Assistant Dean of Development, SPA

American University; Washington (District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

American University in Washington, DC seeks an experienced Assistant Dean of Development for the School of Public Affairs to lead major gift fundraising and shape strategies supporting academic priorities. The role reports to the Dean and collaborates with annual giving, Planned Giving, and related units.

The successful candidate will guide a major gifts program, drive donor engagement, plan travel and meetings, and work with a senior management team to secure gifts of $100,000+ for SPA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution.
• 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• Eight or more years progressively responsible development experience, with at least four years in major gifts of $100,000+.
• Familiarity with Prospect Development system; computer literacy with MS Office and fundraising systems.
• Superior written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead major gifts strategy for SPA, targeting gifts $100,000 to $1,000,000+.
• Develop and manage fundraising strategies, priorities, schedules and tactics for the Dean of the SPA.
• Coordinate with Annual Giving and Planned Giving teams to align messaging and calendars.
• Supervise SPA Development team and coordinate publications and communications.

Skills

Building and Supporting Teams

Acting Strategically

Developing Plans

Managing Performance

Acquiring and Analyzing Information

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Master's degree or equivalent

Tools

MS Office

Fundraising systems

Job description

American University is a student-centered research institutionlocated in Washington, DC, with highly-ranked schools and colleges,internationally-renowned faculty, and a reputation for creatingmeaningful change in the world. Learn more about American University.

Department

Development - Schools & Colleges

Time Type

Full time

Job Type

Regular

FLSA Status

Exempt

Work Modality

Hybrid 01 (On Campus 3-4 Days/Week)

Summary

The Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs (“SPA”)is the principal fundraiser for SPA at American University. The Assistant Dean of Development works on behalf of the Dean of SPA,shaping and executing plans for fundraising to meet the financialneeds of the Dean’s academic priorities for the School. The Assistant Dean of Development works primarily in the area of majorgift fundraising for SPA and participates in the Dean’s seniormanagement team in order to understand fully and discuss theimplications of academic programs for development. The Assistant Dean of Development plans, implements, and oversees the major giftfundraising program for SPA with emphasis on gifts of $100,000 to$1,000,000+, as well as collaborates with the principal giftsprogram, parent philanthropy, annual giving, as well asfoundation/corporate giving. The Assistant Dean of Development coordinates closely with the Senior Director of Development, AnnualGiving to ensure messages and priorities are consistent for themail and phone programs; as well as with directors in other areas(Planned Giving, Leadership Annual Giving, Strategic Partnerships,other units) on mutual interest prospects and programs.

Essential Functions

1. Major Gift Strategy

• With the Dean and independently, aggressively work major giftsportfolio under the prospect development guidelines, activelysetting and executing strategies on assigned major gift prospects,meeting or exceeding established benchmarks for visits, contacts,and solicitations, and securing gifts that support the academicpriorities of the Dean, other units, or the University as awhole.

2. Lead Fundraising Strategy

• Develop, execute, manage, fundraising strategies, priorities,schedules and tactics for the Dean of the School of Public Affairs,including but not limited to:
• Identifying and engaging prospects around the Dean’s academicpriorities for the School.
• Planning travel and individual meetings.
• Managing regular communication with key prospects.
• Adding a development perspective to relevant matters thatemerge in the School or on the Dean’s leadership team.
• Managing all aspects of the Dean’s Advocacy Council, includingdeveloping strategy to cultivate and solicit council members forleadership giving at SPA.
• Management and strategy development of a pool of 150 assigned,rated, and staged prospects generally rated$100,000-$1,000,000+.
• Meaningful contact or consistently demonstrated attemptedcontact of 100% of the assigned portfolio during any six monthperiod.
• Regular maintenance of prospect pipeline (i.e., planned andexecuted solicitations) to reflect a minimum of 15 major giftsolicitations per year.
• Varying by stage of cultivation, consistent movement ofprospects in assigned portfolio in prescribed time frame. (As anexample, it is expected that prospects will only be inqualification and early cultivation mode for 6 months, regularcultivation for 12 months, and pre-solicitation cultivation andconsideration mode for 6 months).
• A minimum of 10 planned, strategic visits per month with manyother interactions, meetings, events, and unplanned visits.
• Regular updates to contacts, staging, ratings so that allreports are current for supervision meetings and monthly progressreports.
• Work in concert with University Advancement colleagues,including particularly close collaboration with the Planned GivingTeam, and Office of Prospect Development to conduct entrepreneurialprospect identification and qualification work equal toapproximately 10-20% of all activity. (More if Assistant Dean ofDevelopment meets expectations of progress with assignedportfolio).
• The Assistant Dean of Development’s financial objectives willbe established collaboratively and with close review of thecapacity and readiness indicators of the Assistant Dean ofDevelopment’s prospect portfolio.

3. Lead and Manage Team Members

• Manage, motivate, and evaluate the School of Public AffairsDevelopment team: Director of Development, SPA and DevelopmentCoordinator, SPA.
• Develop major gift strategies and revenue expectations, donorstewardship initiatives, and special event plans.
• Delegate and assign tasks, including creation and design ofrelated publications.

4. Coordinate Annual Giving

• Work with AU’s Annual Giving team to effectively manage annualgiving techniques and messages utilized in AU’s direct marketingand phone programs, assuming responsibility for making sure theinformation about the School of Public Affairs used in theseprograms is accurate, up to date, and in line with the School’scurrent fundraising objectives.
• Work closely with the Director of Development, Annual Giving,on annual Dean’s letter or other equivalent solicitation pieces,insuring that they occupy a reasonable and productive spot in AU’sdirect marketing calendar.

Supervisory Responsibility

• This position supervises FT staff members.

Competencies

• Building and Supporting Teams.
• Acting Strategically.
• Developing Plans.
• Managing Performance.
• Acquiring and Analyzing Information.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work

• Full-Time.
• 35 hr/week.
• Position also requires occasional evening and weekendwork.

Salary Range

• $150,000 - $170,000 annually.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited educationalinstitution.
• 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• Eight or more years progressively responsible developmentexperience required, with at least four years in demonstratedsuccess in securing major gifts of $100,000+.
• Familiarity with and experience following guidelines of anestablished Prospect Development system; computer literacy with MSOffice suite or equivalent and familiarity with fundraisingsystems; superior written, verbal, and interpersonal communicationskills.

Preferred Education and Experience

• Master's degree or equivalent.
• 8-10 years of relevant experience.
• Experience in higher education, working with high-levelexecutives/academics/leaders, managing volunteers, major giftsolicitation and closure at the $500,000+ level.
• Attention to detail, ability to analyze and articulate reasonsfor giving, strong priority setting, ability to manage multipletasks simultaneously in a deadline-oriented environment.
• Maturity and diplomacy.
• Analytical, research, and project management skills.

Travel Required

• This position requires regular local travel, and out of areatravel approximately 25-40% of time.

Benefits

AU offers a competitive benefits package. Click here to learn about American University's unique benefitoptions.

Other Details

• Hiring offers for this position are contingent on successfulcompletion of a background check.
• Employees in staff positions at American University mustdeliver their services to the university from either the Districtof Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia, or perform work on-site at theuniversity.
• Please note this job announcement is not designed to cover orcontain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties orresponsibilities that are required of the employee for this job.Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any timewith or without notice.
• American University is an E-Verify employer.

Current American University Employees

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Contact Us

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