Senior Major Gifts Officer

College of the Holy Cross; Worcester (MA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The Senior Major Gifts Officer at College of the Holy Cross will oversee fundraising efforts to advance the mission, working with alumni, parents, and friends in specific geographic regions, and collaborate with Gift Planning, Holy Cross Fund, and other internal partners to secure leadership-level support from $100,000 to $3,000,000+.

Reporting to the Director of Major Gifts, the role develops prospect strategies integrating gift planning, reunions, annual giving, and college priorities into

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience is preferred for this position as is at least seven years of experience in major gifts fundraising.
• Commitment to Holy Cross mission and Jesuit Catholic educational traditions.
• Excellent communication skills, including persuasive writing and relationship-building.

Responsibilities

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 125+ prospects; conduct at least 110 annual visits and generate at least $3M in new gifts.
• Drive a minimum of $500K cash received from portfolio annually via pledges and annual fund gifts.
• Develop donor-centric strategies and collaborate with Holy Cross Fund, Gift Planning, and advancement partners.

Skills

Excellent communication

Proposal writing

Donor cultivation

Strategic planning

Relationship building

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Advance

Job description

Senior Major Gifts Officer

College of the Holy Cross

Full Time

JREQ-000854

At Holy Cross, we are focused on creating a world-class workforceby attracting and retaining employees dedicated to fostering aculture of professionalism, pride, mutual trust, and respect-onethat values appreciation and recognition, empowering each of us toflourish both individually and collectively. We seek candidates whoare inspired by our mission and values, and who are eager to make ameaningful difference on our campus. Learn more about Life at Holy Cross here.

The Senior Major Gifts Officer will have an elevated level ofresponsibility for fundraising efforts which support and advancethe mission of Holy Cross. Working with alumni, parents, andfriends in specific geographic regions, the Senior Major Gifts Officer will serve as a leader among Major Gifts colleagues andworking partnership with the Gift Planning team, Holy Cross Fundteam, and other internal partners to encourage annual andmulti-year leadership-level support at the $100,000 to $3,000,000+range. The Senior Major Gifts Officer will work closely with Advancement colleagues to develop and execute prospect strategiesthat strategically integrate gift planning, reunions, annualgiving, and other college financial priorities into the developmentand execution of high-level fundraising strategies that enable the realization of established goals and objectives. The Senior Major Gifts Officer will report to the Director of Major Gifts.

Job Description

Major Areas of Responsibility

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio ofapproximately 125+ prospects, on an annual basis, holding at least110 annual visits with prospects; through the development of thoughtful strategies and intentional prioritization of prospects, ensure a new gifts and commitmentsgoal of at least $3 million by focusing on delivering at least 20major gift proposals each year and actively soliciting high annualfund gifts for the rest of their portfolio.
• Drive a minimum of $500,000 cash received from their portfolio each year through a combination of pledge fulfillments, current usegifts, and annual fund gifts.
• Inspire donors to articulate their charitable goals to maximize their support of Holy Cross in alignment with the institution'sambitions by engaging in thoughtful and strategic conversations that uncover philanthropic aspirations;
• Be active in the discovery process as part of and in addition to managing their portfolio with a minimum of 15 discovery visits each year.
• Adhere to all prospect management processes and policies around contact reports, proposals, briefing materials, documenting intentions, and writing statements of understanding to ensure cross-departmental transparency and effectiveness;
• Serve as a partner to the Holy Cross Fund team, Gift Planning team, and Major Gifts colleagues by identifying new prospects and volunteers, and supporting the goals of elevating unrestricted and flexibly restricted support at Holy Cross;
• Continually improve professional skills, knowledge, and understanding of Holy Cross by developing relationships with colleagues across campus, attending campus events and activities, and participating in training activities;
• In partnership with the Director of Major Gifts and the AVP for Individual Giving, develop and execute robust, multi-step donor-centric prospect strategies;
• Communicate meeting strategies through written briefings and pre-visit briefing meetings or calls;
• Strategically leverage academic leadership, faculty, and other members of the Holy Cross community leading to successful solicitation and closure of six- and seven-figure gifts;
• Foster relationships between prospective donors and academic leadership, faculty, and other members of the Holy Cross community to deepen prospect engagement;
• Secure anchor visits for leadership and construct meetings that effectively leverage each leader's time to advance prospect strategies; and
• Serve as a liaison between Advancement and at least one other department or group on campus with fundraising needs;
• Assume additional and elevated responsibilities associated with strategic initiatives and campaign priorities fundraising;
• Maintain excellent and timely detail with donor data activity and statistics for accurate reporting needs.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education andexperience is preferred for this position as is at least sevenyears of experience in major gifts fundraising, preferably at aneducational institution, soliciting comprehensive major, principaland planned gifts;
• Commitment to the mission of College of the Holy Cross-to pursueexcellence in teaching, learning, and research and to foster anintellectual and social community that is marked by freedom, mutualrespect, and civility;
• Demonstrated successful track record as a major giftsfundraiser;
• Appreciation of Jesuit Catholic educational traditions andmethodology;
• Understanding of and an ability to succeed at a complex academicinstitution;
• Experience staffing academic leaders in their developmentwork;
• Ability to uncover interests, motivations, and objectives fromprospective donors, clients, and others;
• Excellent communication skills, including an ability to writepersuasively and with efficiency;
• Experience qualifying prospects during initial visits to determine inclination and capacity to make significant gifts to aidin the identification of new donors at the major gift level;
• Ability to make solicitations with comfort;
• Ability to persuasively communicate the case for unrestricted andcurrent use support;
• Excellent active listening and interpersonal skills and anability to relate to donors, volunteers, and colleagues;
• Tact, diplomacy, discretion, patience, sound judgment, and a commitment to maintaining confidentiality inside and outside of the college;
• Highly developed organizational skills, detail-orientation, andan ability to prioritize and balance multiple tasks in a fast-paced complex environment;
• Natural affinity for collaboration and serving as an influentialleader, mentor, and team player, with a high level of emotionalintelligence;
• Personal commitment to excellence as well as an ability to admitmistakes and forgive faults in others; and
• Experience with Microsoft Office, Advance, or similar fundraisingsoftware.

Disclaimer

The description above represents the most significant duties of this position but does not exclude other occasional workassignments not mentioned, the inclusion of which would be inconformity with the factor degrees assigned.

Salary Range

The Senior Major Gifts Officer offers a salaryrange of $115,000-$120,000, commensurate with education andexperience

Weekly Hours

40

To review our generous benefitsoptions, please review our detailed information here or checkout our Benefits at a Glance.

The College also provides reasonable accommodations to qualifiedindividuals with disabilities during the hiring process incompliance with law. Please contact Human Resources for questionsor to request an accommodation via email at [e-mail], or bycalling 508-793-3391.

The College is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer andcomplies with all Federal and Massachusetts laws concerning Equal Opportunity in the workplace.