Regional Director of Development

Illinois Wesleyan University; Bloomington (IN); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 91,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Retirement plans

Tuition programs

Job summary

Illinois Wesleyan University is seeking a Regional Director of Development to build and maintain relationships with alumni and prospective donors. This role includes responsibilities for soliciting annual, major, and planned gifts.

The ideal candidate should have a bachelor's degree in business or a related field and at least three years of experience in fundraising or sales. The position offers a salary range of $60,000-$91,000 based on qualifications.

Remote work options are available for candidates residing in certain states.

Qualifications

• Experience in direct fundraising for mid to large sized gifts.
• Three years of experience in sales and/or business development required.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to navigate conversations across differing viewpoints.

Responsibilities

• Cultivate relationships for annual, major, and planned gifts.
• Document all contacts and communications with prospects.
• Develop key internal relationships for fundraising priorities.

Skills

Fundraising experience

Relationship building

Communication skills

Sales experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, sales or similar

Job description

Regional Director of Development (continuous recruitment)

Human Resources

The University’s Office for Advancement is building a talent pool for future Regional Director of Development (RDD) positions. Responsible for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding alumni, parents, and friends of IWU for annual, major, and planned gifts. Build and strengthen relationships within an assigned portfolio and facilitate philanthropy at the major gift level. As an externally facing position, this role is expected to serve as an informed spokesperson for the University.

This is a continuous recruitment effort, intended to build a qualified talent pool for future Regional Director of Development opportunities at Illinois Wesleyan University. By applying, you are expressing interest in future vacancies. While these positions are intended to be on-campus, remote work opportunities may be considered. Generous benefits include health, retirement, considerable time off and access to multiple tuition programs for self and dependents.

Responsibilities:

• Cultivate meaningful relationships on behalf of Illinois Wesleyan with assigned prospects to personally solicit for annual, major, and planned gifts to the University; close endowed gifts (outright and deferred) and high level annual gifts from those prospects over time; exceed annual overall production goals; make 150 personal visits to prospects a year, providing consistent and timely communication and experiences to the prospects to create long‑last relationships; plan logistics of University leadership when meeting prospects; directly collaborate with the Director of Planned & Structured Giving.
• Document all contacts, communications, visits, opportunities, and other related information about prospects in a timely manner; in collaboration with the AVP and VP for Advancement, create and sustain annual goals for assigned portfolio; evaluation of prospects; partner within the department to support annual and major gift stewardship; periodically assigned special projects ensuring data accuracy
• Develop key internal relationships with campus partners (athletics, school deans) to identify fundraising priorities; leverage key partnerships for fundraising visits; actively participate in department and alumni relations activities; other duties as assigned by VP and AVPs of Advancement

Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in field of business, marketing, sales or similar field preferred; experience and accomplishment in direct fundraising for mid to large sized gifts, may substitute for education. A CFRE is desirable.
• Three years’ of externally-focused, sales, and/or business development experience required. Candidates with a track record of success in goal oriented positions will be considered.
• Comfortable speaking with those in executive positions.
• Excellent communication skills--oral, written, and listening.
• Strong people and relationship‑building skills with constituents from a variety of backgrounds and a range of generations. Ability to navigate conversations across differing viewpoints.
• Ability to function with a high degree of independence and work within a team. Demonstrate a strong work ethic and experience producing positive results within a goal‑oriented and collaborative environment.
• This person will represent IWU with an ethical, professional and positive approach, collaborating with other members of Advancement and the University to create consistent messages to constituents and/or prospects.
• Frequent travel, occasional evening and weekend hours; 12 to 15 overnight trips per year.
• Valid US driver's license.

$60,000-$91,000 and commensurate with qualifications and experience

On‑campus preferred (Bloomington, IL); Remote work residing in the following states may be considered (AR, FL, IL, IN, MI, MO, MS, NC, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, WI, WV)

The final candidate will pass a pre‑employment background investigation.

Illinois Wesleyan University is committed to recruiting, supporting, and fostering a community that values a wide range of perspectives and backgrounds among our outstanding faculty, staff, and students. We seek candidates who have a demonstrated commitment to contributing to and enhancing our community in these areas. Illinois Wesleyan University is an EEO Employer. Illinois Wesleyan University’s sexual misconduct policy may be accessed at www.iwu.edu/human-resources/SexualMisconductPolicy.html. Illinois Wesleyan University is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to promoting excellence through a variety of viewpoints; details at www.iwu.edu/diversity.