Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Confidential; United States; On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential university seeks an externally focused advancement executive to serve as Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Reporting to the President and Cabinet, the VP will cultivate relationships with donors and alumni, build capacity, and deepen the advancement team’s impact.

Responsibilities include leading donor-centered programs across major gifts, annual giving, and campaigns, managing a donor portfolio, and partnering with campus leaders to advance strategic priorities and

Qualifications

• Experience leading donor-centered advancement programs including major and principal gifts.
• Proven ability to build and manage a diverse donor portfolio and to secure multi-million-dollar gifts.
• Strong collaboration with senior leaders to translate strategy into fundraising pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Lead a donor-centered advancement program spanning major/principal gifts, annual giving, and campaigns.
• Manage and mentor an high-potential donor/prospect portfolio with qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop compelling cases for support and naming opportunities aligned with institutional priorities.
• Oversee strategy, staffing, budgets, and metrics for the division and ensure data integrity.

Skills

Fundraising leadership

Donor relations

Strategic planning

Team leadership

Data-driven fundraising

Campaign management

Education

Advanced degree in nonprofit management or related field

Tools

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Job description

The client seeks an experienced, externally focused advancement executive and fundraiser to serve as Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Reporting to the President and serving on the President’s Cabinet, the Vice President will build philanthropic capacity, strengthen a growing advancement team, and deepen relationships with donors and alumni. The role will partner closely with the President, Cabinet, Board of Trustees, and campus leaders to advance strategic priorities, while maintaining an active portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and spending significant time cultivating relationships beyond the office.

Key responsibilities include leading a comprehensive, donor-centered advancement program spanning major and principal gifts, annual giving, planned and legacy giving, grants, alumni engagement, stewardship, and campaign strategy. The Vice President will manage a high-potential donor and prospect portfolio through qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, and will partner with the President on principal gift strategy, donor visits, volunteer engagement, and advancement priorities. This leader will develop compelling cases for support and naming opportunities that connect donor interests with student success and institutional priorities, while building a strategic pipeline of major and planned gifts to increase unrestricted support and grow endowment.

The Vice President will create and execute a long-range advancement strategy with annual goals, performance measures, timelines, and budgets, and will assess campaign readiness to develop the approach, infrastructure, volunteer leadership, prospect pipeline, and case for support for a comprehensive or capital campaign. Using donor data, portfolio analysis, prospect research, and performance tracking, the role will balance immediate fundraising needs with sustained investment in donor relationships and long-term institutional strength, and will communicate progress, opportunities, and risks clearly to senior leadership and the Board. In addition, the Vice President will lead, mentor, and develop the advancement team, foster a campus-wide culture of philanthropy, define roles and workflows across the division, establish individual and team metrics with regular portfolio reviews, and ensure effective use of Raiser’s Edge NXT and related systems to support data integrity, prospect management, reporting, and gift administration.