Executive Director, Advancement — Major Gifts Leader (Boston)

NU USA Northeastern University; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 228,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

medical

vision

dental

paid time off

tuition assistance

wellness & life

retirement

commuting & transportation

Job summary

Executive Director, Advancement at Northeastern University in Boston leads an interdisciplinary fundraising team to secure major and principal gifts across colleges and campuses. The ED manages a portfolio of 80+ prospects, develops comprehensive solicitation strategies, and partners with academic leaders to align fundraising with university priorities globally.

The role requires traveling roughly 60% of the time, leveraging Ascend for activity tracking, and guiding colleges to maximize

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Master’s Degree preferred.
• 8+ years of progressive major gifts fund-raising experience, preferably in higher education.
• Proven track record in soliciting and closing major and principal gifts.
• Demonstrated ability to strategically lead a team, manage a comprehensive program, and hold fundraisers accountable for meeting ambitious fundraising goals.
• Data- and metric-driven mindset.
• Tested ability to work closely with all constituencies.
• Strong interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with external and internal constituents.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to travel frequently (anticipated 60% of the time).

Responsibilities

• Develop a sound program to facilitate and increase principal and major giving.
• Visit an assigned pool of approximately 80 prospects, suspects, and donors to assess interest and capacity to give.
• Develop and manage relationships with these individuals.
• Discover, cultivate, and solicit alumni, parent, and friend prospects and donors.
• Utilize virtual meeting technologies and travel as needed to build relationships.
• Actively solicit at $500K-$5M gift levels.
• Log activity and maintain data integrity in Ascend.
• Meet/exceed standard performance expectations (80 personal contacts per year).
• Collaborate with content colleagues to increase major and principal gift commitments.
• Provide strategic prospect management and direction to colleges/programs/campuses.

Skills

Major gifts fundraising

Leadership

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Data-driven mindset

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Master’s Degree preferred

Tools

Ascend donor software

Job description

Executive Director, Advancement at Northeastern University in Boston leads an interdisciplinary fundraising team to secure major and principal gifts across colleges and campuses. The ED manages a portfolio of 80+ prospects, develops comprehensive solicitation strategies, and partners with academic leaders to align fundraising with university priorities globally.

The role requires traveling roughly 60% of the time, leveraging Ascend for activity tracking, and guiding colleges to maximize