STARS Requisition: 82524BR
University Job Title: Project Administrator
Department Job Title: Leadership Giving Officer
Grade: P5
Position Focus:
The Leadership Giving Officer will serve as a key member of Yale SOM’s Development and Alumni Relations team. Reporting to the Director of Leadership Giving, the Leadership Giving Officer is responsible for qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership level donors for capital and Alumni Fund gifts. The Leadership Giving Officer will develop and implement strategies to secure increasing levels of financial support from a portfolio of approximately 250 alumni and qualify prospects for major gift potential. This frontline fundraising role will facilitate and coordinate communications and positive interactions with prospects and donors, as well as among various faculty members and administrators on campus. Travel (possibly extensively) to meet donors, prospects, and volunteers. The Leadership Gift officer will also collaborate with the Reunion Giving team to identify and recruit reunion volunteers and secure leadership reunion gifts from an assigned pool of prospects.
Essential Duties:
- Meet activity and revenue goals by planning, managing, and maintaining an aggressive travel schedule in specified regions annually. Raises capital and unrestricted leadership gifts to fund core SOM priorities.
- Individually solicits leadership annual and capital gifts up to approximately $250,000 by working directly with donors and coordinating with department colleagues and volunteers.
- Develops and implements strategies to move assigned prospects through the gift cycle, with a particular emphasis on prospect qualification, retention, renewal, and upgrades. Recognizes disinterested donors and devises strategies to redirect their interests.
- Participates in the execution of events and programs in support of development activities. Engages key volunteers and effectively utilizes events and other activities to move solicitations forward.
- Conducts appropriate stewardship activities to further enhance the relationship between assigned donors and Yale. Initiates and maintains contact to promote positive donor relations.
- Qualifies prospects for potential major gift capacity and interest. Provides appropriate background on prospects to be assigned to Major Gift portfolios.
- Effectively communicates progress of cultivation efforts and results of visits to appropriate personnel and use Yale’s alumni and donor database effectively.
- Acts as liaison between various SOM departments and donors.
- Exercises good judgment in discussing alumni, issues, and results. Maintains composure and calm demeanor in difficult situations.
- May perform other duties as assigned.
Required Education & Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in a related field and four years of related work experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Required Skills & Abilities:
- Demonstrated excellent interpersonal skills required to relate to donors, volunteers, and colleagues, including tact, diplomacy, discretion, and the ability to maintain confidentiality inside and outside the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
- Initiative and self-starting capacity with the ability to work effectively as a team member and independently. Excellent fundraising, negotiating, organizational and analytical skills, with an attention to detail.
- Ability to understand the objectives of Yale SOM fundraising priorities, and to integrate goals with those objectives.
- Superb oral and written communication skills.
- Ability to successfully manage a high-volume workload and competing priorities.
- Commitment to higher education, diversity, and the contribution of business to society. A creative and entrepreneurial spirit.
- Advanced user of MS Office software including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
- Familiarity with Blackbaud or similar CRM databases.
Preferred:
At least three years of frontline fundraising experience, soliciting donors for philanthropic support. Global orientation.
Competencies:
- Customer Service Focus – Listening carefully to and understanding customers’ needs and proactively responding to those needs in a consistent and timely manner.
- Teamwork/Communication – Working cooperatively to achieve common goals. Support cooperation, collaboration and the sharing of information.
- Product Excellence – Provide the best quality product available and continuously upgrade standards to maintain quality.
- Leadership – Provide direction and motivation to others through communication, modeling appropriate behavior, optimism and high achievement
- Innovative – Openness to new ideas and their implementation. Ability to react and adapt to changing situations appropriately.
- Strategic Thinking – Recognize opportunities, identify critical, high pay-off activities and prioritize them to attain goals.