Executive Director of Development, Penn Libraries
Job Description
Posted Job Title
Executive Director of Development, Penn Libraries
Job Profile Title
Senior Director, School/Center Development
Job Description Summary
Unit Overview:
The Penn Libraries provides a network of information resources and knowledge services that are vital to teaching, research, and learning at the University of Pennsylvania. This network includes 19 physical libraries, recognized for their collections, and a digital library known for innovation and richness of content. Through dynamic programming and exhibitions, and through the acquisition and preservation of literary and artistic artifacts, the Penn Libraries documents a wealth of social and historical periods, bringing scholarship to life at the University and in the various communities it serves.
The Penn Libraries development program has distinguished itself as a destination for donors who want to support and engage with the breadth of the University's academic enterprise. With its placement at the heart of the University, Penn Libraries is uniquely positioned to impact the entire institution and provide a comprehensive donor experience. Recent fundraising successes include a campaign to renovate the 5th floor of Van Pelt Dietrich Library Center to create a state of the art home for the Center for Global Collections, as well as a naming gift for the recently-renovated Holman Biotech Commons.
Position Summary:
Reporting jointly to the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of Libraries, and the Associate Vice President for University Development, Development and Alumni Relations (DAR), the Libraries Executive Director of Development is responsible for the overall conceptualization, planning and execution of a coordinated program of fundraising and donor communications for the Penn Libraries. As the lead fundraiser for the program, the Executive Director of Development is also responsible for growing and maintaining a robust overall pool and individual pipeline of prospects, donors and volunteer leaders on the Libraries' behalf.
The Executive Director of Development serves as an integral member of the Vice Provost's senior leadership team and plays a key leadership role. They will work closely with the Vice Provost, senior leadership team, the Board of Advisors, other volunteer groups to promote their active involvement in the fundraising process, and orchestrating the use of their time and talent to advance the Libraries' quest for gift and grant support, as well as further Penn alumni engagement and public awareness.
In addition, the Executive Director of Development partners intimately with the Director of Strategic Communications, who is responsible for developing and fostering a comprehensive, technology-rich strategic marketing and communications plan to promote the services, collections and programs of the Penn Libraries to an external audience, including but not limited to current members of the Penn community (faculty, staff, students, administrators); Penn Alumni; Penn parents; private, public and governmental agencies; other research libraries and more.
As part of the University of Pennsylvania's hybrid centralized/decentralized DAR structure, the Executive Director of Development also serves as a valued member of Central DAR's University Development Program and will be included in leadership planning within the program. Within this structure, the Executive Director of Development has responsibility for cultivating and sustaining deeply collaborative relationships with Central DAR programs and colleagues in order to fully activate the additional capacity of the University's centralized functions.
Duties also include supervision, mentoring and professional development of a staff of four FTEs and one dotted line report who lead the major gift fundraising, gift-in-kind, volunteer leadership, annual giving, stewardship, events and donor communications programs for the School.
Job Responsibilities
Lead a coordinated and comprehensive program of institutional advancement that includes:
- developing and executing multi-year strategic plans involving development and communications-related initiatives;
- managing staff and budgets;
- maintaining and analyzing data in support of strategic planning;
- developing effective cases for support for institutional priorities that hinge to the University's strategic fame work: In Principle and Practice;
- building meaningful volunteer and donor engagement opportunities;
- overseeing a broad-based annual giving program pointed at both alumni and non-alumni friends of the Libraries;
- organizing development events and visibility opportunities in support of strategic initiatives;
- planning and executing campaigns as needed.
Coordinate a robust annual calendar of development and engagement events that includes:
- Bi-annual meetings of the Board of Advisors
- Spring Leadership Celebration Dinner
- Regional cultivation events in major hubs (New York, Miami, and Los Angeles)
- Reunion, Homecoming, and Family Weekend events on campus
- Virtual and hybrid programs to cultivate and identify new donors
- Others as determined by programmatic needs, such as donor-funded programs and campaign-specific events.
Understand and guide a complex program of cultivation and stewardship for gifts-in-kind, or scholarly materials that the Libraries wishes to accept. Gifts-in-kind may have significant cash values, complex copyright implications, and often require specialized expertise from within and outside of the University.
Cultivate, solicit and steward the Libraries' top prospects and manage a pipeline of these top prospects. Engage the Vice Provost, senior staff, board and volunteers in executing the required cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities to advance the Libraries' quest for gift and grant support as well as alumni and donor engagement.
Expand and strengthen the Libraries' fundraising pool and pipeline of potential new donors through sophisticated methods of entrepreneurial prospecting including data analysis, internal prospect research, collaboration with the Central DAR frontline, sourcing leads through board members and other volunteers, etc. Organize practical strategies to secure funding from such sources.
With the Vice Provost and in collaboration with both Central DAR and the Office of the University Secretary, establish a plan to manage, engage and expand the Libraries' Board of Advisors, its premier volunteer organization. Responsibility for managing and staffing the Chair of the Board and key Board leaders in a timely and efficient manner.
Manage and Lead a staff to achieve optimum results by:
- Communicating financial and key performance indicators and results to direct reports;
- Establishing priorities and goals for each staff member;
- Managing staffing needs and identifying areas for organizational development updates or changes;
- Guiding the talent identification and professional development needs, processes and outcomes within the department
- Setting clear performance expectations and holding staff accountable for outcomes through frequent feedback and coaching;
- Ensuring open communication among staff, practicing team building efforts and holding regular staff meetings that promote belonging and engagement.
- Inspiring and motivating staff to achieve optimum results.
Supervise and mentor the Development staff to sustain the successful achievement of departmental and individual goals, foster a strong team culture and further professionally develop individual staff members.
Serve as a member of the Vice Provost's senior administrative leadership team and collaborate with other senior Libraries leaders on schoolwide priorities.
Collaborate with colleagues and partners throughout the University's Central Development and Alumni Relations department as well as other schools and centers across Penn to communicate priorities, collaborate around key strategies and solicitations, provide data, coordinate external activities and otherwise maximize the University's DAR capacity in support of the Libraries' development and engagement efforts.
**Please provide a resume and cover letter in order to be considered for this role. Please upload all documents in the "Resume/CV" section of the application prior to submitting.**
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science and 7 to 10 years of successful fund-raising and leadership experience, including a proven record of success in securing six and seven figure gifts with increasingly more responsible fund-raising duties or equivalent combination of education and experience is required, preferably at a major educational or cultural institution. Master's degree preferred.
- Familiarity and appreciation of the role and mission of the Penn Libraries and its relationship to the University as well as understanding the importance of academic research libraries; capacity to articulate that role and interact comfortably with those individuals and constituency groups crucial to the advancement of the Penn Libraries.
- Demonstrated track record in the identification, cultivation and stewardship of leadership and major gifts ($100,000+).
- Strong management and program administration skills and the ability to establish objectives, set performance standards, and organize and motivate staff, faculty and volunteers to achieve fund-raising goals.
- Demonstrated experience in establishing effective relationships with volunteers.
- Strong written and oral communication skills.
- Adaptability, flexibility and diplomacy.
- High motivation and a capacity for hard work within the context of a goal-driven environment.
- A demonstrated ability to analyze funding sources and relate their potential to the unit's long range goals; more particularly, to organize practical strategies to bring closure to gift and grant opportunities is required.
- Ability to function well independently, yet relate comfortably to a centralized framework for fund raising, participating in and contributing to a total team effort.
- Travel and evening work required.
Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Department / School
Development and Alumni Relations
Pay Range
$133,000.00 - $200,000.00 Annual Rate
Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.
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