. The role is responsible for cultivating and soliciting major and leadership gifts in Colorado and select regions, with a focus on parents and student experience priorities. The Director will develop and mature their assigned portfolio of donors while partnering with institutional leaders, fundraising professionals, and key stakeholders, managing top prospects to meet annual fundraising goals set with the Senior Director.

This highly collaborative position requires strong relationship-building skills and the ability to design and implement tailored cultivation and solicitation strategies, as well as foster extensive value-added relationships with Advancement colleagues and campus partners. The Director must effectively engage new constituents and steward early-stage gifts toward major commitments. Performance metrics include donor visits, new major-gift qualifications, solicitations, and dollars raised.

The ideal candidate brings the strategic mindset, persistence, and professionalism needed to drive philanthropic outcomes in a mission-driven environment.

Required Qualifications

• 7 years of professional experience, including 5 years of direct fundraising experience
• Demonstrated experience closing gifts at the leadership annual giving ($1,000+) and major gifts ($50,000+) level

Preferred Qualifications

• Fundraising experience in higher education or a similarly complex nonprofit environment

The role involves regular (e.g. 8-10 times per year) out-of-state travel, occasional evening and weekend work, is based in Denver, and is eligible for hybrid work.

Essential Functions

Fundraising Activities & Outcomes

• Develop and execute complex fundraising strategies to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects
• Manage a portfolio of donors with capacity to make gifts of $50,000+.
• Leverage campaign priorities and university initiatives to inspire philanthropic investment in alignment with donor priorities
• Solicit donors for gifts of $50,000+ through a variety of channels, including blended gifts and multi-year commitments.
• Represent the university's breadth of academic programs and initiatives in donor conversations and proposals.
• Responsible for raising $1,000,000+ annually, through a combination of leadership annual gifts and major gifts, once the portfolio is mature.
• Contribute to annual and campaign goals by securing gifts aligned with institutional priorities and strategic initiatives.

Programmatic & Operational Responsibilities

• Support top donor/prospect engagement via participation in development of Parent Leadership Council meetings and other experiences
• Partner with campus leaders to develop compelling philanthropic proposals in alignment with campaign priorities
• Articulate the impact of philanthropy through customized communications, reports, and donor experiences.
• Ensure accurate and timely entry of contact reports and donor data in the CRM.
• Track and report on key performance indicators such as qualifications, visits, solicitations, and dollars raised.
• Manage complex projects and initiatives in compliance with university policies and procedures.
• Travel and manage regional outreach, serving as market expert and partnering with colleagues, when appropriate.
• Steward budgetary and operational resources to support fundraising success and team efficiency.

Collaborate Across Campus

• Collaborate with central and unit-based advancement teams to coordinate donor engagement and strategy execution.
• Participate in cross-functional planning and strategy sessions to support integrated advancement goals.
• Serve as an advancement representative with campus partners.

Staff Leadership

• Provide strategic guidance and mentorship to development team members and support staff.
• Prepare, debrief, and coach colleagues and campus partners for donor meetings and solicitations.
• Develop market expertise that includes providing support for campus leadership and influencing market strategy in assigned region(s).

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Relationship building: Demonstrated ability to cultivate and close gifts of $50,000+ and lead targeted campaigns
• Communications: Writes major gift proposals, and crafts compelling cases for support
• Strategic Thinking: Leads through uncertainty and change and develops solid solutions for varied situations. Applies sound judgment when making decisions and considering the impact on donors, colleagues, and institutional priorities.
• Portfolio Management: Builds and manages an individual portfolio to meet personal goals
• Higher Education Landscape: Partners with campus leaders to shape cases for support
• Campaign Experience: Leads campaign components or initiatives
• Data Analysis: Oversees prospect strategy and metrics for themselves
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Works effectively with internal and external constituents. Collaborates effectively with other Advancement teams
• Leadership/Supervision: Acts as an Advancement ambassador internally and externally. Provides mentorship to team members

Working Environment

• Standard open office environment
• Noise level is quiet to moderate
• Non-essential role. Note: essential employees are those individuals who must report to work, be "on call" to report to work, and/or work remotely if required in order to maintain the critical functions of the University during scheduled closures or an unscheduled suspension of normal operations due to emergencies, events, or other situations.

Physical Activities

• Ability to use a computer for an extended period
• Occasionally required to move about the office/campus with the capability of transporting objects up to 20 lbs. with assistance
• This role is not required to operate an Automobile, Passenger Van, UTV/ATV, or golf cart

Work Schedule

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., some nights and weekends as required. The role involves regular (e.g. 8-10 times per year) out-of-state travel, occasional evening and weekend work, is based in Denver, and is eligible for hybrid work.

Application Deadline

For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) June 15, 2026.

Special Instructions

Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.

Salary

The salary range for this position is $100,000 – $115,000.

The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate's sex or any other protected status.

Benefits

The University of Denver offers excellent benefits, including medical, dental, retirement, paid time off, tuition benefit and ECO pass.

The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University's educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975