Job Category:

Staff

Apply

Job Description:

Location: Wooster, OH Category: Staff Posted On: Thu Apr 25 2024 Job Description:

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Development, the Major Gifts Officer is a senior development officer assigned to high level prospective donors to The College of Wooster. This position’s primary focus is identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding high-level prospective donors who have the capacity to make major and transformative gifts to the College. The individual will serve as a visible frontline fundraiser and manage a portfolio of 100-125 individuals who have the capacity to give $50,000 or more. This position develops strategy as well as conducts the planning, coordination, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives for the individuals assigned. The Major Gifts Officer will work closely with the Vice President for Advancement, the Assistant Vice President for Development, the President, Provost, Vice Presidents, the Deans and other key academic leaders to set short and long-term donor-centric strategies and develop initiatives to advance each potential donor’s meaningful connection to the College to set the stage for solicitations that match college priorities. This position offers a flexible work environment including the option of being fully remote or a hybrid model.

 

Essential Departmental Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Travels bi-weekly to identify, qualify, cultivate and solicit outright and deferred major gifts.
  • Prepares written proposals, informational materials, gift illustrations, and other materials to secure major gifts.
  • Coordinates the participation of administrators, academic leaders, volunteers, and development staff in major gift fundraising activities.
  • Provides stewardship to assigned major donor prospects by working with the Stewardship team to prepare endowment agreements, special reports to donors on the use of their funds, and recognition activities.
  • Develops and manages a budget for outreach, travel and cultivation activities in assigned region.
  • Collaborates with annual giving staff to ensure a pipeline between annual giving donors and major donors, passing on suggestions to other staff and taking on assignments of donors at their suggestion.
  • Coordinates donor visits and events with college representatives, including the President, and faculty and students when appropriate.
  • Facilitates and participate in donor visits with College representatives.
  • Prepares donor briefings and cultivation strategies.
  • Attends all, major on-campus alumni events; participate in regional events, often in partnership with other campus staff, including the Alumni & Family Engagement, designed to engage donors and prospective donors in the College.
  • Maintains professional connections in and knowledge of the field through conference and college visits.
  • Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Education and/or Experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree required and a minimum of 3-5 years major gift or related experience.
  • Experience in higher education development or non-profit setting preferred.
  • Must have a demonstrated record of fund-raising success.

Knowledge Skills and Abilities:

Skills: 

  • Ability and willingness to travel and attend meetings and functions at various hours as required.
  • Collaborative attitude towards working with volunteers and with members of the College’s administration and faculty.
  • Effective communication skills across various mediums.
  • Adaptability to fast-paced environments with multiple deadlines.
  • Problem-solving ability in situations with limited standardization.
  • Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.
  • Strong organizational, interpersonal, writing and editing skills.
  • Excellent public speaking skills.

 

Knowledge:

  • Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
  • Proficiency in using technology including Microsoft Word, Excel and planned giving software for report preparation.
  • Knowledge of Datetel “Colleague Advancement” is a plus.                                      

 

Abilities: 

  • Must uphold professional and ethical standards for handling confidential information.                                        
  • Ability to articulate the characteristics of an independent liberal arts education, and to make a compelling case for support of The College of Wooster.
  • Commitment to the College’s mission, vision and values and demonstrated ability to create and sustain an organizational climate based on inclusion, social justice, and equity.

Additional Information:

Work Environment: 

  • Must be able and willing to travel on occasion throughout the US and work some nights and weekends as needed.
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet.
  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to outside weather conditions.   

Physical Demands: 

  • While performing the duties of this job, the staff member is regularly required to stand; walk; climb stairs; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.
  • The employee is occasionally required to sit and stoop or kneel.
  • The individual must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 20 pounds.
  • Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
  • Must have the ability to travel unassisted throughout the country using a variety of transportation options.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement:

The College of Wooster does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex/gender, gender identity, gender expression, medical condition, political affiliation, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, disability, age, marital status, family responsibilities, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy, or by state, local, or federal law. All offers of employment are subject to verification of the legal right to work in the United States as required by federal law. The College of Wooster is committed by policy and practice to diversity, equity and inclusion. For more information see our nondiscrimination policy.