Chief Advancement Officer

Carney, Sandoe & Associates; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The Quad Preparatory School seeks a dynamic Chief Advancement Officer to advance its philanthropic maturity. You will lead development and communications, shaping the school’s story for families, staff, donors, and the broader community.

With a builder mindset, you will design annual giving, drive campaigns, establish an endowment, and lead a small team while guiding brand and donor communications across channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• 10–15+ years in development/advancement with demonstrated leadership.
• Entrepreneurial builder mindset and ability to create from limited starting point.
• Generalist across annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate/foundation relations, donor communications, events, and volunteer management.
• Ability to move between donor relationships and strategic messaging.
• Proven experience leading capital or comprehensive campaigns from feasibility to close.
• Experience leading major communications/brand initiatives at scale.
• Endowment strategy and board education.

Responsibilities

• Design and lead annual giving strategy, grow participation and gift size.
• Lead capital campaigns from feasibility to stewardship.
• Build the school's first endowment and educate the Board on policies.
• Formalize corporate and foundation relations into a scalable program.
• Develop and execute annual communications aligned with priorities.
• Manage website, social channels, newsletters and donor communications.
• Lead development and communications team and manage budget.
• Track fundraising and communications metrics and report to leadership.

Skills

Entrepreneurial mindset

Generalist development

Donor relationship management

Strategic storytelling

Board relations

Campaign leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Carney, Sandoe & Associates, an education recruitment firm, has partnered with The Quad Preparatory School to find their next Chief Advancement Officer.

The Quad Preparatory School seeks an entrepreneurial, generalist Chief Advancement Officer to lead the school into its next chapter of philanthropic maturity building the school's philanthropic capacity while shaping how it tells its story to families, staff, donors, and the broader community.

Responsibilities:

• Design and lead the school's annual giving strategy, growing participation and gift size year over year.
• Lead capital campaign efforts from feasibility and case-for-support development through solicitation and stewardship.
• Build the school's first endowment, including educating and mobilizing the Board of Directors around gift policies and long-term giving strategy.
• Formalize corporate and foundation relations, converting ad hoc, parent-solicited sponsorships into a structured, scalable partnerships program.

Communications & Storytelling

• Develop and execute an annual communications strategy aligned with the school's mission and fundraising priorities.
• Oversee the school's website, social media channels, newsletters, and donor/family email communications.
• Manage brand identity and ensure a consistent voice and visual standard across development and school-wide materials.

Team & Budget Management

• Lead a development and communications team — currently three — as the office scales to match institutional ambition
• Manage the combined development and communications budget, including vendor and agency relationships
• Track and report fundraising metrics (gift totals, participation, pipeline) and communications metrics (engagement, reach, media coverage) to leadership and the Board.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• 10–15+ years of progressive experience in development/advancement, communications, or a closely related field, with demonstrated leadership experience.
• An entrepreneurial builder's mindset: genuine enthusiasm for creating something from a limited starting point, not simply optimizing an existing program.
• A true generalist skill set: comfort and competence across the full advancement portfolio, annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate/foundation relations, donor communications, events, and volunteer management rather than deep specialization in a single lane.
• Ability to move fluidly between donor-facing relationship work and strategic messaging/storytelling.
• Proven, verifiable experience running a capital or comprehensive campaign from feasibility study through public phase and close ideally including experience articulating a compelling case for support and managing volunteer campaign leadership.
• Proven experience leading major communications/brand initiatives at a comparable scale.
• Endowment strategy and board education: experience helping a board and leadership team understand, embrace, and act on the case for endowment, including gift acceptance policies, spending policies, and the discipline required to build permanent capital rather than spend down annual gifts.

Paid holidays, vacation and personal time

Carney Sandoe does not discriminate on the basis of physical handicap, sex, race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national or ethnic origin in administration of its services, consulting, events, professional development, or other programs.