Development Officer — Leadership Giving

Stanford University; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

18+ PTO days per year

Health benefits start when you start

Flexible work options

Tuition reimbursement and training

403(b) plan

Mental health programs

Commuter transportation benefits

Job summary

The Stanford University Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) seeks a Development Officer to advance leadership annual giving for the Haas Center for Public Service and cultivate emerging major gift prospects. Reporting to the Director of Development, this role manages a portfolio, solicits gifts, and coordinates National Advisory Board activities.

A Bachelor’s degree and five years of relevant fundraising experience are required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of relevant experience or combination of education and experience.
• Experience raising funds for undergraduate education, public service, or cross-school constituencies.
• Knowledge of relationships building, solicitation, and stewardship.

Responsibilities

• Develop solicitation goals and strategies for Haas Center and alumni/parent populations.
• Manage a portfolio spanning leadership annual giving and major gift prospects.
• Solicit gifts within the $125,000–$2,000,000 range and guide multiyear pledges.
• Staff the National Advisory Board, recruit members, onboard, and coordinate activity.
• Oversee donor communications including annual report and stewardship touchpoints.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Prospect management

Communication

Nonprofit sector knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree

Job description

Stanford Job Title: Development Officer 2

Location: Stanford Main Campus (hybrid, at least 2 days on-site each week)

Job Code: 4292

Exemption: Exempt, full-time

Budgeted Salary: $150,000 - $165,000

About the Team

The Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE) supports programs that help Stanford undergraduates learn broadly and deeply, discover and create, live and grow in community, and contribute beyond themselves. Its development program partners with faculty, academic leaders, and a growing base of philanthropic supporters across VPUE’s units, including the Haas Center for Public Service, Bing Overseas Studies Program, and Stanford Introductory Studies.

In May, the university approved VPUE’s fundraising priorities and goals for the next five years, including an ambitious target for the office as a whole. Meeting it will require growth on two fronts at once: larger gifts at the top of the program, and a deeper base of leadership annual giving. VPUE has an immediate opening for a Development Officer to advance both at the Haas Center, building leadership annual giving while cultivating emerging major gift prospects.

Job Purpose

Reporting to the Director of Development, VPUE, the Development Officer plans and implements fundraising for the Haas Center for Public Service. Working independently, the position identifies and cultivates prospects, develops proposals, solicits gifts, and handles the internal coordination the work requires.

Many Haas donors give to public service as a cause, in addition to giving to Stanford. The Development Officer is the Center’s fundraising presence for that constituency, working alongside Haas faculty and executive leadership and supporting its National Advisory Board.

The role is weighted toward leadership annual giving: the $10,000–$50,000 donors who sustain the program between campaigns and form its future major gift pipeline. The Development Officer also carries a portfolio of emerging major gift prospects, moving them toward larger, multiyear commitments. Portfolio composition is set with VPUE and the Office of Development and reviewed on a regular cycle.

Core Duties

• Develop solicitation goals, objectives, and strategies for the Haas Center for Public Service and for the alumni and parent populations that support it, in coordination with VPUE's broader undergraduate education priorities.
• Manage an active portfolio spanning leadership annual giving and major gift prospects, identifying new prospective donors, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding their support, and developing relationships leading to gifts in the $125,000–$2,000,000 range while building the multiyear pledges and upgrade pathways that carry donors toward that level.
• Own the contact reports and pipeline records, as well as proposals for assigned prospects — debriefing the development officer specialist who prepares them, then finalizing the proposal and making the ask.
• Staff the Haas Center’s National Advisory Board, leading member recruitment, onboarding, and committee activation, and managing the board's calendar and communication with members.
• Own the program's broad-based donor communications, including the Haas Center's annual report, periodic stewardship touchpoints, and the annual appeals that reach alumni and parents most likely to enter the leadership giving band.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience raising funds for undergraduate education, public service, or other programs whose constituencies cut across schools and departments.
• Experience building or rebuilding a leadership annual giving pipeline — the $10,000–$50,000 tier of donors whose support and continued growth are central to the program's long-term health.
• Experience staffing a national advisory board or comparable volunteer body through recruitment, onboarding, and committee work.
• Experience producing annual donor reporting and stewardship communications at program scale.
• Knowledge of Stanford University systems, policies, and its decentralized development structure.

To be considered, please submit a resume and a one-page cover letter with your online application. In the letter, share what draws you to this role and how your fundraising experience prepares you for it, including an example of a donor relationship you’ve helped grow.

Completed applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning October 28, 2026.

Responsibilities

Core Duties:

Develop solicitation goals, objectives, and strategies fordevelopment projects and/or specific donor populations or geographicregions. Cultivate and solicit gifts to the university.

Manage an active portfolio, and track solicitation assignmentsand progress. Work with a portfolio of assigned prospects to cultivate,solicit, and steward their support.

Take responsibility for a wide range of fundraising activities,including maintaining an active level of contacts, identifying newprospective donors and volunteers, providing stewardship, andcoordinating volunteer fundraising efforts.

Stay informed on current university initiatives andactivities.

Develop relationships leading to gifts in the $250,000 -$5,000,000 range.

Enhance relationships between current and prospective majordonors and the school or unit's faculty, students, dean, staff andvolunteers.

Work with staff, donors, volunteers, and other university staffto assist in establishing and maintaining relationships with alluniversity constituencies.

Design and manage appeals (e.g., direct mail, email, video,phone, and other channels) to target key populations to maximizefundraising potential.

Establish ongoing relationships with individual alumni throughpersonal visits, phone calls, and meaningful contacts.

Prioritize prospects, prepare background information, makevolunteer assignments as appropriate, and follow up with volunteers toensure completion of assigned solicitations.

Work closely with other colleagues in development to alignprogram goals with the overall giving goals of the university’sdevelopment organization.

Bachelor’s degree and five years of relevant experience orcombination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Demonstrated effectiveness in prospect identification,relationship building, and solicitation.

Demonstrated experience mentoring and working with volunteers,faculty, and staff.

Superior written and oral communication skills, with exceptionalattention to detail and the ability to articulate a compelling case forphilanthropic support programs.

Ability to translate complex concepts into compelling developmentproposals.

Demonstrate a commitment to fostering an inclusive workplaceculture where all employees feel valued, respected, andempowered.

• Pay Range $120,305-$224,569
• Pay Frequency Annually
• Fixed Term N
• Stanford Schools and Units Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
• Full time or Part time Full Time
• Regular or Temporary Regular
• Job Category Development
• Posting Date 10/16/2026, 09:29 PM
• Grade K
• Job Identification 201428

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Benefits that support you, and your future

18+ PTO days per year

Health benefits start when you start

Flexible work options

$6000+ annual tuition and training assistance

403(b) plan

Mental health and wellness programs

Free and discounted commuter transportation

Applies to regular full-time positions.

Notice to Applicants

The job duties listed are typical examples of work performed by positions in this job classifications and are not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, tasks and responsibilities. Specific duties and responsibilities may vary depending on department or program needs without changing the general nature and scope of the job or level of responsibility. Employees may also perform other duties as assigned.

Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of their job.

Stanford is an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Stanford University provides job pay ranges representing its good faith estimate of what the university reasonably expects to pay for a particular job. The specific pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on a wide range of factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to geographic work location, relevant knowledge, skills and abilities, relevant education, years of relevant experience, depth and breadth of relevant experience, and performance; further including but not limited to other business and organization needs such as the scope and responsibilities of the position, the minimum qualifications, departmental budget availability, and market and internal equity across the university, school/ unit, department, as well as job reporting relations hips.

Why work at Stanford

World-changing work in a culture of continuous learning

An inspiring community that values collaboration

High-quality health and wellness benefits that put you and your family first

Access to world-class education and career development, with tuition reimbursement, training assistance, and more