"Vice President for University Advancement"

Job Details

The Vice President for University Advancement is responsible for providing cohesive vision, leadership, and strategic direction to a successful university advancement strategy, with primary focus on Comprehensive Campaigns, Major Gifts, Foundations, Annual Giving, Planned Giving, and Development Research. This position is also responsible for our university-wide strategy surrounding Alumni Engagement. The Vice President provides leadership to a team of approximately 25 Development and Alumni professionals and ensures appropriately vetted policies and procedures are in place to meet legal and CASE requirements. The position provides leadership to build a fundraising strategy and team aligned with APU’s strategic plan/vision, to identify the resources necessary to successfully implement the plan, and promote team performance by delegating tasks and motivating employees to accomplish set fundraising goals.

The Vice President for University Advancement is responsible for leading APU’s current comprehensive campaign, a $125M effort focused primarily on scholarships, academics, and capital improvements. Furthermore, it is expected that APU will utilize volunteer campaign leadership, and the Vice President will be charged with recruiting and leading this team. The Vice President will leverage the effective use of the president’s time in the donor community and collaborate with the Cabinet for implementation of campaign strategy. This position reports to the President and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet.

Required Education: Master’s degree or equivalent education and experience.

Required Experience: The successful candidate will possess at least seven (7) years of increased experience as a leader and a proven track record of success in Advancement, preferably in higher education.

Primary Duties/Essential Functions:

• Develop and implement a strategic alumni and donor engagement plan which balances immediate fundraising needs with long-term development of the donor base.
• Manage a portfolio of major donors (and prospects) and lead the division in annual fundraising production.
• Develop a strategic plan for fundraising growth, including alumni and parent relations, annual giving, major and planned giving, comprehensive campaigns, foundation relations, stewardship, and advancement operations.
• Lead the implementation of APU’s current comprehensive fundraising campaign, and develop and lead future campaigns as needs arise.
• Recruit and lead a volunteer campaign leadership team, in collaboration with the president.
• Meet and exceed annual fundraising goals as agreed upon with the president.
• Provide direct leadership to the office of University Advancement, including a willingness to delegate and empower others to find innovative solutions to strengthen fundraising effectiveness.
• Leverage technology, APU’s CRM software, and data analytics to enhance advancement strategies while ensuring data integrity.
• Manage timely reporting and tracking of KPIs against advancement fundraising goals.
• Collaborate closely with the Provost and academic leadership to identify resources, policies, and procedures to empower the deans and department chairs to fundraise in conjunction with the Advancement Office.
• Collaborate with the Vice President for Strategic Communication and Engagement / Chief Communication Officer to ensure the communication plan for alumni and donor engagement is compelling and consistent.
• Partner with other leaders on campus to ensure that all donor and potential donor engagements are effectively communicating and supporting the goals of the university.
• Serve on the President’s Cabinet.
• Partner with the Vice President / Chief Strategy Officer and serve as a standing Cabinet guest to the Board of Trustees Strategic Oversight Committee.
• Represent the university at designated conferences and events.
• Complete projects and other duties as assigned by the president.

Skills:

• Extensive senior-level experience in advancement, with a strong track record in higher education or nonprofit fundraising.
• The successful candidate will possess exceptional leadership skills, including the ability to foster growth for the development team members with diverse levels of expertise by fostering an environment of respect, accountability, efficiency, and productivity.
• Possess the capacity to inspire enthusiasm and collaboration in others.
• Exhibit a solid awareness of higher education fundraising issues and trends related to achieving ongoing momentum and success.
• Additionally, the successful candidate will possess knowledge of technical issues regarding fundraising practices and strategies as well as philanthropic trends and research.
• The candidate must have the ability to successfully develop, interpret, and apply policy and regulations in a complex university setting.
• The successful candidate should have a strong commitment to customer service and community relations, successful experience and orientation toward a collaborative approach to resolving problems, and a willingness to take a proactive approach to improving services through direct personal contact.
• Exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence needed to interact with the Board of Trustees, the President, the Cabinet, academic leadership, all levels of administrative staff, alumni, parents, and the donor community at large.
• Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills to serve as an effective ambassador of the university mission with both internal and external constituents.

Azusa Pacific University is a Christ-centered, multicultural community that values and seeks faculty and staff who are committed to diversity, work effectively with diverse populations, and engage others in ways that honor our rich cultural mosaic and biblical foundation.

To Apply:

Nominations and applications will be considered until the position is filled. Interested candidates are invited to submit their materials via the University’s website at the following URL.

https://jobs.silkroad.com/APU/StaffJobs/jobs/4658