Associate Vice President, Central Advancement

Job Description

Job Description

Special Information

• This position is a hybrid position which allows the incumbent to complete their work at both an NAU site, campus, or facility and at a non-centralized site with or without accommodation.
• This position is posted as Associate Vice President, Central Advancement, which is a working title. The NAU system title for this position is Associate Vice President, Advancement.
• Driving a vehicle on behalf of the university is anticipated to be a regular part of this position. Arizona Administrative Code Fleet Safety Policy requires all employees who drive on university business become authorized by submitting Driver’s license information for driving record monitoring, and completion of training appropriate to the level of driving performed. The law applies to all faculty, staff, and students who drive personal or university-owned motorized vehicles for any business purpose. More information on the NAU Authorized Driver Policy can be found on the NAU website.

About the Department/College

NAU Advancement | Foundation engages students, alumni, parents, friends, and the broader NAU community to connect, invest, and inspire current and future Lumberjacks.

About the Position

The Associate Vice President (AVP), Central Advancement provides strategic leadership for cross-institutional fundraising priorities and programs for NAU Advancement | Foundation at Northern Arizona University. The AVP is responsible for the comprehensive strategy, performance, and organizational effectiveness of Central Advancement, including annual giving, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, central fundraising, strategic initiatives, and other university-wide fundraising initiatives. The AVP also serves as a strategic liaison for fundraising efforts associated with KNAU and the Office of Native American and Indigenous Advancement, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and broader Advancement strategies.

The AVP leads a high-performing, collaborative team responsible for developing and executing integrated fundraising strategies that secure philanthropic support for university-wide priorities, initiatives, and programs. The AVP establishes clear strategic objectives, measurable outcomes, aspirational work plans, revenue goals, and performance expectations, while ensuring the team has the talent, resources, infrastructure, and processes necessary to achieve results. The AVP is accountable for Central Advancement fundraising performance and for strengthening the pipeline of annual, major, planned, corporate, foundation, and other philanthropic opportunities.

The AVP serves as an active member of the Advancement Executive Leadership Team and contributes to the development and implementation of division-wide strategy, priorities, and organizational initiatives. The AVP works closely with key academic and administrative leaders, Advancement | Foundation leadership, faculty, volunteers, and other key partners to identify and advance institution-wide philanthropic opportunities. The AVP will represent NAU Advancement | Foundation with donors, alumni, corporations, foundations, community leaders, and other external partners.

The AVP provides leadership for Central Advancement's role in NAU’s Elevate comprehensive campaign and future fundraising initiatives, ensuring fundraising strategies, donor engagement, and portfolio activity contribute meaningfully to campaign and institutional goals. The AVP will also lead strategies to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, negotiate, and steward major and principal-level gifts, with an emphasis on complex, university-wide opportunities aligned with NAU's strategic priorities.

The AVP will maintain a small portfolio of high-net worth donors and prospects and personally engage in frontline fundraising, while providing leadership and direction to Central Advancement fundraising programs. The AVP will regularly evaluate fundraising performance, pipeline health, donor activity, revenue projections, and program effectiveness and use data and analysis to inform strategy, resource allocation, forecasting, and continuous improvement.

Through strategic leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and a strong focus on relationships and results, the AVP will strengthen Central Advancement's ability to generate philanthropic resources, develop sustainable fundraising pipelines, and advance the university's highest institutional priorities.

This position reports to the Vice President for Advancement and Chief Executive Officer of the NAU Foundation.

The position's work location can be either in Flagstaff at the Mountain Campus or Phoenix at the North Valley Campus.

Responsibilities Include

40% - Central Advancement Strategy, Leadership & Organizational Management

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight for Central Advancement programs and staff including annual giving, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, central fundraising, and strategic initiatives.
• Establish annual and long-term fundraising strategies, priorities, revenue goals, and performance expectations.
• In collaboration with the VP and CEO, establish annual goals and accountability metrics.
• Set goals, performance measures, and work plans while ensuring coordination between Central Advancement and other Advancement | Foundation teams.
• Align Central Advancement activities with NAU's strategic priorities, Advancement | Foundation priorities and goals.
• Allocate resources effectively and ensure appropriate staffing, infrastructure, processes, and technology.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, innovation, authentic relationship building, and shared success.
• Ensure Central Advancement teams contribute meaningfully to Elevate campaign operations, revenue, and pipeline goals.
• Recruit, develop, train, and evaluate high-performing Central Advancement staff.
• Establish clear expectations and provide ongoing coaching and professional development.
• Support succession planning and development of future Advancement leaders.
• Provide program and budget oversight of Central Advancement area budgets, ensuring efficient stewardship of resources.

20% - Fundraising

• Strengthen NAU’s philanthropic profile and external relationships.
• In partnership with prospect development & strategy, maintain and actively manage a small portfolio of high-net worth donors and prospects.
• Develop strategies for complex, interdisciplinary, blended, and university-wide philanthropic opportunities.
• Partner with university leadership on high-level donor engagement.
• Develop strategies to advance university-wide priorities and initiatives that require university-wide collaborative fundraising efforts.

20% - Collaborative Oversight

• Serve as the strategic fundraising liaison between KNAU, the Office of Native American and Indigenous Advancement, and NAU Advancement | Foundation.
• Coordinate fundraising strategies and opportunities with appropriate university leaders and partners.
• Collaborate with and leverage the strengths of the Alumni Engagement, Donor Relations, Prospect Development & Strategy, IT and Data, Finance, and Communications to ensure effective implementation of division activities to achieve goals.

15% - Division Leadership and Service

• Represent NAU Advancement | Foundation with donors, alumni, corporations, foundation, Board directors, and community leaders.
• Participate as a member of the NAU Advancement | Foundation Executive Leadership team assisting with strategic planning and implementation of priorities.
• Assist in the development of policies and procedures to guide the daily operations of the division.
• In collaboration and consultation with the Associate Vice President of College Development, provide systematic planning and reporting to include such items as forecasting, pipeline activity and status reports, budgetary reports, annual reports, etc.
• Serve as a representative of the Vice President of Advancement in meetings, committees, or with activities as assigned.
• Participate in NAU Foundation Board and development initiatives by guiding Board members’ activities as appropriate and assigned.

5% - Other

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field.
• 4 or more years of leading across organizations.
• 5 years of management or supervisory experience.

*A combination of related education, experience, and training may be used as an equivalent to the above Minimum Qualifications.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in communications, marketing, or related field.
• 7 years of related experience.
• Experience in cultivation, solicitation and closing of significant major gifts ($100,000+).
• Capital and comprehensive campaign experience, preferably within a higher education institution.
• Experience with central development and constituent development operations.
• Demonstrated experience in program development, implementation, and review, as well as budget and resource management.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

Knowledge

• Expert knowledge of practices, developments and techniques used in university advancement.
• Knowledge of industry trends in university advancement in higher education.
• Experience in planning, leading, and managing high-visibility projects that involve many stakeholders and inspiring, motivating, and coaching teams to achieve critical performance standards and outcomes.

Skills

• Project management skills.
• Conflict resolution and customer service skills.
• Planning, organizing, directing, and facilitating skills.
• Strong command of performance data and metrics, including analysis, interpretation, presentation, and use to improve individual and team performance and results.
• Demonstrated experience in building strong, trust-based relationships across an institution, and with high-wealth donors and volunteers.

Abilities

• Coordinates team members and allocates tasks.
• Communicates effectively.
• Manages relationships.
• Analyzes complex situations and anticipates issues.
• Ability to develop, communicate, and implement complex strategies around broad ideas that involve many stakeholders.
• Ability to articulate vision, priorities, and unique attributes of the institution internally and externally in a compelling and highly professional manner.
• Demonstrates high degree of entrepreneurship, self-motivation, and initiative; succeeds as an innovator and creative problem solver.
• An ability and willingness to travel.

Compensation

Salary range is $156,623 to $195,330. Annual salary commensurate with candidate's qualifications and related experience.

Pre-Employment Check

Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, an employment history verification and a degree verification (in some cases) prior to employment. You may also be required to complete a fingerprint background check. Also, as an employer in the state of Arizona, NAU is required to participate in the federal E-Verify program that assists employers with verifying new employees' right to work in the United States.

This position has been identified as a safety/security sensitive position. Therefore, per AZ Revised Statute, Northern Arizona University requires satisfactory results for the following: a criminal background investigation, employment history investigation, degree verification (in some cases) and fingerprinting. If you are applying for a job that requires a CDL, you will be required to register with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse and adhere to the clearinghouse requirements.

Notice of Availability of the Annual Fire and Security Report

Each year Northern Arizona University releases an Annual Security Report. The report is a result of a federal law known as the Clery Act. The report includes Clery reportable crime statistics for the three most recent completed calendar years and discloses procedures, practices and programs NAU uses to keep students and employees safe including how to report crimes or other emergencies occurring on campus. In addition, the Fire Safety Report is combined with the Annual Security Report for the NAU Flagstaff Mountain Campus as this campus has on-campus student housing. This report discloses fire safety policies and procedures related to on-campus student housing and statistics for fires that occurred in those facilities. If you would like a free paper copy of the report, please contact the NAUPD Records Department at View phone number on us.fitly.work or by visiting the department at 525 E. Pine Knoll Drive in Flagstaff.

Immigration Support/Sponsorship

Northern Arizona University will not provide any U.S. immigration support or sponsorship for this position.

Submit your Application

To apply for this position, please click on the "Apply" button on this page. You must submit your application by midnight of the application deadline.

If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodation to participate in the hiring process, please contact the Disability Resources Office at View phone number on us.fitly.work, View email address on us.fitly.work, or PO Box 5633, Flagstaff AZ 86011.