Senior Director for Advancement - Student Success

University of Missouri-Columbia; Columbia Township (MO); On-site; USD 82,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

Retirement plan matching

Tuition Assistance

Paid time off

Job summary

The Senior Director for Advancement - Student Success at the University of Missouri System leads philanthropic strategies to enhance undergraduate student access, persistence, and achievement across MU. This role partners with alumni, foundations, and donors to secure investments that expand opportunities and improve the student experience at MU.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for University Programs, the role requires strategic fundraising, strong relationship-building, and the

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent plus 6+ years of fundraising experience.
• Proven ability to secure major gifts and develop donor relationships.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Experience in higher education fundraising preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop philanthropic opportunities that advance undergraduate student success and academic achievement, with a focus on undergraduate research and experiential learning, student engagement and success initiatives, academic support services, and programs that improve retention, persistence, achievement, and graduation.
• Support initiatives that strengthen students' preparation for graduate education and careers and enhance the overall undergraduate experience.
• Advance opportunities focused on access, affordability, and opportunity, including scholarships and financial support, emergency and basic-needs assistance, financial literacy, wellness and wraparound services.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

6+ years fundraising experience

Job description

Hiring Department

Advancement

Job Description

The Senior Director for Advancement - Student Success is a senior fundraising professional responsible for developing and executing comprehensive philanthropic strategies to advance student success, access, persistence, and achievement across the University of Missouri.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice Chancellor for University Programs, this position will lead fundraising efforts for programs and priorities within the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies, the Division of Student Affairs, Financial Aid and other areas supporting student success. The position will build meaningful relationships with alumni, parents and families, foundations, corporations, and other philanthropic partners to secure investments that expand opportunity, remove barriers to student success, and enhance the overall student experience.

The Senior Director will serve as a strategic partner to advancement colleagues, university leaders, faculty, staff, and campus stakeholders, translating institutional priorities into compelling philanthropic opportunities. The successful candidate will bring an understanding of the factors that influence student access, retention, persistence, academic achievement, and graduation and will be able to articulate the transformative impact of philanthropy on students and their ability to thrive at Mizzou.

This position will have significant responsibility for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major philanthropic prospects and will be expected to achieve ambitious fundraising and activity goals. The Senior Director will work collaboratively across Advancement and campus to develop coordinated strategies, strengthen donor relationships, and maximize philanthropic support for student success and access.

Job Responsibilities

The Senior Director will develop philanthropic opportunities that advance undergraduate student success and academic achievement, with a focus on undergraduate research and experiential learning, student engagement and success initiatives, academic support services, and programs that improve retention, persistence, achievement, and graduation. The role will also support initiatives that strengthen students' preparation for graduate education and careers and enhance the overall undergraduate experience.

In addition, the Senior Director will develop opportunities supporting student organizations and leadership development, recreation and club sports, student well-being and belonging, and programs that strengthen student connection, engagement, and persistence. Priorities will also include services and programs that help students overcome barriers and fully engage in the Mizzou experience.

The Senior Director will also advance opportunities focused on access, affordability, and opportunity, including scholarships and financial support, emergency and basic-needs assistance, financial literacy, wellness and wraparound services. These efforts will focus on reducing financial and other barriers to enrollment and helping students remain enrolled, succeed academically, and graduate.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy and Portfolio Management

• Develop and execute comprehensive strategies for student success and access priorities; manage a portfolio of approximately 30-50 major gift prospects, building a strong pipeline and achieving annual fundraising, visit, proposal, and pipeline goals.
• Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward individual, family, corporate, and foundation prospects; develop individualized strategies and maintain accurate prospect activity and outcomes in the university CRM.

Donor Engagement and Solicitation

• Build meaningful, long-term donor relationships by connecting philanthropic interests with compelling opportunities; conduct strategic visits and develop customized cultivation and solicitation strategies.
• Lead or participate in major gift solicitations and stewardship, partnering on proposals, presentations, and high-level donor engagement.

Campus Partnership and Collaboration

• Serve as a trusted fundraising partner to advancement colleagues, university leaders, faculty, staff, and program leaders, helping translate fundraising strategies and institutional priorities into coordinated engagement and solicitation.
• Collaborate across Advancement and campus to facilitate enterprise-wide opportunities, share prospect intelligence, and build a culture of shared ownership and coordinated engagement.

Program Development and Philanthropic Opportunity

• Partners with university leaders and program staff to identify and develop compelling, donor-centered philanthropic priorities, including annual, programmatic, endowed, scholarship, and transformational opportunities.
• Assess emerging student needs and institutional priorities and develop cases for support that establish clear outcomes, measures of success, and compelling evidence of donor impact.

Success Measures

• Achievement of annual fundraising goals, growth and quality of the prospect pipeline, strategic donor visits, proposals, major gifts, and increased philanthropic support for student success and access.
• Strength of donor and campus relationships, effective cross-campus collaboration, donor and partner satisfaction, accurate CRM management, and demonstrated ability to develop compelling opportunities aligned with donor interests and institutional priorities.

Shift

Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. There will be occasional travel outside normal work hours.

Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least 6 years of experience from which comparable knowledge and skills can be acquired is necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated success securing philanthropic support, including major gifts and six- and seven-figure commitments.
• Experience developing and executing fundraising strategies and managing a portfolio of prospects and donors.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate, solicit, and steward donors while building long-term relationships.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Ability to translate complex programs and priorities into compelling cases for philanthropic support.
• Strong organizational, project management, and time-management skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively while exercising sound judgment, discretion, and professionalism.
• Ability to work effectively with individuals at all levels of an organization.
• Willingness and ability to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends as required for donor engagement and university events.
• Experience in higher education fundraising, particularly within student affairs, academic affairs, student success, access, scholarships, or related areas.
• Understanding of the factors affecting college access, affordability, retention, persistence, and graduation.
• Knowledge of Mizzou, its academic and student affairs environment, institutional priorities, and campus culture preferred.

Anticipated Hiring Range

Salary Range: $81,744 - $115,000 per year

Grade: GGS 013

University Title: Advancement Director III

Internal applicants can determine their University title by accessing the Talent Profile tile in myHR.

Application Materials

Resume and Cover Letter

Sponsorship Information

Employment visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Other Information

Our benefits: As one of Missouri's largest employers, MU staff members enjoy exceptionally competitive health, PTO and retirement plans. A few highlights:

• Health Insurance - Three plans to choose from, including our Custom Network Plan; a cost-effective insurance option that utilizes our extensive network of MU-affiliated hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.
• HSA - UM provides between $400 - $1200 in contributions to health savings accounts, depending on plans and dependents
• Dental - 100% coverage for preventative care, with no restrictions on network or non-network providers
• Vision - $0 copays on frames and contact lenses along with a $140 allowance, and a $10 copay on yearly eye exams.
• Retirement - UM will match 100% of up to 8% of eligible pay contributed to a 457(b), with a three-year vesting period on University contributions.
• Tuition Assistance - Up to 75% of tuition and supplemental fees waived for employees, and 50% waived for spouses and dependents
• Time Off - Personal time off (PTO) as well as 10 paid holidays.
• Winter Break - The university observes a paid holiday for the period between Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Community Information

Columbia offers small-town friendliness with big city features and a high quality of life for people of all ages and interests. Founded on education and known as an ideal college town, its location also makes it an attractive spot for businesses and travelers. Located on Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63, Columbia is right in the middle of the state and the nation. Just a couple hours' drive from St. Louis and Kansas City, Columbia is Boone County's largest population center offering big-city culture, activities, and resources with a low cost of living. Columbia is home to a variety of restaurants and entertainment venues and hosts more than a dozen festivals each year. If you want to grow your career, continue your education, raise a family, and retire, Columbia is a good place to be!

Benefit Eligibility

This position is eligible for University benefits. As part of your total compensation, the University offers a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental and vision plans, retirement, paid time off, short- and long-term disability, paid parental leave, paid caregiver leave, and educational fee discounts for all four UM System campuses. For additional information on University benefits, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/departments-staff/human-resources/benefits-retirement

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To request ADA accommodations, please call the Director of Accessibility and ADA at 573-884-7278.