Associate Director, Major Gifts - San Francisco

Northwestern University; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision, disability, &L

Paid vacation and holidays

Tuition benefits for employee & depend

Job summary

Northwestern University is seeking an Associate Director of Major Gifts to identify, cultivate, and solicit major gifts from alumni and friends in the Bay Area. You will manage a portfolio, plan donor meetings, and coordinate with schools, programs, and Planned Gifts to maximize philanthropic impact.

The role requires building relationships, meeting six-figure targets, and collaborating with internal partners across the Alumni Relations and Development team.

Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree or higher.
• 4 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required.

Responsibilities

• Gathers data, assesses leads, and develops strategies to realize giving potential.
• Maintains consistent and appropriate contact with prospects.
• Facilitates or makes direct solicitations for major gifts.
• Closes major gifts ($100K) for the University through qualification and cultivation.
• Builds a portfolio and manages it through the major gift pipeline.
• Prepares donor proposals aligned with donor interests and capacity.
• Oversees stewardship activities and maintains best practices.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Communication

Teamwork & collaboration

Strategic & critical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

4 years development, fundraising or equivalent experience

Tools

CRM databases

Job description

Job ID: 54638

Location: San Francisco, California

Department: Alumni Relations & Development

Salary/Grade: EXS/10

Target hiring range for this position will be between $100,000 - $120,000 per year or per hour. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data

Job Summary

This position reports to the Executive Director of the West Coast Regional Office and is based in the San Francisco office. The Associate Director of Major Gifts will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major gift support from a prospect pool of alumni, friends, and family members in the Bay Area. This frontline fundraiser will develop and manage a fluid portfolio of prospects through qualification visits, cultivation efforts and customized solicitations that align with prospect interests and financial capacity. This position collaborates with colleagues across Alumni Relations and Development and the greater University, including deans, faculty, program directors, and other University volunteers to plan and execute compelling prospect meetings and solicitations of donors.

This role includes structured professional development through Plus Delta's Discipline of Frontline Fundraising program, providing high-quality training to strengthen fundamental skills in donor cultivation, solicitation, portfolio management, and strategic relationship building. Additional ARD resources further connect Northwestern policies and processes with the best practices introduced in Plus Delta's curriculum.

Please note: This position is in San Francisco and is hybrid. Our office operates in a hybrid model and offers the option of working three days in the office and two days remote. There will be occasional work outside of standard business hours for donor engagement events.

For full consideration, please submit a cover letter and resume.

Specific Responsibilities

Strategic Planning

• Gathers data, assesses leads, and develops strategies designed to realize the current and lifetime giving potential of individual prospects.
• Maintains consistent and appropriate contact.
• Facilitates or makes direct solicitations.
• Closes major gifts ($100K) for the University through qualification and cultivation.
• Ensures effective stewardship.

Collaboration

• Involves moderate- to-high-level collaboration with both internal department partners and moderate level of collaboration with broader University partners to identify & integrate resources to accomplish strategic goals & objectives.

Prospects & Gifts

• Develops, plans, and implements strategies and approaches to identify, personally solicit, and steadily close major gifts of six-figures or more.
• Collaborates with West Coast Major Gift and Donor Engagement teams and other areas of alumni relations and development, including Schools & Programs and Planned Gifts, to coordinate donor strategies.
• Builds a portfolio through discovery and qualification with a target of 40 prospects at a time. Manages portfolio by strategically moving them through the major gift pipeline.
• Secures visits with prospects and effectively articulates University fundraising priorities to gauge donor interest and capacity.
• Collects and synthesizes information from a wide array of sources to prepare compelling donor proposals that strategically align with donor interests and their full philanthropic capacity.
• Oversees and completes associated stewardship activities, maintains up-to-date best practices, and evaluates closed projects.
• Gathers, records, and retrieves information about prospects and donors utilizing University's donor and alumni database, internet, meetings with development staff, faculty, etc.
• Prepares contact reports on meetings and interactions with alumni.

Volunteers

• Interact with volunteers on the West Coast; attend meetings and utilize volunteer help as needed.

Events

• Supports strategy for regional donor engagement events.
• Staff alumni and donor engagement events to advance prospect pool and giving.

Administration

• Proactive, productive team contributor with a positive attitude and commitment to an inclusive workplace. Offers recommendations to enhance innovation, objectives, and goals.
• Demonstrated ability to follow through and take responsibility for outcomes.
• Driven by challenging individual and team fundraising goals.
• Requires travel throughout the New York tri-state region and periodic travel to the Evanston campus.

Miscellaneous

Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree or higher.
• 4 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required.

Minimum Competencies

• Analytical Thinker: Able to analyze a broad set of data and synthesize information into compelling and succinct points.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, in addition to being an active listener. Strong interpersonal skills with a diverse group of internal and external constituencies.
• Teamwork and Collaboration: Effective team player who understands individual performance drives overall team success and organizational outcomes.
• Strategic and Critical Thinking: Organized in planning both short-and long-term goals. Uses logic and reasoning to assess alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems and ambiguity.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in development frontline fundraising at a higher education institution or complex nonprofit organization.
• Experience with CRM databases.
• Experience connecting with prospective donors-or similar audiences-via events and other engagement opportunities.

Preferred Competencies

• Proven ability to personally solicit and close major gifts and pledges of six-figures or more.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook)
• Ability to function at a high level within a complex organization.

Benefits

• health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance
• paid vacation and holidays
• paid medical/sick and parental leave
• tuition benefits for the employee and dependents
• pre-tax and flex spending accounts for commuting and dependent care
• generous retirement savings options
• wellness programs

For a comprehensive overview of available benefits, including eligibility details, visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more.

Work-Life and Wellness

Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles.

We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more.

Professional Growth & Development

Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected characteristics, including disability and veteran status. View Northwestern's non-discrimination statement. Job applicants who wish to request an accommodation in the application or hiring process should contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance. View additional information on the accommodations process.