Leadership Giving Officer, Athletics

CP02 University of New Hampshire Foundation; Durham (NH); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

UNH Foundation seeks a Development professional to lead leadership gifts for Athletics, managing a portfolio of donors capable of $25K–$99,999 gifts. The role emphasizes relationship building, proposals, and pipeline movement across annual and major giving tracks.

The position is hybrid, requires travel within New Hampshire and occasionally beyond, and collaboration with the Athletics Director, coaches, and Development colleagues to achieve annual revenue and alumni participation goals.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years fundraising or related experience.
• Ability to build relationships with leadership donors and teams.
• Strong communication and proposal development skills.

Responsibilities

• Grow and manage a leadership gifts portfolio of $25K–$99,999.
• Conduct up to 150 donor visits annually via video, phone or in person.
• Develop funding proposals aligning donor priorities with Athletics goals.
• Solicit leadership gifts to meet annual revenue targets.
• Collaborate with Development to achieve alumni participation goals.
• Move prospects through giving pipelines with cross-team coordination.
• Qualify/disqualify prospects for leadership giving.
• Steward donors to maximize long-term engagement.

Skills

Donor prospecting

Relationship management

Communication skills

Planning & project management

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

CRM systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

Duties/Responsibilities

Frontline Fundraising (80%) Manage and actively expand a portfolio consisting of Athletics constituents capable of making leadership level gifts in the range of $25K to $99,999; maintain frequent contact with these individuals and organizations to build relationships and increase philanthropic support.

Conduct up to 150 visits each year with prospects and potential prospects via video conferencing, phone, and/or in person; meeting this activity goal will require travel across the state, region, and, on occasion, the U.S. When needed, engage the Athletics Director, coaches, and staff in these visits.

Craft meaningful funding proposals to facilitate leadership level gifts and multiyear commitments that align with the donors’ and the Athletics Director’s fundraising and/or strategic priorities.

Solicit gifts of all levels for Athletics, with a focus on leadership level gifts, from assigned prospects and other donors or potential donors to achieve annual revenue goals.

Assist the entire Development team with achieving alumni participation goals, overall for the university and for Athletics. This will require engagement in key campaigns such as the annual (603) Challenge and year end pushes.

Facilitate pipeline movement across all laterals of the Development spectrum (Annual Giving, Leadership Giving, Major Giving, and Planned Giving), working closely with colleagues to successfully transition prospects.

Qualify new prospects and disqualify prospects for leadership level giving by conducting a series of steps that deem their affinity and inclination to engage philanthropically at that level.

Steward prospects and donors through their philanthropic journey with UNH Athletics with the goal of maximizing their donor potential.

Utilize CRM database, reports, and other available technologies to efficiently manage, engage and expand your portfolio.

Leadership Giving Program Strategy, Planning & Coordination (20%) Plan and execute leadership level giving communications and marketing for Athletics in partnership with colleagues across the Leadership and Annual Giving teams, utilizing all available channels (mail, phone, email, social media, etc.).

Plan and facilitate leadership level cultivation and stewardship activities (events, programs, and other touchpoints) in partnership with Development colleagues.

Consult with leadership, coaches, and staff across UNH Athletics on the above tactics, engaging them in strategies when possible and ensuring efforts align with the Athletics Director’s priorities and vision.

Partner with the Managing Director of Leadership and Annual Giving to determine annual goals for all individual and unit level metrics.

Regularly monitor progress through reports and ensure data is recorded timely and accurately; work to ensure these goals are all achieved each year.

Work collaboratively across all Development and Advancement teams to support both the division and university in its fundraising goals and strategic plans, and to ensure that leadership giving strategies align with overall fundraising and engagement strategies and vice versa.

Participate in events, programs, meetings, and initiatives that support UNH and Athletics as directed by Development, Advancement, and the Athletics Director.

Requirements Minimum Acceptable Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Minimum of 5 years of fundraising experience or more years of experience in a relevant field (sales, business development, account/relationship management, marketing and/or public relations).

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Demonstrated understanding of the relevance of philanthropy and Development expertise.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, about fundraising support; requires the ability to build rapport in an open, friendly, and accepting way, listen attentively, and change the thinking of, or gain acceptance of, others in varied situations.
• Exceptionally strong interpersonal skills and experience interacting with a wide range of internal and external constituents.
• Exceptionally strong organizational skills and ability to juggle and prioritize a multitude of projects/tasks.
• Exceptionally strong analytical skills and experience working in an environment driven by metrics.
• Orientation as a team player and demonstrated strength at partnering with peers, management, and leadership and collaborating across university units and departments.
• Demonstrated understanding of the responsibility to maintain sensitive information and appreciation of ethics and compliance.
• Proficiency in database technologies and Microsoft Office and technological/data acumen.

Other Requirements

• Openness to travel on behalf of UNH for donor/prospect visits or as the university’s representative, including local, regional, and domestic trips.
• This is a hybrid position.
• The expectation is that employees reside within reasonable distance to the Durham, NH campus (under two hours) so they are available to come to campus as often as business needs dictate.
• The hiring manager will clarify exact expectation of in person versus remote working time.

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of the fundraising profession, theories, and standards.
• Knowledge of philanthropy policies, practices, and systems.
• Familiarity with a university setting and fundraising campaigns.
• Familiarity with collegiate athletics.
• Experience with portfolio and volunteer engagement.

About the UNH Foundation (UNHF) and UNH Development

Established in 1989, the UNHF exists to build private philanthropic support for the university with the goal of strengthening programs and supporting students, faculty and staff. The UNH Development team is the fundraising arm of the UNHF, working to advance the mission of the university by inspiring giving among alumni, parents/families, friends, employees, corporations, and foundations. Our donor centered approach connects stakeholders’ passions and philanthropic goals to funding opportunities at UNH, resulting in meaningful and lasting impacts across the university. The Development team is structured to ensure every level of the donor pyramid is poised for growth and success in the short and long term, with staff focused on annual giving, leadership giving, major giving, principal and planned giving, and foundation relations. Further, most team members are assigned to fundraise for a specific area of the university, supported by Development leadership and operations staff who work across the various teams. Our team is ambitious about the potential of our fundraising outcomes, embraces diverse perspectives, commits to professional growth, operates with integrity and collaborates in every way possible. Please join us!

Hybrid Workplace Expectation

University Advancement has implemented a hybrid work model, and this is a hybrid position. The expectation is that employees reside within reasonable distance to the Durham, NH campus (under two hours) so they are available to come to campus as often as business needs dictate, which vary depending on the position and assigned areas. The hiring manager will clarify exact expectation of in person versus remote working time for each specific position.

The University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire is an R1 Carnegie classification research institution providing comprehensive, high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs of distinction. UNH is located in Durham on a 188-acre campus, 60 miles north of Boston and 8 miles from the Atlantic coast and is convenient to New Hampshire’s lakes and mountains. There is a student enrollment of 13,000 students, with a full-time faculty of over 600, offering 90 undergraduate and more than 70 graduate programs. The University actively promotes a dynamic learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds pursue academic goals with mutual respect and shared inquiry.

EEO Statement

The University System of New Hampshire is an Equal Opportunity/Equal Access employer. The University System is committed to creating an environment that values and supports diversity and inclusiveness across our campus communities and encourages applications from qualified individuals who will help us achieve this mission. The University System prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or marital status.

Compensation Pay Range

$69,560.00 - $124,580.00

The pay range for this position is listed above. Actual offer will be based on skills, qualifications, experience, and internal equity, in addition to relevant business considerations.

More information on benefits can be found here: USNH Employee Benefits | Human Resources

Location: Durham

Are you an employee of KSC, PSU, UNH or the system office? Apply internally within Workday through the Jobs Hub app. The University System of New Hampshire is the largest provider of postsecondary education in the Granite State. With approximately 30,000 enrolled students annually and more than 90,000 alumni living in state, the institutions of the University System - the University of New Hampshire - Durham, the University of New Hampshire School of Law, the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, Plymouth State University, and Keene State College - have a direct impact on hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire citizens every year.