Assistant Vice President, Advancement Services

Rutgers University Foundation; New Brunswick (NJ); Hybrid; USD 117,000 - 143,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical

403(b) plan with matching contribution

Three weeks annual vacation

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

Rutgers University Foundation seeks an Assistant Vice President to oversee advancement services, focusing on operational strategies and enhancing organizational efficiency. This leadership role involves managing teams across research, data intelligence, and gift administration.

The ideal candidate possesses extensive experience in fundraising strategies and operational management. The position offers a salary of $130,000 annually, along with a hybrid work schedule and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10 years of leadership experience in advancement services or related fields.
• Strong understanding of fundraising operations, reporting, and systems governance.
• Experience leading organizational change management initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Oversee multiple cross-functional teams in prospect management and data governance.
• Develop and maintain governance standards for operational consistency.
• Lead organizational change tied to systems and staffing.

Skills

Leadership

Data Analysis

Fundraising Strategy

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Tools

Salesforce

CRM systems

Reporting tools

Job description

Reporting to the Vice President, Operations, the Assistant Vice President (AVP) serves as a strategic and collaborative leader responsible for operationalizing advancement services initiatives across Rutgers University Foundation, including research and prospect management, data intelligence, and gift administration. The AVP will oversee multiple cross‑functional teams and lead efforts to strengthen operational effectiveness, systems alignment, prospect strategy, data governance, and service delivery in support of the Foundation’s fundraising and engagement goals.

The AVP partners closely with Foundation and University leadership to improve organizational efficiency, strengthen internal controls, advance the strategic use of data and technology, and support long‑term fundraising and engagement priorities. This role requires a collaborative, forward‑thinking leader who can navigate complexity, lead organizational change, and build strong partnerships across the enterprise.

Essential Functions

• Lead and enhance enterprise‑wide shared service functions that support fundraising, stewardship, engagement, and operational strategy.
• Provide strategic oversight of prospect development, prospect management, data analytics, systems governance, and operational process improvement initiatives.
• Partner with Foundation and University leadership to improve efficiency, remove operational barriers, and strengthen organizational effectiveness.
• Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and governance standards that ensure strong internal controls, data integrity, compliance, and operational consistency.
• Serve as a strategic advisor and thought partner to Foundation leadership, providing guidance on prospect strategy, reporting, operational planning, reporting prioritization, and procedural improvements.
• Lead organizational change management efforts tied to systems, staffing, and operational transformation.
• Provide leadership and oversight for AI‑related strategy and operational applications within Advancement Services.
• Ensure compliance with legal privacy requirements, donor confidentiality standards, and ethical guidelines.
• Act as a proactive strategic partner for frontline fundraisers.
• In conjunction with the development officers, oversee and provide guidance on the major gift prospect, delivering information about new and known donors to educate on potential prospect engagement and giving strategies.
• Other duties as assigned.

Leadership Attributes

• Possess knowledge and understanding of the institutional and organizational enterprise and all departments across the organization, not just a specific area of expertise, but a general mastery of many functions.
• Demonstrate a commitment to aligning constituent intent to University priorities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of University values and expectations to systematically take responsibility for working toward them.
• Ability to translate and through communication help others understand complexity.
• Possess a high level of self‑awareness, emotional intelligence, and political nuance/awareness.
• Demonstrate proactive thinking through a mastery of prioritization and the ability to negotiate.
• Ability to provide positive and constructive feedback that affects the future of the organization.
• Ability to consistently own your voice.
• Demonstrate critical thinking and ability to challenge accepted concepts.
• Exhibit confidence and competence in executing leadership for their teams and areas to advance the organization.
• Use skill sets and institutional experience to ask the right questions.
• Exemplify a multiplier leadership approach/mentality with a cross‑functional mindset.
• Demonstrate an organizational awareness and enterprise focus with thoughtfulness on how decisions impact other departments not in their purview.
• Demonstrate a coaching style of leadership with staff, leaders, volunteers, deans, and partners.
• Possess the confidence to serve as a partner with University leadership.

Competency Aptitudes

Leadership

• Manage a team effectively and execute comprehensive department/project/program strategy.
• Serve as a member of the organization’s management team.
• Present and represent projects to University leadership.
• Demonstrate ability to successfully manage and lead a team (and/or staff volunteers) in a way that maximizes potential of each team member.
• Ability to lead, assess, and reimagine new initiatives.

Autonomy

• Bring new best practices and innovation to the organization.
• Manage a team, volunteers, relationships, or projects with minimal oversight.
• Set goals and manage budgets and meet deadlines for themselves and the team.
• Drive area forward to achieve goals within their job purview.

Complexity

• Demonstrate specialized knowledge, experience, skill set.
• Effectively collaborate with your supervisors and University partners across the enterprise.
• Able to create, deploy, and execute increasingly complex projects.
• Set direction and approach in partnership with assigned RU leader’s vision.
• Able to adapt to changing situations and partner or leadership changes.

Strategy

• Create, lead, and execute University‑wide operational related initiatives.
• Develop strategy with input of cross‑functional teams to negotiate and influence solutions.
• Demonstrate an ability to set priorities and determine strategy for multiple units/departments, including staffing and budgets.
• Design the employee experience for a department/program.

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s degree required; master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in advancement services, operations, fundraising, higher education, analytics, nonprofit management, or related fields.
• Strong understanding of prospect development, fundraising operations, reporting, and systems governance.
• Experience working with CRM systems, reporting tools, and advancement technologies; Salesforce experience is strongly preferred.
• Working knowledge of AI tools and applications relevant to advancement services, operational efficiency, analytics, donor engagement, and reporting.
• Demonstrated experience leading enterprise‑wide operational or strategic initiatives.
• Experience leading organizational change management initiatives.
• Excellent written, verbal, analytical, and presentation skills.

Working Conditions

This position requires clarity of focus while juggling complex projects or deadlines with little physical effort. Will work evenings, weekends, or odd hours to meet organizational commitments. Typical working conditions with an absence of disagreeable elements. This position requires some early mornings and late evenings to accommodate meetings, travel, events, and external constituent’s schedules.

Workplace Arrangements

This is classified as an office‑centric hybrid position. Colleagues working under an office‑centric hybrid arrangement have a primary workstation in a university or foundation location and are in the office between one and five days a week. The frequency with which they are present in the office depends on their role and function and the interdependency of other functions.

Compensation and Benefits

The position is budgeted for an annual salary of $130,000. In addition to salary, Rutgers University Foundation offers:

• Office‑centric hybrid work schedule
• Comprehensive medical
• Comprehensive no‑cost dental and no‑cost vision insurance for employees and dependents
• 403(b) plan with matching employer contribution
• Accrual of three weeks of annual vacation time, in addition to five wellness days and fifteen sick days per year
• Nine holidays, as well as four floating holidays
• Significant tuition reductions
• Professional development is highly valued at the Rutgers University Foundation, where employees are encouraged to look across the organization to develop new skills and abilities for professional career progression.
• $40 monthly cell phone reimbursement.

Equal Employment Opportunity

It is Foundation policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all its employees and applicants. The Foundation prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin, ancestry, marital status, familial status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, genetic information, and any other characteristics protected by applicable state, federal and/or local laws. Equal employment opportunity applies to hiring, placement, transfer, promotion, demotion, recruitment, advertising or solicitation for employment, treatment during employment, rates of pay or other forms of compensation, selection for training, layoff, or termination.