Director of Development, West Coast

Job Description Summary

The Director of Development, West Coast will help advance the mission of Miami University by planning, organizing, and implementing strategies to increase the level of personal involvement and financial commitment of donors and prospects of Miami University through its major gift program.

Job Description

Miami University is a public university founded in 1809 with over 200,000 alumni and 20,000 enrolled students. With its close proximity to the city of Cincinnati coupled with a nationally recognized excellence in undergraduate education, there is a significant opportunity to increase support from alumni, friends, and partners. Everyone on our team plays a part in achieving this goal.

The Director of Development, West Coast will help advance the mission of Miami University by planning, organizing, and implementing strategies to increase the level of personal involvement and financial commitment of donors and prospects of Miami University through its major gift program. Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, National Team through the Senior Associate Vice President of Development for University Advancement, it is preferred that the Director of Development for the West Coast lives in or near a metropolitan in the Western half of the United States, with regular and frequent travel required throughout the region and periodic travel to Oxford, Ohio for meetings and other activities.

Duties

• Implement and direct a comprehensive university advancement program for the Western region in response to the goals and initiatives established by the Division of University Advancement. Specific emphasis to assigned areas will include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Arizona as well as a focus on the surrounding states in the region.
• Effect solicitation and stewardship calls to alumni and friends alone and in collaboration with other staff, faculty, administrators and alumni volunteers.
• Develop and implement assessment, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for assigned prospects with the Office of Development staff, and university faculty and administrators.
• Develop and maintain a prospect pool focused primarily on major gift ($50,000+) prospects.
• Prepare and present gift proposals to prospects with the input and assistance of faculty, administrators, and deans, as well as other constituent and central development officers. Proposals may involve establishing multi-year commitments, as well as helping to facilitate gifts of real estate, personal property, securities, and gifts in wills, trusts, annuities and insurance.
• Encourage and coordinate involvement of alumni and friends through campus visits and regional events.
• The Director of Development will serve as the direct point of contact and liaison for activities in the Western region related to the Division of University Advancement.
• Perform other duties related to the mission of the Office of Development under the guidance of the Assistant Vice President, National Team.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• Minimum five years of fundraising or comparable work experience. (Internships, volunteer work, and other experience gained during the completion of degree programs may be counted towards these requirements.)

Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel extensively throughout Western region with frequent focus on California, Colorado and Arizona.
• Ability and willingness to reside in or near a metropolitan city in California, Colorado or Arizona working from their residence.
• Commitment to collaborative approach to fundraising.
• Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, and an ability to work with little day to day supervision is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working in an educational setting.
• Direct fundraising experience.