Assistant Director, Major Gifts

About the Opportunity

About the Opportunity

The Assistant Director of Major Gifts is the partner to content specialists in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) and the College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD) assisting in the execution of interdisciplinary fundraising strategies across the global university system. The portfolio might include prospects from additional units also.

The Assistant Director of Major Gifts collaborates with Advancement staff and faculty at CSSH, CAMD, and across the global university system, to discover, identify, and build relationships with prospective donors—developing strategies for their cultivation and soliciting gifts. The Assistant Director of Major Gifts, working with Development and Advancement leaders, carries out interdisciplinary major gifts fund-raising program for alumni, parents, and friends of CSSH and CAMD.

They discover, build, and manage a portfolio of 120+ prospective donors who exhibit considerable promise for evolving to major gift capacity over time and whose philanthropic priorities match the education and research programs at CSSH and CAMD. They solicit gifts in the $100K-$1M+ range. They travel regularly to key regions nationally for cultivating and soliciting prospective donors.

The Assistant Director of Major Gifts coordinates efforts with Advancement colleagues, and works collaboratively, where appropriate, with colleagues in corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy, as well as with other major gift officers, on special cross-disciplinary projects.

This position is Boston-based and is not available for remote work.

Key Responsibilities

·         60% Active contributor to major gifts fund-raising effort for CSSH, CAMD, and interdisciplinary fundraising for the global university.

Cultivate, solicit, and build alumni, parent, and friend relationships. Strategize with faculty and other colleagues on next steps with prospects within CSSH, CAMD and across other disciplines. Travel as needed to build relationships with existing volunteers, prospects, and donors. Solicit gifts in the $100K – $1M+ range. Work with the Assistant Vice President, Advancement, Executive Director and other advancement teams (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to ensure the development goals of CSSH and CAMD are met. Advise faculty, fund-raising colleagues, and administrators on alumni and parent areas of interest. Partner with fund-raising colleagues (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to develop interdisciplinary strategies for donors providing support across the university.

·         25% Building Prospect Portfolio and Pipeline

Discover new prospects and build pipeline to feed gifts at the major gift level. Work closely with the Assistant Vice President to develop and manage a large portfolio of prospects (approximately 120+). Working within a region-based plans cultivate and solicit alumni and current parents in targeted areas nationally. Engage faculty strategically with prospects; maintain correspondence; and keep the Assistant Vice President, faculty, and appropriate University administrators apprised of funding opportunities and trends. Travel as needed to strategically identified regions to support prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Achieve annual fund-raising goals and activity (visits, video meetings, calls, proposals, etc.) metrics set by the Assistant Vice President.

·         15% Maintain Prospect Portfolio and Data Management

Maintain high-quality development process for active alumni, parent, and friend prospects and donors. Create call reports and maintain database system. Maintain the data integrity of prospect portfolio using the Development Office data management systems (Ascend). Prepare monthly progress prospect reports for the Assistant Vice President. Work with Advancement’s Stewardship team to ensure that past, present, and future donors are appropriately recognized, including their administration and accounting.

Knowledge, Skill Sets, and Experience

·         2-4 years of professional experience with at least 2 years of demonstrated success in soliciting and closing six- and seven-figure gifts in support of a non-profit institution

·         Demonstrated experience cultivating and soliciting, alumni, parents, and friends, and maintaining positive relationships with donors

·         Superior communication skills—highly collaborative and entrepreneurial in approach and possessing interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with various university constituents, both internal and external

·         Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of the Northeastern University Advancement team

·         Data- and metric-driven mindset

·         An appreciation and understanding of the mission of Northeastern University

·         Overnight travel and some evening and weekend work required

·         BA/BS degree required

Position Type

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.  

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:

Expected Hiring Range:

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.