Director of Resource Development

Job Summary

The United Methodist Higher Education Foundation seeks a Director of Resource Development. UMHEF aims to make higher education financially possible for the leaders of tomorrow. Last year, the foundation awarded over $1.7 million in scholarship aid to nearly 650 students. Our purpose is to raise, manage, and distribute funds to foster education for United Methodist (CME, AME, and AMEZ) students attending United Methodist-related colleges, universities, and theological schools.

UMHEF will value the candidate who is both relationship-oriented and organizationally strong. The successful candidate will demonstrate the ability to:

• build trust with donors while also creating systems that help relationships and development work flourish.
• initiate appropriate work and follow-through,
• ask questions and identify opportunities,
• bring clarity to work that is still developing,
• work independently while remaining deeply collaborative.

Above all, the Director of Resource Development should be able to connect the practical work of resource development with UMHEF’s mission in order to help others see themselves as participants in that mission.

Job Responsibilities

Development Strategy & Program Leadership

• Work with the President/CEO to assess, develop and implement a comprehensive development strategy aligned with UMHEF’s mission, priorities, and resources.
• Translate organizational priorities into clear development goals, timelines, and measures of progress.
• Lead day-to-day execution of development activities and monitor progress and results.
• Build and maintain a visible donor pipeline.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for philanthropic support, including major gifts, planned giving, annual giving, and campaigns.

Major Donor Engagement & Executive Partnership

• Partner closely with the President/CEO in cultivating and stewarding key donor relationships.
• Maintain regular communication with significant donors and identify opportunities for deeper engagement.
• Research, prepare and coordinate follow up for the President/CEO for donor conversations.

Donor Stewardship & Engagement

• Strengthen timely, personal, and consistent acknowledgment and stewardship practices.
• Track donor engagement and follow-through.
• Connect generosity through the sharing of resources to UMHEF’s mission, students, and impact.
• Employ strategies for donor retention, engagement, and long-term relationship development.

Development & Communications Collaboration

• Work proactively with the Director of Communications & Public Relations regarding development-related communications.
• Collaborate on appeals, donor communications, annual reports, campaigns, student stories, stewardship materials, and related projects.
  • The Director of Resource Development is not responsible for graphic design.

Development Systems, Customer Relationship Management & Data

• Serve as the primary staff resource for donor database and development systems.
• Strengthen development procedures, reporting, dashboards, data integrity, and consistent use of systems.
• Assess the alignment (with consultant support, as appropriate) of current customer relationship management system and alternatives with organizational needs to determine what system will best serve UMHEF’s needs.
• If a system transition is recommended, coordinate the work of implementation, data migration, process redesign, training, and adoption.

Gift Processing & Financial Coordination

• Coordinate with the Controller regarding gift processing, financial reporting, procedures, confidentiality, and compliance.

Board & Resource Development Committee Engagement

• Serve as the primary staff liaison to the Resource Development Committee.
• Prepare agendas, reports, materials, and follow-up for Committee work.
• Work with the Committee to discern, implement and communicate development priorities, opportunities, and results.
• Identify meaningful ways for Board members to participate in resource development while maintaining appropriate governance and staff boundaries.

Organizational Leadership & Collaboration

• Help cultivate a shared culture of resource development across UMHEF.
• Exercise sound judgment in an evolving organization and contribute to a culture of respectful organizational change.
• Participate fully in the life and leadership of the UMHEF staff team.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• 3–5 years of increasingly responsible nonprofit development experience.
• Demonstrated experience and effectiveness with:
  • donor cultivation, stewardship, fundraising communications, and development planning.
  • building and sustaining donor relationships and managing a development pipeline.
  • the work of major gifts, planned giving, annual giving, and/or campaigns.
  • employing a donor database or customer relationship management system.
  • movement from strategy to implementation and follow-through.
  • collaborating effectively across an organization with staff, Board members, partners and constituents.
  • working effectively in an evolving organizational environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Sound judgment, discretion, and personal integrity.
• Must be located in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Raiser’s Edge or a similar customer relationship management platform.
• Experience evaluating, implementing, or transitioning donor/customer relationship management systems.
• Experience in a United Methodist or other faith-based organization.
• Experience in higher education or related philanthropy.

Additional Information

Benefits

Generous PTO, Health Care and Pension; details available upon request.

How to Apply

Applicants may submit the following to Mary Webster, Executive Administrator to the President at View email address on us.fitly.work. Applications are due by Thursday, October 22, 2026.

• Resume
• Cover letter
• Contact information for three professional references
  • References are requested with the application but will not be contacted until later in the search process and with the knowledge of the candidate.
• Compensation expectations

Details

• Date Posted: October 5, 2026
• Type: Full-Time
• Job Function: Fundraising / Revenue Development
• Service Area: Education
• Salary Range: 80,000-90,000
• Working Hours: 40 hrs/wk; M-Th, 8:00am - 4:00pm and Friday 8:00am - 12:00pm