[Hiring] Major Gifts Officer @Brown University

Role Description

The Major Gifts Officer is responsible for the strategic management of a portfolio of approximately 150-175 major gift prospects and donors aligned within a specific geographic territory(ies) who are capable of making gifts of $100,000 - $3,000,000 to the University. The current geography for this role is on the West Coast, but it may change over time.

The Major Gifts Officer is expected to raise a minimum of $2M and, over time, upwards of $4M annually from their portfolio.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Managing effective relationships with alumni, parents, and friends, encompassing prospect and donor qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Developing solicitation strategies and closing major gifts aligned with University campaigns and major fundraising priorities.
• Collaborating and partnering with colleagues, peers, and fundraising unit managers within a variety of fundraising programs.
• Working with regional volunteers, as needed.
• Planning and managing regional events.
• Staffing University administrators and faculty on development visits with prospects and donors.
• Recording activities, contacts, proposals, and strategic plans in the donor database.

This position requires in-depth knowledge of the University, its initiatives, and its internal and external constituents to serve as a liaison between and representative of the Division of Advancement and Brown’s alumni, parents, and friends. The Major Gifts Officer regularly interacts with a diverse range of University colleagues, including those in Advancement leadership, Alumni Relations, Development, various academic departments, and faculty members, among others.

This position manages a portfolio of prospects on the West Coast. The Officer can be located in either Providence, RI or California near a major metropolitan area.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of relevant experience (development, sales, customer relations, etc.) or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience in a higher education or non-profit setting preferred; direct experience with fundraising, volunteer management, and knowledge of Brown University is highly desired.

Requirements

• Proven ability to solicit and close philanthropic gifts on the $100,000+ level.
• Strong organizational and planning skills with the ability to initiate, collaborate, implement, monitor, evaluate, and advance strategic plans that support the activities of the program and contribute to the overall goals and objectives of Advancement and the fundraising enterprise.
• Superior interpersonal skills with proven ability to successfully interact and collaborate with varied constituencies in a professional manner.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, team-building skills, and demonstrating tact, poise, and diplomacy while working with a wide variety of personalities.
• Ability to apply good judgment and proven responsible decision-making skills; tact and discretion are required to deal with highly confidential alumni, parent, student, family, donor and prospect information.
• Detail-oriented, self-starter with a demonstrated ability to work independently and manage multiple projects and priorities to meet aggressive timelines and challenging deadlines.
• Working knowledge of email and calendars, the Windows environment, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Suite, and other software such as Adobe Acrobat, donor databases, etc.
• Ability to work in hybrid and remote environments.
• Willingness to work occasional evenings and weekends.
• Willingness to travel frequently throughout the United States to attend relevant programs and events and to meet with current and prospective donors and leadership volunteers.
• Decisiveness, trustworthiness, discretion, and creativity are daily requirements of this position.
• Commitment to working in a team environment is essential.

Benefits

• Please review additional information on the Benefits of Working at Brown.