Job Listings

Director of Development, Major Gifts

Company:
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Job Location:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Category:
Development and Fundraising
Type:
Full-Time

Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) invites applications for a full-time Director of Development, Major Gifts to join our University Advancement team. Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, the Director of Development, Major Gifts will provide leadership for the major giving efforts of MSOE. This individual will cultivate and steward relationships with alumni, friends, faculty and staff to facilitate support of MSOE through major gifts. Along with departmental management and peers, the Director of Development, Major Gifts will develop an annual plan to increase major gifts to MSOE.

Essential Job Functions

Major Gift Productivity - 70%

  • The Director of Development, Major Gifts is responsible for the development and management of a portfolio of qualified prospects and donors at the $25,000 level and above. This includes discovery of new prospects and managing them effectively through the early cultivation, advanced cultivation, solicitations, closed gift and stewardship stages to achieve annual metrics. The Director of Development, Major Gifts will complete a minimum of 150 personal visits that meet the standard for qualified action. In addition, he/she will achieve metrics for prospects added to the development portfolio, number of solicitations, number of solicitations closed and total dollars committed during each fiscal year.
  • This will require the director to travel independently, and with other development staff, faculty and administrators. 
  • Devise strategies and develop proposals to solicit commitments from prospective major giving donors. 

Major Gift Portfolio Management - 20%

  • The Director of Development, Major Gifts will be responsible for developing a cultivation and solicitation strategy for each prospect under management and will enter call reports for each completed action in a timely manner.
  • The Director will be responsible for the timely completion for gift agreements, letters-of-intent and in-kind gift forms to document donor commitments.

Participate as a Member of the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs - 10%

  • The Director of Development, Major Gifts will attend all department meetings as required. They will provide staff support for events and activities related to the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

  • Attend meetings as required
  • Staff events as required

This list of duties and responsibilities is not all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties and responsibilities as management may deem necessary from time to time.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree required
  • An advanced degree is highly preferred
  • Five (5) years of development experience in a direct gift solicitation role
  • Higher education experience is preferred
  • Experience may be considered in lieu of educational accomplishments

Skills and Abilities

  • Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating instructions, and procedure manuals. 
  • Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. 
  • Ability to speak effectively before others.
  • Ability to effectively communicate in both written and oral form.
  • Ability to use numbers to solve problems involving concrete variables in standardized situations.
  • Ability to apply commonsense understanding to carry out written or oral instructions.

Physical Demands

  • While performing the duties of this job the employee is largely sedentary, the ability to move is required. The employee is occasionally required to traverse within their work area as well as other areas on campus.
  • Ascending and descending of stairs (building that does not contain an elevator).

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role uses standard office equipment, including but not limited to computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.

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