Assistant Director of Major Gifts

Northeastern University; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 76,000 - 108,000; Full time

Job summary

Northeastern University in Boston seeks an Assistant Director of Major Gifts (ADMG) to lead a regionally focused major gifts program within One Northeastern. You will partner with content specialists across the university to solicit gifts in the $100K–$1M+ range and manage a portfolio of 120+ prospects.

Reporting to the Sr. Director of Major Gifts, you will collaborate with faculty and advancement colleagues to identify, cultivate, and solicit donors, traveling regionally to build relationships

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of professional experience in soliciting and closing six- and seven-figure gifts.
• Experience cultivating and soliciting alumni, parents, and friends.
• Superior, collaborative communication with diverse university constituents.
• Ability to work independently and as part of the Advancement team.
• Data- and metric-driven mindset.
• Willingness for overnight travel and some evenings/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Active contributor to major gifts fundraising for the global university.
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni, parent, and friend relationships.
• Develop interdisciplinary strategies with faculty and colleagues for donors.
• Travel to assigned region to build relationships with volunteers, prospects, and donors.
• Maintain prospect portfolio and prepare progress reports.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Donor cultivation

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Data-driven

Travel readiness

Job description

The Assistant Director of Major Gifts (ADMG) is a regionally focused major gift officer within the One Northeastern development structure. They partner with content specialists across the global university system to solicit major gifts in the $100K-$1M+ range.

Reporting to the Sr. Director of Major Gifts, the ADMG collaborates with Advancement colleagues, faculty and staff across Northeastern’s global university system, to discover, identify, and build relationships with prospective donors—developing strategies for their cultivation and soliciting gifts. The ADMG, working with the Sr. Director of Major Gifts, executes an interdisciplinary major gifts fund-raising program for alumni, parents, and friends within one or more defined geographic regions.

The AMDG will discover, build, and manage a portfolio of 120+ prospects who exhibit considerable promise for evolving to major gift capacity over time and whose philanthropic priorities match the education and research priorities of Northeastern. They will meet commensurate annual goals for fundraising and activity metrics. The ADMG must be a superb communicator—written and oral—who builds relationships and works well with external constituents and internal partners. They are well versed in moving prospects in their portfolio along the donor engagement process—from identification to stewardship—and engage faculty and leaders strategically in the process. They travel regularly to their assigned region for cultivating and soliciting prospective donors.

The Assistant Director of Major Gifts coordinates efforts and works collaboratively, where appropriate, with Advancement colleagues in corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international advancement, athletics giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy, as well as with other major gift officers, on special cross-disciplinary projects.

This position is Boston-based and is not available for remote work.

Responsibilities:

Active contributor to major gifts fund-raising effort for the global university.

Cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni, parent, and friend relationships. Strategize with faculty and other colleagues on next steps with prospects. Travel to assigned region(s) as needed to build relationships with existing volunteers, prospects, and donors. Solicit gifts in the $100K – $1M+ range. Collaborate with the Sr. Director Major Gifts, advancement leadership and other advancement teams (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to develop interdisciplinary strategies for donors, both within and external to the ADMG’s portfolio. Advise faculty, fund-raising colleagues, and administrators on alumni and parent areas of interest.

Building Prospect Portfolio and Pipeline

Discover new prospects and build pipeline to feed gifts at the major gift level. Work closely with the Sr. Director of Major Gifts to develop and manage a portfolio of prospects (approximately 120+) within a geographically defined region. Cultivate and solicit prospects to achieve annual fund-raising goals and activity (visits, video meetings, calls, proposals, etc.) metrics as assigned by the Sr. Director. Engage faculty strategically with prospects and keep the advancement leadership, faculty, and appropriate University administrators apprised of funding opportunities and trends. Act as a conduit for information between Northeastern and constituents. Travel as needed to assigned regions to support prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

Maintain high-quality development process for active alumni, parent, and friend prospects and donors. Create call reports and maintain database system. Maintain the data integrity of prospect portfolio using the Development Office data management systems (Ascend). Prepare regular progress prospect reports for Sr. Director and advancement leadership. Work across Advancement to ensure that past, present, and future donors are appropriately recognized, including their administration and accounting.

Qualifications:

• 3-5 years of professional experience with at least 3 years of demonstrated success in soliciting and closing six- and seven-figure gifts in support of a non-profit institution
• Demonstrated experience cultivating and soliciting, alumni, parents, and friends, and maintaining positive relationships with donors
• Superior communication skills—highly collaborative and entrepreneurial in approach and possessing interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with various university constituents, both internal and external
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of the Northeastern University Advancement team
• Data- and metric-driven mindset
• An appreciation and understanding of the mission of Northeastern University
• Overnight travel and some evening and weekend work required

The College of Science maintains a strong culture of collaboration amongst our faculty and staff: successful candidates will demonstrate a respect for the work of their colleagues and a focus on achieving our shared goals in a highly collaborative manner.

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Expected Hiring Range:

$76,335.00 - $107,823.75

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.