Director, Development Athletics

Lindenwood University; Saint Charles (MO); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Lindenwood University is seeking a Director of Development Athletics to secure private philanthropic support aligned with athletics priorities. The role identifies, qualifies, cultivates, and solicits donors capable of gifts of $25,000 or more, with emphasis on 100,000+.

The successful candidate will collaborate with advancement and athletics leadership to grow donor pipelines and the philanthropic landscape.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience soliciting major donors and gifts.
• Higher education fundraising experience or familiarity with campaigns is preferred.
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Manages a portfolio of major donor prospects capable of making gifts of $25,000 or more, with focus on 25–100k+.
• Coordinates with senior leaders to develop strategies to meet annual and campaign fundraising goals.
• Meets with donors 25–50% time via travel, on-campus visits, phone, and video conferencing.
• Prepares donor proposals, reports, drafts, and communications tailored to donor interests.
• Develops and executes unit strategies to increase major gift support in partnership with leadership.
• Maintains partnerships with athletics leadership to identify opportunities for private support.
• Keeps expertise in major gifts best practices and innovative giving vehicles; uses insights for engagement.
• Collaborates on strategic engagement plans for alumni and donors.
• Supervises the assistant development officer, athletics advancement, and related donor programs.
• Utilizes Raiser’s Edge to document activities and interactions; participates in advancement meetings.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Donor relationship management

Prospect research

Proposal writing

Gift agreements

Leadership / mentoring

Communication skills

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Raiser’s Edge

Job description

Welcome to Career Opportunities at Lindenwood University.

PLEASE READ: For all applications, please include your resumeand cover letter. You may skip the “Quick Apply” pageby simply clicking “Next” at the bottom of the page. Whenyou arrive at the “Experience” page, you may upload alldesired documents using the upload box labeled “Resume/CV.”This is the appropriate box to upload all documents.

Benefits of Being a Lindenwood Employee:

• Upon hire, employer-paid tuition benefits for bachelor’s(employee, spouse, and dependent) and master’s degree programs(employee and spouse only).
• Tuition discounts for doctoral programs (employee only).
• Comprehensive benefits plan: medical, dental, vision, lifeinsurance, disability insurance, and retirement options.
• Paid holidays: MLK Jr. day, Good Friday, Memorial Day,Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving break(Wednesday – Friday), and winter break (Dec. 23 – Jan. 1).
• Free lunch Fridays: LU employees are eligible for a free mealon Fridays at the Evans Commons Dining Hall or Spellman DiningHall; Chick-fil-A and Qdoba included.
• Professional development opportunities through the Lindenwood Learning Academy .

About Lindenwood University Advancement

Located in historic St. Charles, Missouri, Lindenwood University isa premier, independent comprehensive institution known forstudent-centric focus and innovation. Lindenwood is committed toproviding an exceptional, values-driven education that preparesstudents to thrive in a dynamic world. It is an exciting time tojoin the Lindenwood Advancement team. As we prepare to launch acomprehensive fundraising campaign, we are aligning our operationalinfrastructure, building high-impact philanthropic opportunities,and enhancing our engagement with alumni, donors, and regionalconstituents to support student success, experiential learning, andinnovative campus spaces. At Lindenwood, we benefit from working ata picturesque, historic campus, located in a thriving micro-urbancommunity that’s adjacent to a major metropolitan city. In fact, inBusiness Insider named St. Charles the best college town inMissouri, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recognized LindenwoodUniversity as the Best College/University.

JOB TITLE SUMMARY

Job Title: Director, Development Athletics

Division: University Advancement

Evaluation Group: Staff

FLSA Status: Exempt

Reports To: Assistant Vice President, Development

Positions Supervised: Assistant Development Officer,Athletics

Job Summary

The director, development athletics secures private philanthropicsupport, aligning donor interests with athletics institutionalpriorities. This position will identify, qualify, cultivate, andsolicit donor prospects capable of making gifts of $25,000 or more, with an emphasis on donors of $100,000+. Constituents servedinclude individual donors, alumni, foundations, corporations, fans, and friends of the university. The successful candidate will becollaborative and innovative team member who, through strategicwork and relationship building, will help Lindenwood to grow ourdonor pipelines and philanthropic landscape.

Essential Job Functions and Performance Indicators

The intent of this job description is to provide a representationof the types of duties and level of responsibility that will berequired of positions given this title. This job description shallnot be construed as a declaration of the total of the specificduties and responsibilities of any particular position. Employeesmay be directed to perform job-related tasks other than thosespecifically presented in this description.

Job Responsibilities and Execution

• Manages a portfolio of major donor prospects capable of makinggifts of $25,000 or more, with a focus on qualification,cultivation, solicitation, and gift closure
• Coordinates with Assistant Vice President of Development, theVice President for Athletics, development colleagues, and prospectresearcher to develop and implement strategies to meet annual andcampaign fundraising goals
• Meets with donors and donor prospects 25-50% time via travel,on-campus visits, phone, and video conferencing, including someevenings and weekends
• Prepares donor proposals, reports, draft agreements, and donorcommunications tailored to donor interests
• Develops and executes strategies for assigned unit(s) that willsupport unit philanthropic priorities and successfully increasemajor gift support, in partnership with advancement and athleticsleadership and advancement colleagues
• Develops and maintains close collaborative partnerships withathletics leadership and staff to gain a strong understanding ofprograms and initiatives to identify and define opportunities forprivate support
• Maintains expertise in major gift best practices, contemporaryphilanthropic trends, and evolving giving vehicles, translatingindustry insights into innovative strategies for prospectengagement and complex gift structuring
• Collaborates with advancement stewardship and engagementcolleagues on developing strategic engagement plans for key alumniand donors
• Supervises the work of the assistant development officer,athletics advancement, which includes donation-based givingsocieties, alumni groups, donor suites, and fundraising events likethe annual Black and Gold Benefit
• Utilizes Raiser’s Edge to document all activities, interactionsand other relevant data.
• Participates in advancement meetings and events, assistingcolleagues and providing support for all ongoing programs andoperations as needed to help meet institutional engagement andfundraising goals

Service Excellence

• Supports the missionof the University and serves as an ambassador of the Q2 culture ofservice excellence
• Models, supports, and holds others accountable to theUniversity’svalues
• Conducts meaningful and authentic donor acknowledgement andstewardship activities
• Cultivates strong relationships with individual donors, alumni,and friends of the University

Communication, Teamwork, and Collaboration

• Advises advancement and athletics leaders on internal andexternal constituency relations
• Provides leadership to campus colleagues on current, effectivefundraising techniques
• Mentors other members of the advancement team in industry bestpractices

Job may require other duties as assigned.

– An equivalent combination ofeducation, training, and experience will be considered. Additionalrequirements may be designated by position.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree
• Master’s degree preferred
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in soliciting major donors andgifts, preferably for an intercollegiate or intermural athleticsprogram
• Working knowledge of the best practices and trends associatedwith intercollegiate athletics
• Experience in a higher education environment, ideally havingparticipated in a comprehensive campaign, capital campaign, orfundraising for capital projects
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge preferred

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with individuals fromdiverse communities and cultures
• Deep understanding of the principles that drive fundraisingsuccess, including prospect discovery, donor lifecycle,storytelling, and pipeline segmentation and analysis
• Experience in writing proposals and gift agreements
• Demonstrated ability to effectively build relationships andalliances with internal and external audiences
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Knowledge of the field’s best and current concepts, practices,and procedures
• Proven track record of securing major gifts of $25,000 andabove OR comparable results within a business-to-business (B2B) orinside sales setting
• Knowledge of planned giving techniques and vehicles
• Skilled in providing attention to detail
• Empathetic listener with corresponding excellence in verbal andwritten communication
• Ability to maintain accuracy under time pressure with multiplepriorities and deadlines
• Ability to provide discretion with confidentialinformation

Work Environment

– Environmental or atmospheric conditionscommonly associated with the performance of this job’s functions.Please click here to view Lindenwood University’s flexible workdesignation descriptions.

• Flexible work environment consisting of regular in-office andremote workdays as assigned by supervisor
• Occasional night and weekend work
• Serves as regional representative for Lindenwood Advancement;regular travel to assigned region to conduct donor visits andalumni engagement events
• Standard Flex

Physical Abilities

• Ability to work effectively at a computer for up to eight hoursdaily
• Ability to sit and stand for extended periods of time
• Ability to lift/carry items commonly found in an office settingincluding, but not limited to, documents, laptops, etc.
• Adequately mobile to attend events on- and off-campus
• Regular attendance is a necessary and essential function

Equal Opportunity Employer

Lindenwood University is an Equal Opportunity employer. TheUniversity complies with appropriate federal, state, and local lawsand provides equal employment opportunities and access toeducational programs without regard to race, color, religion,gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin,veteran status, disability, or any other protected status to allqualified applicants and employees. Lindenwood University iscommitted to a policy of non-discrimination and dedicated toproviding a positive discrimination-free educational workenvironment.