Senior Director of Advancement

Department: Alumni Relations and Development
Reporting to: Chief Administrative Officer
Schedule: Full-time, exempt
Location: Remote, United States
Travel required: Approximately 15-25 days per year
Salary: $180,000 annually commensurate with experience

Summary
SSP International, Inc. (SSPI) is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to provide transformational opportunities to learn, do, and belong in science. Our work began in 1959 with the Summer Science Program, an intensive STEM immersion experience for highly motivated high school students.

Today, SSPI brings together young people, scientists, educators, and alumni through a shared commitment to scientific inquiry, collaboration, and belonging. More than 5,000 Summer Science Program alumni are part of our growing community.

Guided by a 10-year strategic plan focused on Scale, Diversify, and Transform, SSPI is building on that foundation to reach more young people and educators in more places. We are expanding access to the Summer Science Program, supporting students through College Link mentorship, and bringing new approaches to science teaching into classrooms through the STEM Learning Institute. We are also developing deeper partnerships across the science and education communities and expanding our international reach. Learn more about our mission, programs, and community at .

The Senior Director of Advancement will serve as SSPI’s senior fundraiser and a member of the leadership team. This position will work closely with the CEO and Board of Directors to adapt, develop, and execute a comprehensive advancement strategy capable of supporting a $1 million annual fundraising goal, while building the infrastructure and relationships necessary for significant future growth.

This is a hands-on senior leadership role that requires both strategic thinking and day-to-day execution. The Senior Director of Advancement will set the overall advancement strategy, while also directly cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major donors and institutional partners. They will oversee a small team and must be comfortable working alongside that team on the daily work of fundraising, from developing donor strategies and preparing proposals to managing prospects, strengthening systems, and following through on opportunities.

The Senior Director will also work closely with the Chief Executive Officer, Board of Directors, program leaders, alumni, scientists, educators, and other ambassadors to expand SSPI’s philanthropic community.

The ideal candidate will bring the perspective of a senior advancement leader from a larger national non-profit, science, or education organization. They have helped shape strategy, led teams, and closed significant gifts. This individual will be expected to build SSPI’s advancement and alumni functions. The successful Senior Director of Advancement:

• Translates organizational strategy into a clear, actionable fundraising strategy, identifying emerging revenue opportunities and assessing their potential and alignment
• Moves fluidly between strategy and hands-on execution, developing multi-year fundraising plans while remaining actively involved in the day-to-day work required to carry them out
• Can translate advancement data and donor trends into strategic recommendations
• Directly manages a portfolio of significant donors and prospects and is comfortable cultivating relationships, making the ask, and closing gifts
• Creates mutually beneficial partnerships between companies and SSPI, with an understanding of corporate priorities including workforce development, STEM education, scientific innovation, and community investment
• Works closely with the CEO as a strategic partner and equips Board members with clear, specific, and achievable engagement opportunities
• Builds and leads a high-performing advancement and alumni relations team in a fully remote environment, coaching staff, setting expectations, and creating a collaborative culture

Essential Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Revenue Development

• Adapt and improve SSPI’s advancement strategy and implement a comprehensive annual and multi-year strategy, with a near-term goal of $1 million in annual fundraising while building the pipeline required for future growth
• Develop and execute a balanced and sustainable revenue strategy across major gifts, foundations, corporations, government funding, annual giving, events, and other opportunities
• Align fundraising priorities with SSPI’s 10-year strategic plan, programmatic goals, and growth objectives
• Establish revenue targets, forecasts, and performance measures, using results and emerging trends to guide decisions and adjust strategy

Corporate & Foundation Partnerships

• Build a national corporate partnership strategy and cultivate relationships with corporate giving teams, foundations, and CSR/ESG leaders
• Develop compelling partnership opportunities that connect SSPI’s mission with corporate or foundation priorities
• Support and partner with the Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving to identify, prioritize, cultivate, and solicit high-value prospects, directly engaging senior institutional partners and supporting significant solicitations
• Ensure proposals communicate clear outcomes, compelling evidence of impact, and a strong case for investment
• Increase the proportion of multi-year, unrestricted, and strategically aligned institutional gifts

Alumni Relations & Individual Giving

• Develop an integrated fundraising and engagement strategy for alumni, individuals, families, faculty, and friends of SSPI
• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects, including high-capacity alumni, individuals, and families
• Create a clear pipeline and meaningful pathways for alumni to become donors, ambassadors, mentors, connectors, and advocates through annual and planned giving
• Build a consistent stewardship program that recognizes donors, demonstrates the impact of their support, and encourages continued and increased giving
• Partner closely with the Alumni Relations team to support and enhance a comprehensive engagement framework for alumni, providing executive oversight for regional meetups, localized chapters, and virtual programming to deepen lifelong affinity and donor conversion.

Membership

• Working with the Alumni Engagement Manager, spearhead the expansion of SSPI’s newly launched membership program by identifying market trends, setting member acquisition and renewal goals, designing high-value member benefits, and executing data-driven recruitment campaigns to sustainably increase annual recurring revenue. Ensure cross-departmental coordination on marketing and communication needs.

Board Partnership

• Serve as the advancement liaison for the External Affairs Committee of the Board, working closely with the Committee Chair and CEO to advance fundraising priorities
• Provide Board members with clear, specific opportunities to open doors, cultivate prospects, solicit gifts, and steward donors
• Equip Board members with the information, materials, and coaching needed to participate confidently and effectively in fundraising

Operations

• Oversee and ensure effective use of SSPI’s CRM and other systems for prospect management, donor engagement, alumni relations, gift processing, and reporting
• Optimize standards for prospect research, gift recording, acknowledgements, and reporting
• Manage the advancement budget, fundraising calendar, and departmental priorities to ensure the team remains focused and follows through on commitments
• Ensure advancement practices comply with organizational policies, donor restrictions, and applicable legal and ethical standards

Team Leadership

• Directly supervise and develop the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Development Coordinator, and Alumni Engagement Manager while indirectly providing leadership to the Events and Alumni Programs Coordinator.
• Establish clear annual goals and measurable performance expectations
• Conduct regular one-on-ones, coaching, feedback, and professional development conversations
• Build effective remote workflows and communication practices
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, experimentation, and continuous improvement

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, philanthropy, business, communications, marketing, public relations, or a related field.

• 10+ years of progressively responsible fundraising or advancement experience, preferably in organizations with national reach
• An advanced degree and/or CFRE credential is preferred but not required.

Qualifications

• Strategic leadership and systems thinking, with demonstrated ability to translate organizational priorities into actionable fundraising and alumni engagement strategies partnering with the Senior Director of External Affairs where appropriate
• Strong people leadership and coaching skills, with demonstrated ability to lead and support staff, set expectations, provide constructive feedback, and foster accountability and professional growth.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing annual and multi-year fundraising strategies that produce measurable revenue growth, including significant experience directly cultivating and soliciting five- and six-figure gifts.
• Proven record of cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts and establishing lasting relationships with individuals, institutional funders, and corporate partners in the science, technology, pharmaceutical, higher education, or related sectors
• Demonstrated experience partnering with executive leaders and board of directors to develop fundraising priorities, engage funders, and advance organizational objectives
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and relationship-building skills, including the ability to communicate a compelling case for support to varied audiences
• Demonstrated experience overseeing and effectively leveraging fundraising and CRM systems (such as Raiser’s Edge or comparable platforms) to inform strategy, support pipeline management, and ensure accurate reporting and data integrity.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite and the ability to learn and effectively use the technology required to lead
• Self-motivated with a demonstrated ability to work independently in a fully remote environment, effectively managing time, prioritizing tasks, and meeting deadlines while staying responsive and communicative.
• Demonstrates commitment to SSPI’s Mission and Values in their daily work and interactions.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Working Conditions
The working conditions described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Constantly operates a computer.
• The ability to observe details at a close range and the ability to adjust focus.
• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations.
• Travel to twice yearly in-person staff meetings p lus occasional travel to alumni and donor events or programs, as needed.

Clearance Requirements

• Authorization to work in the United States
• Background clearance