Director of Advancement

Job Description

Introduction:

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University of the People (UoPeople) is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, 100% online university. Today, UoPeople has over 270,000 students enrolled from more than 200 countries and territories, including 50,000 students who are refugees. UoPeople is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC).

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We believe that higher education is a basic human right and that it can transform not only the lives of students, but also their families’ lives, their communities, their nations, and, by extension, the world. See President Reshef’s TED Talk when he announced the founding of the University.

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UoPeople is an innovative university, and we welcome team members who bring creativity and innovation to their roles. We’re a fast-paced organization with remote teams all around the globe. If you’re a self-starter who wants to succeed alongside a passionate team, we’d love to hear from you!

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UoPeople is supported by the generosity of individuals and foundations, including the Gates, Hewlett, Ford Foundations, Foundation Hoffmann, and others. The University has been covered by The New York Times, BBC, NPR, Times Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report, and many other leading media outlets. President Reshef’s TED Talk and Nas Daily interview about the University have more than 30 million combined views.

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Overview:

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The University of the People is seeking an experienced and strategic Director of Advancement to serve as a senior leader for the University's fundraising strategy and philanthropic initiatives. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of Advancement, the Director will be responsible for developing and executing fundraising programs that increase philanthropic support from individuals, foundations, corporations, and institutional partners.

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The Director will oversee annual giving, donor acquisition, major gifts, stewardship, fundraising campaigns, advancement services, and prospect research while building a high-performing development team. This role requires a strategic leader with strong relationship-building skills, fundraising expertise, and a passion for advancing the University's mission of providing tuition-free higher education to students around the world.

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ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS / RESPONSIBILITIES

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• Work with the SVP for Advancement to develop and implement the University's annual and long-term fundraising strategy to achieve philanthropic revenue goals.

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• Lead annual giving, major gifts, donor acquisition, recurring giving, stewardship, and fundraising campaign initiatives.

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• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward relationships with individual donors, alumni, corporations, foundations, and philanthropic organizations.

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• Build and manage a robust donor pipeline through effective prospect identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.

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• Develop annual fundraising plans, campaign calendars, donor segmentation strategies, and revenue forecasts.

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• Oversee donor relationship management through CRM systems, ensuring accurate reporting, pipeline management, and donor engagement tracking.

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• Analyze fundraising performance metrics and donor data to improve campaign effectiveness, donor retention, and fundraising ROI.

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• Partner with the President, Executive Leadership Team, Board members, and senior university leaders to support strategic fundraising initiatives.

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• Develop compelling fundraising proposals, donor communications, stewardship reports, impact reports, and cases for support.

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• Lead direct marketing initiatives across digital, email, social media, events, direct mail, and multi-channel fundraising campaigns.

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• Supervise Annual Giving & Alumni Relations, Engagement & Stewardship, Advancement Services, and Prospect Research functions while providing coaching, mentoring, and performance management.

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• Establish fundraising KPIs, dashboards, and executive reports to monitor fundraising performance and identify improvement opportunities.

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• Ensure compliance with fundraising regulations, donor privacy requirements, gift acceptance policies, and ethical fundraising standards.

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• Collaborate with Marketing, Communications, Finance, Career Services, and Academic leadership to support institutional advancement initiatives.

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• Represent the University at donor meetings, conferences, networking events, and philanthropic engagements.

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• Stay informed of fundraising trends, emerging technologies, and industry best practices to continuously improve fundraising effectiveness.

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KEY COMPETENCIES

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• 8–12 years of progressive fundraising and advancement experience.

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• Minimum 3 years of leadership experience managing fundraising or development teams.

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• Demonstrated success securing major gifts and achieving annual fundraising targets.

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• Strong expertise in annual giving, donor acquisition, stewardship, campaign management, and major gift fundraising.

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• Experience managing donor portfolios and cultivating relationships with high-net-worth individuals, foundations, corporations, and institutional donors.

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• Strong knowledge of fundraising CRM platforms such as Blackbaud Raiser's Edge, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar donor management systems.

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• Excellent leadership, coaching, and team development capabilities.

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• Outstanding relationship management, negotiation, and stakeholder engagement skills.

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• Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to interpret fundraising metrics and donor analytics.

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• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and communication skills.

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• Ability to manage multiple priorities within a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.

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• Experience in higher education, non-profit organizations, or global education institutions is highly preferred.

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QUALIFICATIONS

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• Bachelor's degree is required.[BF1]

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• Master's degree is preferred.

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• Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) or equivalent fundraising certification is highly desirable.

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• Demonstrated success leading fundraising campaigns with measurable revenue growth.

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• Experience working with donor management systems, fundraising analytics, and advancement operations [BF1]A bachelor's degree is required.I don't want a requirement based on what they majored in.