Senior Associate Vice President, Institutional Advancement

Meharry Medical College; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Meharry Medical College seeks a Senior Associate Vice President to lead Institutional Advancement, shaping fundraising strategy and building a scalable infrastructure for donor engagement. The SAVP will oversee a small team, cultivate leadership gifts, and drive campaigns such as Campaign 150 while coordinating with senior leaders and trustees.

The role requires a Bachelor's degree and 10+ years in advancement; a Master's is preferred.

Qualifications

• Ten or more years of progressive advancement leadership.
• Experience in major gifts, annual giving, alumni relations, and campaigns.
• Strong collaboration with trustees, senior administration, volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Provide guidance and strategic direction for Institutional Advancement, including structure, staffing, goals, and professional development.
• Oversee planning and implementation of all programs to enhance philanthropic support, including Campaign 150.
• Manage cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a small portfolio of leadership gift prospects.
• Plan and support fundraising activities of the Deans and leadership; serve as proxy for SVP as needed.
• Coordinate with the Board of Trustees to ensure progress of fundraising activities.
• Directly manage four to six staff responsible for annual/major/planned giving, alumni relations, donor communications, and operations.
• Represent the College at events and in the community to increase visibility of advancement priorities.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Skills

Fundraising

Leadership

Strategic Planning

Relationship Building

Data-driven

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Job description

Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Institutional Advancement, the Senior Associate Vice President (SAVP) is the second most senior development officer within Institutional Advancement. The SAVP is responsible for direct oversight of all fundraising programs, including principal, major and planned giving, annual giving, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, donor communications, stewardship, prospect research, and the operations that support fundraising activities. The SAVP will manage the Institutional Advancement team, with four direct reports, anticipated to grow to six in the next two years. The SAVP will carry and cultivate a small portfolio of leadership giving prospects. The primary focus of the SAVP is to develop fundraising plans and through execution of those plans, establish a sound infrastructure for the Institutional Advancement team. They will also implement new metrics established by Meharry to evaluate the performance of individual gift officers and the entire Institutional Advancement team. Additionally, they will build on and expand Meharry's culture of philanthropy and help maximize the internal capacity and fundraising results delivered by the Institutional Advancement team. With the Senior Vice President, the SAVP will advise on fundraising strategies for the College, including Campaign 150, the College's $350 million capital campaign.

Daily Operations

Provide guidance and strategic direction for Institutional Advancement, including structure, staffing, goals, and professional development.Oversee the planning and implementation of all programs and activities designed to enhance philanthropic support of the College, including the Campaign 150, by helping to establish goals for all units, and by directing the strategic implementation and assessment of fundraising and engagement strategies to achieve those goals.Manage the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a small portfolio of leadership gift prospects through personal visits and other forms of communicationPlan and support all fundraising and constituent activities of the Associate Deans. WhereSenior Associate Vice President will serve as a proxy for the Senior Vice President.Work with the Chair of the Board of Trustees and other leaders on the Board to ensure coordination and continued progress of all fundraising and constituent engagement activities.Directly manage four to six professional staff members who have responsibility for annual giving, principal, major and planned giving, alumni relations, corporate and foundation relations, donor communications, stewardship, prospect research, and advancement operations.Represent the College at events, to volunteer groups, and in the community with the goal of increasing the visibility of Meharry's advancement priorities and needs.Performs other related duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience as a successful fundraiser in a complex and dynamic environment such as a higher education institution, healthcare and hospital system, or voluntary health association.
• Previous capital campaign experience, ideally in a higher education institution.
• The ability to help determine the fundraising priorities of Meharry Medical College.
• A collaborative and inspiring approach that is supported by data-centered rigor and a strong emphasis on accountability.
• Creative and entrepreneurial thinking.
• Leadership presence that is effective with a variety of constituencies, including trustees, faculty, senior administration, and high-level volunteers.
• Authentic appreciation for the role that Meharry Medical College plays as a premier medical college and a Historically Black College and University institution.
• The ability to travel 30%, independently and with advancement team members.

Education and Experience:

• A Bachelor's degree is required.
• A Master's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience would be an advantage.
• Ten or more years of progressive advancement leadership.

Education and Experience Preferred:

• A Master's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience would be an advantage.
• Ten or more years of progressive advancement leadership.