Vice President/Senior Institutional Advancement Officer

The successful candidate will bring 8–10+ years of progressive advancement experience, a strong record of fundraising success, and the leadership capacity to strengthen donor engagement, institutional partnerships, and long-term philanthropic sustainability in alignment with Livingstone College’s mission and strategic priorities.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

The results you will deliver each day that matter most!

Strategic Leadership & Advancement Planning

• Develop, implement, and continuously refine a comprehensive institutional advancement strategy aligned with College priorities, strategic plans, and campaign objectives.
• Establish annual fundraising goals, operating plans, and budgets; monitor progress and adjust strategies to ensure performance targets are met.
• Provide regular, data-informed reports and analysis to senior leadership and governing bodies.

Fundraising & Program Oversight

Provide leadership, direction, and hands-on engagement across the following functional areas:

Annual Giving

• Plan, execute, and optimize annual fund programs, including direct mail, digital giving, donor appeals, and stewardship initiatives.
• Support phonathon and emerging donor engagement strategies, as applicable.

Major Gifts

• Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gift prospects.
• Manage a personal portfolio of high-capacity donors and prospects, with responsibility for closing significant gifts.
• Partner with senior leadership, Board members, and key stakeholders in solicitation efforts.

Planned Giving

• Develop and grow a planned giving pipeline, promoting legacy and deferred giving opportunities.
• Coordinate planned gifts with donors, legal counsel, and financial advisors in accordance with college policy.

Corporate & Foundation Relations

• Research, cultivate, and secure corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and strategic philanthropic partnerships.
• Oversee proposal development, submission, reporting, and stewardship for institutional funders.

Database & CRM Strategy

• Provide strategic oversight of donor database and CRM systems, ensuring data integrity, effective segmentation, accurate reporting, and alignment with fundraising strategy.
• Leverage data to inform prospect research, moves management, pipeline development, and campaign planning.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Build, lead, and support a high-performing advancement team; hire, train, mentor, set performance objectives, and conduct evaluations.
• Foster collaboration across departments, including Finance, Alumni Relations, Communications, and Academic and Student Affairs.
• Engage faculty, staff, alumni, volunteers, and external partners in cultivation and stewardship activities.

Stewardship, Compliance & Governance

• Design and implement donor stewardship and recognition programs that strengthen retention and lifetime donor value.
• Ensure compliance with college gift acceptance policies, donor gift agreements, ethical fundraising standards, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
• Uphold the highest standards of professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality in all donor interactions.
• Additional Duties as Assigned.

Education/ Experience

What you will need to be successful!

Required Qualifications

• Minimum 8–10+ years of progressive advancement or fundraising leadership experience with documented, measurable fundraising results.
• Demonstrated success securing six- and seven-figure gifts and leading multi-channel fundraising programs.
• Proven experience developing and managing annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, and corporate/foundation fundraising initiatives.
• Strong experience with donor databases and CRMs (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce for Nonprofits, or equivalent), including reporting and data-driven decision-making.
• Successful experience leading and managing teams and cross-functional initiatives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, presentation, and relationship-building skills.
• High level of integrity, judgment, and professionalism in handling sensitive donor and institutional information.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree and/or CFRE (Certified Fund-Raising Executive) credential.
• Experience in higher education, nonprofit, or faith-based institutional advancement.
• Familiarity with capital campaigns and comprehensive fundraising initiatives.
• Experience working closely with Boards of Trustees and senior executive leadership.

Key Competencies

• Strategic and results-oriented leadership approach.
• Strong relationship builder with the ability to engage senior executives, trustees, alumni, and external partners.
• Data-informed decision-maker with comfort using metrics to demonstrate impact.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to adapt in a dynamic, collaborative environment.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.

Reporting & Work Expectations

• Reports To: Vice President for Institutional Advancement
• Supervises: Advancement staff as assigned (e.g., annual fund, major gifts, grants, database personnel)
• Travel & Schedule: Some travel and evening/weekend work required for donor cultivation, events, and institutional functions

Measures of Success

• Sustained year-over-year growth in philanthropic revenue across all giving channels.
• Increased donor retention, engagement, and pipeline advancement.
• Successful cultivation and closure of major and planned gifts meeting or exceeding targets.
• Accurate, timely, and actionable fundraising data and reports supporting executive decision-making.

Working Conditions

• Standard business hours with occasional evenings or weekends required to support events, campaigns, or reporting deadlines.
• Hybrid work arrangements may be available based on departmental needs and institutional policy.

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