Human Resources

Summary

The Director for Charitable Giving at Michigan Technological University is responsible for securing gifts of $25,000 and greater to support the university’s programs, priorities, and initiatives. This position will act as the liaison for colleges and campus units as assigned by the Executive Director for Charitable Giving. The Director will utilize a moves management system to identify, strategize, and document all gifts. Through collaborative efforts with the fundraising team and strategic actions to advance donor portfolios, their focus is meeting and exceeding yearly metrics to attain campaign goals. The Director will travel to interact with alumni and friends of the university and professionally represent the mission and vision of Michigan Tech. Ideal candidates will possess excellent written and oral communication skills to support collaborative efforts between university partners to advance the impact-giving donor pipeline for Michigan Tech.

Responsibilities and Essential Duties

1. Advance the University’s mission, vision, and short and long-term goals in collaboration with the Executive Director for Charitable Giving, advancement colleagues, and unit leaders.
2. Identify, secure appointments, and develop relationships with alumni and friends of Michigan Tech.
3. Ask alumni and friends of the University for gifts of $25,000 or more.
4. Be an excellent listener and exhibit a modest, professional demeanor when meeting with donors.
5. Collaborate with administration and unit partners to accurately communicate impact-giving opportunities to donors.
6. Participate in quarterly strategy meetings on campus to assess metric goals, plan travel, and review proposals for individual, corporate, and foundation giving in collaboration with the advancement team.
7. Attend and participate in regularly scheduled weekly departmental meetings in person or via Zoom.
8. Work with the Office of Charitable Gift Planning to develop proposals.
9. Submit timely contact reports for all donor communication with accurate, concise content and a clear follow-up action plan.
10. Continually assess and manage a portfolio of donors, creating strategic plans for the best potential outcome.
11. Exercise travel and calendar “best practices” for University fundraising to maximize travel resources and communication with other fundraising colleagues.
12. Perform all work to the outlined guidelines and expectations to drive the success of individual members and the team.
13. Provide weekly communication of progress to the supervisor for administrative reporting and to ensure information sharing.
14. Collaborate with alumni engagement, admissions department, career services, and other administrative university units as necessary.
15. Coordinate with unit Directors, deans, faculty, and staff.
16. Commit to learning and applying continuous improvement strategies to everyday work. Actively engage in continuous improvement.
17. Commit to learning about continuous improvement strategies and applying them to everyday work. Actively engage in University continuous improvement initiatives.
18. Apply safety-related knowledge, skills, and practices to everyday work.

Required Education, Certifications, Licensures

● Bachelor’s degree.
● Possess a valid driver’s license.

Required Experience

Three years of successful experience in major gifts fundraising or experience from which comparable knowledge and abilities can be acquired such as university development or advancement, university admissions, banking, management or sales.

Desirable Education and/or Experience

● Experience working in higher education.
● Fundraising training or certification.
● Experience with Michigan Tech.
● Alumni of Michigan Tech.
● Advanced degree.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

● Willingness for frequent travel that may range between 25% and 75% of the position on any given month.
● Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal, oral, written skills with a strong customer/alumni service orientation.
● Demonstrated ability to plan, organize, coordinate, prioritize and direct multiple projects and activities with varied deadlines while multi-tasking in a fast paced travel environment.
● Demonstrated ability to be a strategic and innovative thinker and effective in moving projects/assignments along.
● A self-starter with strong organizational abilities, integrity and confidence.
● Team player with the ability to work in a cooperative/dynamic environment (e.g. with administrators, staff, faculty, and students) and external community (e.g. with business leaders, donors and volunteers) environment.
● Ability to analyze and interpret data and make strategic business decisions.
● Demonstrated high standard of professional ethics, honesty and the ability to work with the confidential nature of donor information and university matters.
● Must be highly proficient with the Microsoft software suite, including Word, Excel and Power Point.
● Demonstrated time management and organizational skills with the ability to manage and meet multiple deadlines.

Desirable Knowledge, Skills, and/or Abilities

● Knowledge of fundraising in a university advancement environment.
● Understanding of donor stewardship and alumni engagement.
● Knowledge of major and planned giving.
● Demonstrated success in, or potential future contributions to, working with persons with a wide variety of backgrounds and viewpoints.

Work Environment and/or Physical Demands

Required Training and Other Conditions of Employment

Every employee at Michigan Technological University will receive the following training courses:

● Employee Safety Overview
● Annual Data Security Training
● Anti-Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation Training
● Annual Title IX Training

Additional training will be required by the department on a periodic basis.

Background Check:
Offers of employment are contingent upon and not considered finalized until the required background check has been performed and the results received and assessed.

1

FLSA Status

Exempt

Appointment Term

12 months

Pay Rate/Salary

The minimum salary for this position is $75,000. The final salary will depend on experience and qualifications.

Title of Position Supervisor

Executive Director for Charitable Gift Planning

Posting Type

Dependent on Funding