Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs

Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs

Position Summary
Working in and reporting to the University Advancement, the Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs (“SPA”) is the principal fundraiser for SPA at American University. The Assistant Dean of Development works on behalf of the Dean of SPA, shaping and executing plans for fundraising to meet the financial needs of the Dean's academic priorities for the School. The Assistant Dean of Development works primarily in the area of major gift fundraising for SPA and participates in the Dean's senior management team in order to understand fully and discuss the implications of academic programs for development. The Assistant Dean of Development plans, implements, and oversees the major gift fundraising program for SPA with emphasis on gifts of $100,000 to $1,000,000+, as well as collaborates with the principal gifts program, parent philanthropy, annual giving, as well as foundation/corporate giving.

The Assistant Dean of Development serves as a key member of the Dean's management team and as an ambassador of SPA. The Assistant Dean of Development assists with the development of publications for SPA and other programs and special events by the Dean and Vice President of Development. The Assistant Dean of Development supervises the activities of one additional fundraiser (Director of Development, SPA), and they work as a collaborative team in support of donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, alumni programming, and special events. In coordination with the Dean, the Assistant Dean of Development and SPA Development team strategically recruit and staff members for the SPA Dean's Council. The Assistant Dean of Development and SPA Development team strive to maximize the Council's effectiveness, working closely with the Dean's office to establish agendas and programs for meetings and communications.

As a specific component of the Assistant Dean of Development's responsibilities, the Assistant Dean of Development works with the Dean of SPA to engage the Dean in donor/constituent specific Development strategies, secure dates and plan for the Dean's development activities, including local and regional constituency events, travel for cultivation and solicitation, correspondence and regular contact with donors.

The Assistant Dean of Development, School of Public Affairs reports to the Assistant Vice President, Advancement, with a collaborative dotted line to the Dean of the School of Public Affairs.

The Assistant Dean of Development operates under the University's prospect development system with the expectations of achieving the metrics below through demonstration of a high degree of professionalism, discretion, and refined written and oral communication.

Position Specific Expectations

• Management and strategy development of a pool of 150 assigned, rated, and staged prospects generally rated $100,000-$1,000,000+.
• Meaningful contact or consistently demonstrated attempted contact of 100% of the assigned portfolio during any six month period.
• Regular maintenance of prospect pipeline (i.e., planned and executed solicitations) to reflect a minimum of 15 major gift solicitations per year.
• Varying by stage of cultivation, consistent movement of prospects in assigned portfolio in prescribed timeframe. (As an example, it is expected that prospects will only be in qualification and early cultivation mode for 6 months, regular cultivation for 12 months, and pre solicitation cultivation and consideration mode for 6 months.)
• A minimum of 10 planned, strategic visits per month with many other interactions, meetings, events, and unplanned visits.
• Regular updates to contacts, staging, ratings so that all reports are current for supervision meetings and monthly progress reports.
• Work in concert with University Advancement colleagues, including particularly close collaboration with the Planned Giving Team, and Office of Prospect Development to conduct entrepreneurial prospect identification and qualification work equal to approximately 10-20% of all activity. (More if Assistant Dean of Development meets expectations of progress with assigned portfolio).
• The Assistant Dean of Development's financial objectives will be established collaboratively and with close review of the capacity and readiness indicators of the Assistant Dean of Development's prospect portfolio.
• The Assistant Dean of Development coordinates closely with the Senior Director of Development, Annual Giving to ensure messages and priorities are consistent for the mail and phone programs; as well as with directors in other areas (Planned Giving, Leadership Annual Giving, Strategic Partnerships, other units) on mutual interest prospects and programs.

Principal Accountabilities

• With the Dean and independently, aggressively work major gifts portfolio under the prospect development guidelines, actively setting and executing strategies on assigned major gift prospects, meeting or exceeding established benchmarks for visits, contacts, and solicitations, and securing gifts that support the academic priorities of the Dean, other units, or the University as a whole.
• Develop, execute, and manage fundraising strategies, priorities, schedules and tactics for the Dean of the School of Public Affairs, including but not limited to: (1) identifying and engaging prospects around the Dean's academic priorities for the School; (2) planning travel and individual meetings; (3) managing regular communication with key prospects; (4) adding a development perspective to relevant matters that emerge in the School or on the Dean's leadership team; and, (5) managing all aspects of the Dean's Advocacy Council, including developing strategy to cultivate and solicit council members for leadership giving at SPA.
• Manage, motivate, and evaluate the School of Public Affairs Development team: Director of Development, SPA and Development Coordinator, SPA. Develop major gift strategies and revenue expectations, donor stewardship initiatives, and special event plans. Delegate and assign tasks, including creation and design of related publications.
• Work with AU's Annual Giving team to effectively manage annual giving techniques and messages utilized in AU's direct marketing and phone programs, assuming responsibility for making sure the information about the School of Public Affairs used in these programs is accurate, up to date, and in line with the School's current fundraising objectives. Work closely with the Director of Development, Annual Giving, on annual Dean's letter or other equivalent solicitation pieces, insuring that they occupy a reasonable and productive spot in AU's direct marketing calendar.
• Other duties as assigned in support of the objectives of the Vice President of University Advancement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution.
• Seven or more years progressively responsible development experience required, with at least four years in demonstrated success in securing major gifts of $100,000+.
• Supervisory experience.
• Familiarity with and experience following guidelines of an established Prospect Management System.
• Computer literacy with MS Office suite or equivalent and familiarity with fundraising systems.
• Superior written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.

To apply, please visit https://apptrkr.com/9863830

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