Senior Associate Vice President for Development and Chief Development Officer
Miami University (Ohio)
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Job summary
Miami University invites applications for the Senior Associate Vice President for Development and Chief Development Officer. The SAVP/CDO will lead a 52-person Development organization, overseeing fundraising strategy, talent, and partnerships with deans and academic leaders.
The role requires strategic judgment, a track record of major gift success, and a culture of accountability and collaboration. Based in Oxford, Ohio, with hybrid work eligibility and regular travel, the compensation ranges
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree required.
- 10+ years of advancement fundraising experience in higher education or a comparable, decentralized, mission-driven organization.
- Proven leadership experience guiding a large development team and managing complex portfolios.
- Willingness to travel and participate in occasional evenings and weekends.
Responsibilities
- Lead Development strategy and performance aligned with institutional priorities and campaign commitments.
- Set annual and multi-year fundraising goals and allocate staff and resources accordingly.
- Use portfolio data to forecast, coach, and address risks; drive donor engagement and stewardship.
- Establish clear expectations for prospect qualification, portfolio management, and fundraiser performance.
- Advise leadership on organizational design, staffing, budgets, and philanthropic opportunities.
Job description
Miami University invites applications for the Senior Associate Vice President for Development and Chief Development Officer. Reporting to Scott Barrett, Vice President for University Advancement and President of the Miami University Foundation, the SAVP/CDO will serve as the chief development officer for both the university and the Foundation and will lead a 52-person Development organization. This is a consequential moment for Miami. The university is entering the final year of its historic $1 billion campaign while identifying the priorities and fundraising model that will sustain philanthropic growth in the years ahead. The next SAVP/CDO will help close the campaign with strength while building the strategy, talent, pipeline, and organizational structure needed for Miami’s next chapter. The role carries broad authority across Development, including responsibility for fundraising strategy, talent, performance, resource allocation, and partnerships with Miami’s deans and academic leaders. The SAVP/CDO will also hold significant leadership responsibilities within the Miami University Foundation. Miami is seeking an experienced fundraiser and people leader who can deliver near-term campaign results while designing what comes next. The strongest candidate will bring strategic judgment, a record of significant gift success, and a commitment to building a culture where accountability, collaboration, and professional growth reinforce one another.
Scott Barrett, Vice President for University Advancement and President of the Miami University Foundation
Chief Development Officer of the Miami University Foundation; Foundation officer; staff liaison to the Foundation Board’s Development Committee
Academic and unit fundraising, intercollegiate athletics, Gift Planning, Foundation Relations, Parent and Family Giving, and the National Team
52 Development staff
For love. For honor. For those who will. | $848.8 million raised toward $1 billion as of June 30, 2026 | campaign concludes June 30, 2027
Based in Oxford, Ohio; eligible for hybrid work; regular travel; occasional evenings and weekends
$225,000-$300,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications; relocation assistance available
The SAVP/CDO will join Miami at a point of momentum and transition and will be expected to provide clarity, steady leadership, and disciplined execution across the Development enterprise.
Lead the frontline Development effort required to close the campaign successfully and position Miami to meet or exceed its goal.
Work with the vice president and advancement leadership to sustain urgency, develop elevated stewardship strategies, strengthen donor engagement, define new priorities and bridge campaigns, and establish a durable fundraising model for the future.
Create consistent expectations for portfolio health, qualification, strategy, movement, forecasting, and collaboration across Advancement.
Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, and professional growth; strengthen managers; recognize strong performance; and recruit, develop, and retain talented advancement professionals.
Assess the current organization, including interim reporting arrangements for several college and unit teams, and recommend a long‑term model that supports deans, fundraisers, and university priorities effectively.
The SAVP/CDO will lead fundraising for Miami's academic colleges and other constituent areas, including the College of Arts and Science, Farmer School of Business, College of Creative Arts, College of Education, Health, and Society, College of Engineering and Computing, Miami Regionals, Student Life, University Libraries, Intercollegiate Athletics, and Parent and Family Giving. The portfolio also includes the National Team, a group of regionally based fundraising generalists, as well as Gift Planning and Foundation Relations.
- Assistant Vice President, Development - Arts & Science
- Associate Vice President, Development & External Relations - Farmer School of Business
- Assistant Vice President, Development - Gift Planning
- Assistant Vice President, Development - Intercollegiate Athletics
- Assistant Vice President, Development - National Team
- Senior Director, Development - College of Creative Arts
- Senior Director, Development - Education, Health & Society
- Senior Director, Development - Engineering and Computing
- Senior Director, Development - Foundation Relations
- Senior Director, Development - Miami Regionals
- Senior Director, Development - Student Life & University Libraries
- Administrative Associate, Development
Several additional college and unit fundraising teams currently report through an interim development leadership arrangement. The incoming SAVP/CDO will assess that model and determine the long‑term structure that best provides clear leadership, strong dean partnerships, equitable support, and effective resource allocation.
- Create and lead a multi-year Development strategy aligned with Miami's institutional priorities, campaign commitments, and post‑campaign ambitions.
- Establish annual and multi-year fundraising goals for Development teams and allocate staff and resources to the strongest opportunities.
- Use pipeline, portfolio, activity, and revenue data to improve forecasting, guide coaching, identify risk, and support timely decisions.
- Set clear and consistent expectations for prospect qualification, portfolio management, donor strategy, collaboration, and fundraiser performance.
- Advise the vice president on Development priorities, organizational design, staffing, budget needs, and emerging philanthropic opportunities.
- Lead Development’s work to complete For love. For honor. For those who will. by June 30, 2027, partnering with the vice president and campaign director to monitor progress, address gaps, coordinate campaign leadership, and maintain momentum across units.
- Partner with Stewardship and Donor Relations, Alumni Relations, and Advancement Marketing and Communications to ensure campaign donors understand the impact of their support and remain engaged in Miami's future.
- Develop a clear post-campaign strategy that sustains pipeline, donor engagement, academic partnership, and fundraising performance beyond the campaign. Works closely with Stewardship and Donor relations to develop an elevated stewardship plan for major gift donors.
- Recruit, retain, coach, evaluate, and develop a strong and diverse team, creating meaningful professional development, mentoring, and career‑growth opportunities across Development.
- Lead through managers by setting expectations, strengthening management practice, developing successors, and holding leaders accountable for both results and team health.
- Address performance concerns promptly, fairly, and directly while maintaining a culture of respect and shared purpose.
- Assess reporting relationships and workload distribution and recommend changes that improve effectiveness and reduce unnecessary friction.
- Serve as a primary Development partner to the provost, deans, and other academic and unit leaders.
- Help institutional leaders identify and refine priorities, assess philanthropic readiness, develop compelling cases for support, and prepare for donor engagement.
- Working with divisional leadership, coordinate presidential, vice presidential, dean, and volunteer involvement in principal‑gift strategy.
- Represent Miami with alumni, donors, prospective donors, corporate and foundation partners, and volunteer leaders.
- Maintain a selective personal portfolio, as appropriate, and personally advance significant gift opportunities.
- Serve as Chief Development Officer and an officer of the Miami University Foundation.
- Present Development strategy, performance, opportunities, and risks regularly to the Foundation Board of Directors.
- Serve as staff liaison to the Foundation Board’s Development Committee and support members in meaningful fundraising and ambassador roles.
- Ensure fundraising practices uphold donor intent, gift acceptance policies, confidentiality, and the highest ethical standards.
- Set clear expectations for Development’s effective use of Slate and other data and reporting tools.
- Communicate Development priorities and results clearly to advancement colleagues, university leaders, Foundation directors, and other stakeholders.
University Advancement is a division of approximately 140 professionals spanning Development, Alumni Relations, Annual Giving, Advancement Marketing and Communications, Operations, Campaign Services, Foundation Administration, Stewardship and Donor Relations, Principal Gifts, and Solutions and Innovation. The division is led by Scott Barrett, who also serves as President of the Miami University Foundation.
Development staff are based in Oxford and in key regions across the country. The SAVP/CDO must be able to lead employees working on campus, in hybrid arrangements, and fully remotely while maintaining clear expectations, strong communication, and a shared sense of purpose.
Miami is implementing Slate as its advancement CRM. The technology transition is part of a broader effort to strengthen data, reporting, portfolio management, and the staff experience. The SAVP/CDO will not own the technical implementation, but will be responsible for setting expectations for Development use, supporting adoption, and ensuring that systems and reports help fundraisers and managers make better decisions.
Miami launched the campaign's fundraising effort in July 2016 and publicly introduced For love. For honor. For those who will. in October 2022. With a goal of $1 billion, it is the largest campaign in university history and is scheduled to conclude June 30, 2027.
RAISED AS OF 6/30/26
CAMPAIGN GOAL
FY26 CASH RECEIVED
FY26 CASH TO ENDOWMENT
Fiscal year 2026 included one principal gift totaling $6.5 million and 18 leadership gifts between $1 million and $4.9 million totaling $27.4 million. Miami expects to meet and exceed the campaign goal by the close date. The most significant priorities still requiring philanthropic support include the humanities, scholarships, and the new multipurpose arena.
Established in 1948, the Miami University Foundation supports the university by receiving, investing, administering, and stewarding private resources. As of June 30, 2026, the Foundation held approximately $1.3 billion in assets. Scott Barrett serves as President of the Foundation.
As Chief Development Officer and an officer of the Foundation, the SAVP/CDO will build trusted relationships with directors, communicate Development performance and opportunity clearly, and help Board members contribute meaningfully as ambassadors, connectors, and philanthropic leaders.
Founded in 1809, Miami University is one of the nation’s oldest public universities and is recognized as one of the original Public Ivies. Miami is a comprehensive public research university serving students through a broad academic enterprise grounded in the liberal arts and strengthened by high-quality professional and graduate programs.
Miami serves more than 22,000 students across its Oxford campus, regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, the Voice of America Learning Center in West Chester, Miami Online, and the John E. Dolibois European Center in Luxembourg. In fall 2025, the Oxford campus enrolled 16,240 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students, while the regional locations enrolled more than 3,850 students combined.
Miami's academic enterprise includes the College of Arts and Science, Farmer School of Business, College of Creative Arts, College of Education, Health, and Society, College of Engineering and Computing, College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science, and the Graduate School, along with the Honors College and a broad network of centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs.
Miami combines the reach and resources of a public research university with the personal attention and community often associated with a smaller institution. Its nationally recognized teacher‑scholar model gives undergraduates meaningful access to faculty, research, internships, education abroad, and leadership opportunities.
The fall 2025 first-year class included 32% non-Ohio residents and 17% first‑generation students. Miami's 70% four‑year graduation rate is the second highest among Ohio public universities, and its six‑year graduation rate for the fall 2019 cohort was 80%. Graduates from 2024 achieved a 98.2% overall success rate, including employment, continuing education, military service, and volunteer service.
- All full‑time first‑ and second‑year students live on campus unless they qualify for an exemption, reinforcing a residential experience that connects learning and community.
- Students choose from more than 600 clubs and organizations, including service, academic, career, cultural, special‑interest, fraternity, and sorority groups.
- Miami is nationally recognized for education abroad and ranked No. 4 among public doctoral universities for undergraduate participation in the 2024 Open Doors report.
- Miami sponsors 18 varsity sports, along with more than 50 club sports and extensive recreation programs.
- Miami student‑athletes earned a 3.35 GPA in spring 2026, marking the 43rd consecutive semester with a collective GPA of 3.0 or higher.
- No. 2 among national public universities for excellence in undergraduate teaching, according to U.S. News & World Report.
- No. 1 among Ohio public universities for return on investment, according to Payscale.
- Named a Top 35 Best Value Public College by The Princeton Review.
- No. 10 among public universities for internships, according to The Princeton Review.
- More than 2,400 undergraduates engage in research alongside faculty members each year.
- No. 8 among public university undergraduate entrepreneurship programs, according to U.S. News & World Report.
- No. 5 among honors colleges in the United States, according to College Transitions.
Miami University is located within the traditional homelands of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma. The relationship between the sovereign Tribal Nation and the public university is tribally led and university supported, grounded in reciprocity, mutual respect, and learning from each other. The Myaamia Center, a Miami Tribe of Oklahoma initiative located at the university, advances language and cultural revitalization through research, education, and outreach. The Myaamia word neepwaantiinki, meaning "learning from each other," reflects the spirit of this relationship.
MiamiTHRIVE is Miami University's strategic transformation effort, launched in fall 2023 in response to a changing higher education landscape. The work is designed to strengthen Miami's teaching, research, and service missions while reimagining how the university can meet the evolving needs of students and the communities it serves. More than 1,500 faculty, staff, and students participated in the process, helping identify 55 broad ideas for evaluation and development.
The work is now in its implementation phase and is guided by three priorities: Student‑Centered Transformative Ideas, an Unwavering Commitment to Excellence, and Mission‑Focused Operational Efficiency. Initiatives include the Office of Strategic Transformation, Miami University Polytechnic, a reshaped Hub for the Humanities, and the multipurpose arena.
For the SAVP/CDO, MiamiTHRIVE will provide an important pipeline of emerging philanthropic opportunities. The leader will work with academic and institutional partners to assess readiness, shape compelling priorities, and test donor interest.
The SAVP/CDO will join Miami as the university aligns a new provost and a new vice president for University Advancement around the final year of the campaign and the next phase of MiamiTHRIVE. The leader will work closely with the following senior leaders.
Gregory P. Crawford has served as Miami University's 22nd president since July 2016. His leadership has emphasized student success, interdisciplinary collaboration, inclusive excellence, research growth, external partnership, and the long‑term strength of Miami's residential undergraduate experience. He launched Miami's $1 billion campaign and MiamiTHRIVE, and he remains an active partner in advancing the university's highest philanthropic priorities.
Before joining Miami, Crawford served as vice president and associate provost at the University of Notre Dame and as the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of Notre Dame's College of Science. He previously served as dean of engineering at Brown University. An accomplished scholar and inventor, he earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Kent State University.
Trent Gould began serving as Miami's provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs on July 1, 2026. He joined Miami after 23 years at The University of Southern Mississippi, including 18 years in administrative leadership. Most recently, he served as dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences and professor in the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition.
As dean, Gould led 12.2% enrollment growth and established offices dedicated to research support and student success. During his tenure, research dollars proposed increased by 82%, while dollars awarded increased by 193%. A first‑generation college graduate and Ohio native, Gould brings strengths in execution, change leadership, research growth, external partnership, and student success. He will be a central partner to the SAVP/CDO in translating academic priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities.
Scott Barrett began serving as Miami's vice president for University Advancement and President of the Miami University Foundation on July 1, 2026. He joined Miami from Stony Brook University, where he served as interim vice president for University Advancement and interim executive director of the Stony Brook Foundation. At Stony Brook, Barrett led an advancement organization of 160 that raised more than $1.1 billion in gifts and pledges.
Barrett's career spans annual giving, major gifts, alumni relations, foundation leadership, and advancement strategy at Stony Brook, Syracuse University's Maxwell School, Le Moyne College, Hamilton College, California State University‑Dominguez Hills, and Bassett Healthcare Network. As Miami completes its campaign, Barrett has emphasized both finishing successfully and building a sustainable advancement model for the future. The SAVP/CDO will serve as Barrett’s senior partner in leading the Development enterprise.
Miami's main campus is located in Oxford, Ohio, a classic college town with a walkable Uptown district, locally owned shops and restaurants, arts and cultural programs, community events, and a strong connection between the university and the city. Miami's Oxford grounds span more than 2,400 acres and are known for their red‑brick, modified Georgian architecture.
More than 1,000 acres are preserved as Miami University Natural Areas, offering an extensive network of trails for hiking, running, research, and reflection. Hueston Woods State Park is nearby, and the campus provides access to university arts, athletics, recreation, and lifelong learning opportunities.
Oxford is approximately 35 miles northwest of Cincinnati and 45 miles southwest of Dayton. Both metropolitan areas offer major airports, professional sports, arts and culture, health care, industry, and broad employment options for relocating families. The position is based in Oxford and will require a regular in‑person presence.
- Bachelor's degree.
- At least 10 years of progressively responsible advancement experience in higher education or a comparably complex, decentralized, mission‑driven organization.
- Significant leadership experience managing through other leaders and guiding a complex or geographically distributed fundraising organization.
- Demonstrated leadership in a comprehensive campaign or another fundraising effort of comparable scale and complexity.
- A record of personally securing seven‑figure gifts and leading teams that secure seven‑ and eight‑figure commitments.
- Demonstrated success recruiting, retaining, coaching, evaluating, and developing fundraising professionals and managers.
- Experience building productive relationships with presidents, provosts, deans, trustees or Foundation directors, volunteers, and other senior leaders.
- Strong understanding of major gifts, principal gifts, gift planning, foundation relations, academic fundraising, donor strategy, and stewardship.
- Fluency with advancement CRM systems, prospect and pipeline reporting, data analytics, and digital tools used to support fundraising strategy and management.
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly and participate in occasional evening and weekend activities.
- An advanced degree.
- Experience helping an institution complete a campaign and transition into a post‑campaign environment.
- Experience assessing organizational structure, leading change, and reallocating talent and resources to support strategic priorities.
- Experience partnering with auniversity‑affiliatedfoundation and presenting to a governing board or board committee.
- Experience developing philanthropic priorities and cases for support in partnership with academic leaders.
- Experience strengthening major‑ and principal‑gift collaboration in a decentralized fundraising organization.
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