Director of Institutional Advancement
Job Summary
The advancement function focuses on building relationships and securing capital resources for operating, capital and endowment needs. Advancement seeks to forge stronger partnerships and deeper relationships between the institution and many of its stakeholders – alumni, parents, foundations, business partners, and friends.
Effective institutional advancement processes and activities establish market awareness for the school’s competitive strengths and identity, and create broad and deep relationships leading to increased philanthropic funding and increased strategic partnering. The outcome will secure the long-term health of our institution and provide increased annual and capital funding.
The Director, in collaboration with the President assumes primary responsibility for the overall direction and leadership of institutional advancement.
Essential Functions
- Responsible and accountable for the overall direction of advancement at St. Rita: alumni relations, fundraising, marketing, public relations, and communications.
- Belongs to the institution’s senior administrative team and has ultimate authority to make decisions for and strategically lead the Advancement Office.
- Works closely with the President and development staff; and is responsible for the creation, regular updating and execution of the Advancement Department’s strategic action plan. Works collaboratively with all support groups.
- Oversees all fundraising activities at St. Rita, including annual fundraising, major gifts fundraising, planned gifts fundraising, and grant writing.
- Works closely with the President in overseeing and executing all phases of the major gift and planned gift process: identification, research, involvement, solicitation, follow-up and stewardship.
- Pro-actively directs the President in the effective and strategic use of his time in development: major gifts, cultivation events, fundraising activities, etc.
- Actively leads, supervises and supports all Advancement Office initiatives and processes (fundraising, prospect research, market research, communications, recordkeeping, alumni relations, marketing and public relations).
- Meets regularly with all Department members to develop a strong team spirit and a willingness to work together on multiple projects.
- Assists each department member in her or his professional development.
- Creates and manages the departmental budget.
- Handles other responsibilities and tasks as requested.
Required Competencies and Attributes
- Be a person of professional integrity and maturity with a background in relationship sales, marketing and communications.
- Be a proven self-starter, able to work as a member of a team, who is willing to take the lead on difficult management projects and who leads by example.
- Be able to easily coordinate complex projects.
- Be able to lead the current development staff toward achieving their individual and departmental benchmarks and objectives.
- Be comfortable at meeting with and speaking with a variety of people in a variety of professional and social situations.
- Be a strategic thinker in order to facilitate the creation of an effective strategic development plan, with clear objectives, tactics, benchmarks and timelines.
- Have the ability and desire to effectively solicit major gift prospects.
- Have the ability to make the major gift process – identification, research, involvement, solicitation and stewardship – his or her top priority.
Qualifications
Bachelors Degree. Master’s preferred. 3-5 years of development experience and strategic planning essential. Knowledge of the development process required and Major Gift experience essential.
Please send resume with cover letter to St. Rita of Cascia High School via email to:
mgallagher@stritahs.com
No phone calls please. Only those candidates that we wish to interview will be contacted.
