Vice President for Advancement

Job Description

Job Description

George Fox University's seeking a strategic, relational, and mission-driven Vice President for Advancement to lead and shape the future of philanthropic engagement at the university.

About the Job:

This is a pivotal moment for Advancement at George Fox. With a newly integrated leadership structure that brings together enrollment, marketing, and advancement, the university is positioned to take a more unified and strategic approach to growth, storytelling, and donor engagement. The Vice President will play a central role in building this future.

Reporting to the Executive Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing, and Advancement, this leader will oversee all advancement functions while partnering closely across the institution to expand philanthropic support, strengthen donor relationships, and align advancement with the university's broader mission and brand.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Strategic Leadership:
  • Developing and executing a comprehensive advancement strategy that aligns with the university's mission, vision, and strategic priorities, ensuring that philanthropic efforts meaningfully support institutional growth and long-term sustainability.
    
  • Partnering closely with the Executive Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing, and Advancement to integrate advancement into a unified institutional strategy, aligning fundraising, storytelling, and engagement efforts across the university.
    
  • Assessing current advancement operations, including systems, processes, team structure, and performance metrics, and implementing improvements that strengthen effectiveness, scalability, and long-term impact.
    
  • Providing leadership in long-term planning efforts, including preparing the university for future capital campaigns and identifying opportunities to expand philanthropic support
    
• Fundraising and Donor Engagement:
  
  • Providing strategic and operational leadership for all areas of fundraising, including major gifts, annual giving, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, and campaign development, ensuring a cohesive and effective approach across all channels
    
  • Personally managing and actively engaging a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and donors, with a focus on cultivating deep relationships and securing transformational philanthropic support.
    
  • Overseeing the development and execution of strategies to expand and strengthen the donor pipeline, increasing both donor participation and overall giving levels over time.
    
  • Partnering with the president and other senior leaders to effectively engage in fundraising efforts, providing guidance, support, and coordination to maximize their impact in donor cultivation and solicitation.
    
• Team Leadership and Culture:
  
  • Leading, developing, and inspiring a growing advancement team, fostering a culture of excellence, ownership, and shared commitment to the university's mission.
    
  • Establishing clear expectations, goals, and accountability measures for team members, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and consistent progress toward fundraising objectives.
    
  • Recruiting, mentoring, and retaining high-performing staff, while investing in professional development and creating opportunities for team members to grow in skill, confidence, and leadership capacity.
    
  • Strengthening team cohesion and effectiveness by building trust, encouraging collaboration, and creating clarity around roles, responsibilities, and priorities.
    
• Partnership and Collaboration:
  
  • Working closely with university leadership, including academic and administrative partners, to align fundraising priorities with institutional needs and opportunities.
    
  • Collaborating with marketing and communications teams to ensure that donor-facing messaging, storytelling, and campaigns are compelling, consistent, and aligned with the university's brand and voice.
    
  • Engaging the Board of Trustees and the Advancement Committee as active partners in fundraising, equipping and supporting them in meaningful donor engagement and philanthropic efforts.
    
  • Building strong relationships across campus, fostering a broad culture of engagement in advancement and helping faculty and staff understand their role in supporting philanthropic success.
    
• Performance and Accountability:
  
  • Establishing clear and measurable fundraising goals and key performance indicators, aligned with institutional priorities and advancement strategy.
    
  • Monitoring progress toward goals on an ongoing basis, providing regular reports and updates to senior leadership and the Board of Trustees.
    
  • Utilizing data, analytics, and performance insights to inform decision-making, refine strategies, and improve overall effectiveness of advancement efforts.
    
  • Ensuring strong stewardship practices that build trust, demonstrate accountability, and cultivate long-term relationships with donors.
• Communicating effectively and courteously with others, including employees, students, and the public, in a spirit of teamwork, respect and customer service.
• By actions, words, and lifestyle, be a Christian role model to students, whether through casual contact or in a formal supervisory role.
• Demonstrated experience working cross culturally with respect, appreciation and humility.
• Other duties as assigned.

We're looking for candidates who have:

• 5+ years of progressively responsible experience in advancement, fundraising, or a related field, including senior leadership experience.
  
• Demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, and closing six- and seven-figure gifts.
  
• Proven experience leading and developing teams, including setting strategy, managing performance, and building culture.
  
• Experience managing or contributing to comprehensive fundraising programs, including major gifts, annual giving, and donor engagement strategy.
  
• Demonstrated the ability to partner effectively with executive leaders, board members, and key stakeholders in fundraising efforts.
  
• Experience using data, metrics, and CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce or similar) to drive strategy and track performance.
  
• A Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States. This position does not offer visa sponsorship; therefore, only applicants who do not require sponsorship for employment visas, now or at any point in the future, should apply.
• A commitment to the University's Theology of Racial and Ethnic Diversity.
• A desire to work with a diverse community of students and employees who represent various cultures, backgrounds, abilities, ethnicities, political views, and expressions of Christian faith.
  
• A personal commitment to Jesus Christ and express their Christian testimony in a church. In addition, employees agree to live in agreement with the Community Lifestyle Statement and affirm the theological commitments expressed in the Statement of Faith.

Preference Will be Given to Those Who Have the Following Attributes:

• Experience preparing for or leading a comprehensive capital campaign.
• Experience building or rebuilding advancement infrastructure, including systems, processes, and team structure.
• Familiarity with planned giving strategies and long-term donor pipeline development.
  
• A Master's degree from an accredited institution.
  

Job information:

• Hours Per Week: 40 hours per week
• Primary Work Location: Newberg Campus
• Working Conditions: Physical requirements are those of a normal office environment.
• Supervisor: Executive Vice President for Enrollment, Advancement and Marketing

George Fox University has been transforming student's lives for over 125 years. We are a Christ-centered community that prepares students spiritually, academically, and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion. Our vision is to be the Christian university of choice known for empowering students to achieve exceptional life outcomes. We put students first, with Christ at the center of our work, embracing change in order to improve. We are looking for enthusiastic candidates to join us in creating transformational experiences for our students.

Being a part of our community means a commitment to faith and to a lifestyle that is consistent with the university's mission as described in the Statement of Faith and Community Lifestyle Statement on our website.

As a Christ-centered community, George Fox University is an institution that values diversity as an essential dimension of God's design for human communities. In seeking to become a more inclusive community, we especially encourage applications from candidates with backgrounds that are underrepresented on our faculty.

What is most appealing about working at George Fox University?

• Faith-friendly: Our culture is unique for higher education. At George Fox you can pursue academic excellence while integrating scriptures, praying with staff members and students at work, and helping to make an impact on the world in a way that promotes Christian values.
• Unapologetically Christian: As a university, we have an enduring commitment to Christ, his kingdom and the truth of God's Word.
• Live out your calling: You are able to use your God-given talents and abilities while having a profound influence on students as they deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ.
• Equip students for kingdom work: You can be a part of helping students discover their callings, at which they will be able to glorify the kingdom of God just as they have seen you do.

For your personal well-being we offer:

• A strong Christian vision and mission-led organization with opportunities for your growth and contributions.
• Wonderful Christian peers and a vibrant student population.
• A beautiful and peaceful campus environment with areas to walk and coffee shops and restaurants close by.
• Free Fitness Center membership.
• Free parking.
• Rich employee benefit package.
  

Application Procedures - kindly apply only through this website

When completing the online application, please upload the following as Word or .pdf documents in the section marked Letter of Interest and Curriculum Vitae or Resume :

• Letter of Interest
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
• Other supporting materials may be requested at a later stage of the review process.

Interested applicants are encouraged to apply immediately as review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.

We invite you to Be Known at Oregon's largest private and nationally recognized Christian University!

**This position is subject to close at any time, regardless of the date on the posting.
**Have questions or need assistance with our application process? Contact View email address on ziprecruiter.com

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

The university is an equal-opportunity employer. Every employee has the right to work in surroundings free from all forms of unlawful discrimination. It is our policy to make decisions about applicants and employees without regard to sex, age, race, color, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other status to the extent prohibited by applicable local, state, or federal law. This prohibition applies not only to the recruiting and hiring process but to all facets of the employment relationship, including promotion, pay, training, classification, performance reviews, discipline, and termination.

George Fox is owned by the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church and its mission is distinctly Christian. Employees are required to agree with and abide by the university's faith statement and its statement of community responsibilities. Within the context of this agreement and commitment, employment opportunities are otherwise available to all persons on the basis of their experience and skills.

In the recruiting process, the university may make special effort to solicit applicants from underrepresented groups. This is done as an affirmative step to increase the representation of these populations in the university's workforce to better match their availability in the labor market. Hiring decisions are based on the applicants' qualifications as they relate to the needs of the position.