Senior Advancement Officer

DC101 Dickinson College; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Life insurance

Flexible spending accounts

Generous time off

Parental leave

Homebuyer assistance

Tuition benefits

Job summary

Dickinson College is seeking a senior-level gift officer for Major & Planned Gifts to engage alumni, parents, and friends. You will align donor interests with Dickinson's priorities, build strong relationships, and solicit gifts up to seven figures while stewarding donors for ongoing engagement.

Significant travel and campus connection are required. The role emphasizes relationship development, donor cultivation planning, and collaboration with the advancement team to meet fundraising goals and

Qualifications

• Experience in major gifts fundraising and donor engagement.
• Ability to identify donor passions and develop strategies to meet philanthropic goals.
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Solicit gifts of $100,000 or more from alumni, parents and friends.
• Manage relationships with donors in assigned regions, including identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Maintain a portfolio of prospects and coordinate with the major gift team to achieve departmental goals.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Relationship building

Major gifts

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Position Department Advancement - Major & Planned Gifts

Posting Details Dickinson College is a premier four-year residential liberal arts institution chartered in 1783 and widely recognized as a leader in global and sustainability education.

Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, named a "most livable city" by Forbes and is minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping and entertainment options. Within a two-hour drive are Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; New York City is three hours away.

Dickinson College offers full-time employees a broad range of benefits, including a comprehensive medical insurance plan, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous time off, parental leave, homebuyer assistance, and tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24.

• comprehensive medical insurance plan
• life insurance
• flexible spending accounts
• generous time off
• parental leave
• homebuyer assistance
• tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24

• Upon eligibility, the College contributes 8% of an employee’s base salary to a retirement account with an additional .5% matching contribution; all money paid by the college into the employee’s retirement plan is immediately and fully vested in the employee.

Job Summary/Basic Function

This senior-level gift officer engages alumni, parents, and friends to align their philanthropic interests with Dickinson's fundraising priorities. The role focuses on building and strengthening relationships through personal outreach, identifying donor passions, developing strategies that help donors achieve their philanthropic goals. The position will solicit gifts up to 7-figures, and also steward major and planned giving donors to deepen engagement and grow support over time. In addition to major gift fundraising, and regional engagement, the role may lead or support special fundraising initiatives in donor-aligned affinity areas as approved. Significant travel is required, as is the willingness and ability to maintain strong connections to the campus community.

Position Summary

Working with alumni, parents, and friends to facilitate their engagement with the college and to find a match between their philanthropic interests and Dickinson's fundraising priorities, the position expectations include meeting with these individuals in person. The position is focused on developing relationships, learning about potential donor passions and interests, and planning steps that will allow them to fulfill their philanthropic goals with Dickinson. Also, this position works with prior major and planned giving donors to Dickinson to continue to steward them, deepen the relationship, and increase their support over time. In addition to major gift work, this senior level gift officer position will facilitate special efforts as approved around viable affinity areas of interest to donors.

Essential Functions

• Solicit gifts of $100,000 or more from alumni, parents and friends.
• Manage the philanthropic relationship of alumni, parents and friends who reside in assigned regions, that includes, but is not limited to, their identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Manage a portfolio of 125-135 prospects, performing all administrative work essential to keeping information current in the database (prioritizing prospects, writing strategies, completing reports, etc.).
• Collaborate with colleagues on the major gift team and the broader College Advancement staff to fulfill the identified goals of the department. These activities could include, but are not limited to, staffing events, supporting other gift officers in their indentification, cultivation and solicitation of donors, and soliciting gifts for the Dickinson Fund.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Collaborate with colleagues within the department and across campus.
• Attend staff meetings.
• Other duties as determined or assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Not responsible for supervising others.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Valid driver's license for the operation of a company-owned, rented or leased vehicle.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain strong relationships with prospective donors through effective one-on-one engagement.
• Advanced verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple prospects, meetings, and follow-up activities.
• Strong strategic thinking skills, including the ability to develop and execute donor cultivation and solicitation plans.
• Analytical skills to assess donor interests, giving capacity, and engagement opportunities.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism in handling sensitive and confidential information.
• Strong intuition and emotional intelligence, with the ability to connect genuinely with individuals and understand their motivations and interests.
• Self-motivated and results-oriented, with the ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with colleagues and campus partners.
• Ability to plan, prioritize, and follow through on action items resulting from donor meetings and engagement activities.
• Flexibility and willingness to travel regularly for donor visits, events, and college functions.
• Availability to attend and represent the College at evening and weekend events as needed.

Minimum Work Experience

5-8 years

Equipment Used

Standard office equipment.

Physical and Environmental Demands

Office environment.

No specific physical demands.

EEO/Diversity Statement

The College is committed to building a representative and diverse faculty, staff, and student body. We encourage applications from all qualified persons.

Dickinson College is a premier four-year residential liberal arts institution chartered in 1783 and widely recognized as a leader in global and sustainability education. Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, named a "most livable city" by Forbes and minutes from the state capital of Harrisburg. The campus is connected to a vibrant downtown that offers eclectic dining, shopping and entertainment options. Within a two-hour drive are Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.; New York City is three hours away. We invite you to take a virtual tour of our campus and explore our Careers at Dickinson College video.

Dickinson College offers full time employees a broad range of Benefits including a comprehensive medical insurance plan, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, generous time off, parental leave, homebuyer assistance, and tuition benefits for eligible employees and dependent children under the age of 24. Upon eligibility, the College contributes 8% of an employee’s base salary to a retirement account with an additional .5% matching contribution; all money paid by the college into the employee’s retirement plan is immediately and fully vested in the employee.

Dickinson welcomes those who are seeking to be part of an intellectual and social community that values justice, free inquiry, diversity, and equal opportunity. It is a fundamental policy of the college to respect pluralism, civility and mutual understanding within its community. The college does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or any other protected class. We encourage applications from all qualified persons.

Individuals with disablities who require an accommodation to complete the employment process should contact Human Resource Services at [phone], [e-mail] or by visiting our offices Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (ET).

You must submit your application for each position for which you would like to be considered. All applications must be submitted electronically by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the closing date indicated.

If you have accepted any position at Dickinson College, there are key pieces of documentation that are needed to complete the hiring process. Be sure to review the list of acceptable Form I-9 documents, List of Acceptable Documents.

Employees must complete the Form I-9 to document verification of their identity and employment authorization. Employment with Dickinson College is contingent upon satisfactory completion of a background check, which may include a criminal background check, reference checks, verification of work history, and verification of any required academic credentials, licenses, and/or certifications, with results acceptable to Dickinson College to ensure a safe learning and work environment for our students, staff, and faculty. A criminal conviction will not automatically disqualify an applicant from employment. Background check information will be used in a confidential, non-discriminatory manner consistent with state and federal law. Federal legislation requires institutions of higher education to inform prospective members of our community about its most recent crime/incident statistics, crime prevention and security programs and activities, policies concerning the reporting of crime, and related information in accordance with the Campus Security Act, commonly referred to as the Clery Act. You can obtain this information by contacting the Department of Public Safety, Dickinson College, 400 W. North St - Rear, Carlisle, PA 17013 or call (717)-245-1349.