Director, Foundation Relations

The Director of Foundation Relations for University Advancement and the Tarleton State University Foundation will oversee a strategic resource development program centered on regional and national private foundations. Reporting to the Associate Vice President for Development and working closely with the President of the Tarleton State University Foundation and the TSU Foundation staff, the Director of Foundation Relations will play a critical role in expanding the important impact of philanthropy on Tarleton State.

The successful candidate will initiate and sustain outreach with key foundation funders. Emphasis will be placed on alignment with Tarleton State’s unique strengths and its position as a catalyst for economic development, quality of life, and positive community engagement across the North Texas / Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Enabling internal alignment among university stakeholders will be paramount. The Director will be expected to work with colleges and units throughout the university to facilitate, coordinate, and account for private foundation grant requests to maximize the strategic impact of foundation funding on the university.

Spearheading and facilitating requests through the Tarleton State University Foundation will be a core responsibility.

The position is located on the main campus in Stephenville, Texas. Serves as Campus Security Authority (CSA).

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• With oversight from the AVP for Development, team with university development colleagues, Tarleton State University Foundation leadership, and TSU Foundation staff to build, sustain, and expand a best-practice program that advances essential university initiatives with private foundation support.
• Execute a comprehensive prospect research strategy that yields foundation funding opportunities.
• Leverage the Tarleton State University Foundation’s 501c3 status to expand private foundation fundraising opportunities, grow private foundation support, and deliver core operational revenue to the TSU Foundation.
• Codify / catalogue private foundation requests at Tarleton State to achieve heightened levels of organization, efficiency, and impact.
• Coordinate campus wide collaboration as necessary to leverage distinct campus strengths aligned with prospective funders.
• Execute local and regional outreach to build synergy with North Central Texas stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as assigned by leadership.
• The successful candidate will exhibit exceptional writing and communication skills, and will also have experience with prospect research.

Minimum Requirements

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Five years successful experience in foundation relations, grant-writing or a related field.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

The Director must be able to work in an at times high-stress, demanding environment, thus requiring exceptional ability to stay focused on the task at hand.

• Excellent organizational skills.
• The ability to be customer service-oriented and bring together various institutional partners with varying interests is essential.
• A superior attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications

• Three (3) years of similar or transferable professional experience, including: Demonstrated written and oral communication skills; Exceptional professional interpersonal and team-building skills including collaboration with others to establish and maintain good working relationships; Demonstrated knowledge of the principles of fundraising.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Knowledge of prospect cultivation, solicitation, and recognition strategies.
• Proficient with Blackbaud - Raiser’s Edge or a similar CRM / fundraising database system.

Salary

Commensurate with experience. The target base annual salary range is $53,745 - 75,872.20 and may be negotiable based on funding availability and candidate experience/skillset in relation to the minimum requirements of this position.