Associate Director, Leadership Giving, School of Engineering

Associate Director, Leadership Giving, School Of Engineering

Santa Clara University is a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offering its 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's, Ph.D., and law degrees.

Ranked among the top 15 percent of universities nationwide by U.S. News and World Report, Santa Clara University is California's oldest operating institution of higher education. The University is focused on creating an academic community that educates citizens and leaders who will build a more just, humane, and sustainable world.

University Relations builds Santa Clara University's excellence and character by strengthening relations with alumni, parents, and friends of the University, raising public awareness, and increasing private philanthropy.

To grow the pipeline of donors to the School of Engineering, Santa Clara University is looking to hire an Associate Director, Leadership Giving (Leadership Giving Officer) to increase support to the school with gifts ranging from $10,000 to $99,999.

Guided by Santa Clara University's Jesuit, Catholic values, the School of Engineering is committed to the highest in academic and ethical achievement. Its mission is to fuel engineering students' intellectual curiosity in support of building a more just, humane, and sustainable world. Through undergraduate and graduate programs, the School of Engineering focuses on educating the whole person.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Academic Partnerships, and working collaboratively with the Dean faculty, and staff of the School of Engineering, the Leadership Giving Officer will carry a portfolio of leadership giving prospects and develop effective strategies to move prospects through the donor engagement, solicitation, and stewardship process.

The Leadership Giving Officer must be able to build philanthropic relationships in support of school and University priorities including those found in Impact 2030, SCU's Strategic Plan. In addition, they should demonstrate strong communication and collaboration skills to work internally with colleagues and externally with donors.

To be considered, please include a cover letter with your application.

This position is eligible for a flexible work schedule: 3/2 hybrid - 3 days work from the office and 2 days work from home.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Fundraising Efforts (80%)

• Lead the engagement and solicitation strategies for leadership giving prospects ($10,000 - $99,999) for the School of Engineering.
• Manage a portfolio of 150-200 leadership giving prospects, conducting face-to-face and virtual visits monthly to qualify, engage, solicit, and steward leadership giving donors for the School of Engineering and the University. Personally solicit prospects in the assigned portfolio to meet the annual dollar and activity metrics as set with the Executive Director, Academic Partnerships, and Assistant Vice President, Individual Giving.
• Develop an annual fundraising plan, including strategies for meeting targets and milestones for progress, reporting regularly to the Executive Director, Academic Partnerships.
• Work with Prospect Management and Analytics to maintain an active and dynamic portfolio of leadership giving prospects for the School of Engineering.
• Engage the Dean, faculty, and program directors in the School of Engineering, to introduce key leadership giving prospects at events and/or in personal meetings, providing appropriate briefings and follow-up.
• Partner with other School & Center-based frontline fundraisers and major gift officers to communicate the Dean of Engineering's strategic funding priorities and connect fundraisers to key staff and faculty to engage in donor work.
• Produce well-written, accurate, and timely follow-up and related correspondence such as proposals, thank you notes, and contact reports.
• Track and record activities related to assigned prospects using CLARA Give Campus (CRM donor database) and report results regularly to the Executive Director, Academic Partnerships.
• Participate as an active member of the Office of Development, sharing information and collaborating with colleagues in a respectful and professional manner, contributing to a healthy and positive work environment.

Stewardship and Community Relations (20%)

• Create, prioritize, and execute a strategy for building relationships that enhance the reputation of the School of Engineering.
• Support the development functions of the Advisory Board through meeting attendance and annual board member solicitations, working closely with Major, Parent, and Principal Gifts as necessary for assigned prospects.
• Identify and recommend alumni and community members for involvement with networking and fundraising efforts.

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The items below are representative of the knowledge, skills, abilities, education, and experience required or preferred. The position requires the ability to effectively establish and maintain cooperative working relationships within a diverse multicultural community.

Knowledge

• Direct knowledge of successful fundraising best practices with an emphasis on leadership giving and personal solicitations, with a general understanding of higher education advancement.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of a team; ability to work collaboratively with leadership and other Development staff.
• A commitment to higher education and the ability to articulate a compelling case for support.
• Knowledge of Santa Clara University and its mission.

Skills

• Must be a goal-oriented and self-motivated individual who can demonstrate accountability, initiative, creativity, and focus in a rapidly changing and intellectually stimulating environment.
• Demonstrate strong interpersonal skills and the ability to collaborate, build relationships, and achieve results within a population that may possess competing interests, opinions, and/or expectations.
• Demonstrate strong active listening skills and the ability to negotiate positive outcomes.
• Positive attitude, sense of humor, and flexibility.
• Outstanding sound ethical judgement, and experience handling highly confidential information.
• Required to have a valid driver's license and personal transportation vehicle available for frequent travel to business meetings (mileage is reimbursed under federal guidelines).

Abilities

• Demonstrate a level of comfort working with leadership.
• Ability to use current desktop office and database technologies efficiently and effectively, and be able to adapt to and use future technologies.
• Demonstrate the ability to manage time and workload to multitask and achieve goals in a deadline-driven environment.
• Demonstrate a genuine desire to contribute to a collaborative, ethical, and professional team environment.
• Ability to work on the road and/or work at odd hours and on weekends.

Education/Experience

• Bachelor's degree required. Master's preferred.
• Minimum 4 years of professional experience, which includes 3 years of direct development, fundraising and/or transferable professional skills that include sales and/or developing relationships with volunteers and/or high net worth clients or customers.
• Valid driver's license required.
• Higher education experience is preferred.

Physical Demands

• Considerable time is spent at a desk using a computer terminal.
• Required to occasionally travel to constituents and conferences.
• May at times require physical labor.

Work Environment

• Typical office environment
• Mostly indoor office environment
• Offices with equipment noise
• Offices with frequent interruptions