Associate Director, Major Gifts - Regional

About the Opportunity

Northeastern University Advancement seeks a self-motivated, entrepreneurial, and mission-driven development professional for the role of Associate Director of Major Gifts who will be responsible for raising major gifts for priority initiatives within and across Northeastern colleges, programs, and campuses. The Associate Director will cultivate and steward philanthropic relationships with individuals including alumni, parents, and friends, while identifying new champions to support the University.

Recognizing the growth and necessity of multidisciplinary education and research and the myriad of philanthropic interests and opportunities from those who comprise the Northeastern community, the Associate Director will manage a diverse portfolio of major gift prospects located in designated geographic region(s). This regional model of university-wide portfolios will positively impact business travel and serve the collective goals of University Advancement and the multidisciplinary mission of the University at large.

The Associate Director of Major Gifts will work with faculty and Advancement staff across the university to discover, identify, and build relationships with prospective donors in defined region(s)—developing strategies for cultivation and solicitation of gifts. Within the region(s)-based portfolio, the Associate Director discovers, builds, and manages a portfolio of 120+ prospective donors who exhibit considerable promise giving at the major gift  level. The Associate Director will subsequently solicit gifts in the $100K-$1M+ range for a broad range of opportunities within colleges and university-wide. Scholarships, research, and coops are among the priority needs.

The Associate Director works collaboratively with a talented group of Advancement colleagues in all major gift groups including corporate & foundation relations, international fundraising, gift planning, leadership giving, annual giving, and family philanthropy to effectively match fundraising opportunities to academic priorities and to serve as a source of advice about trends and strategies in fundraising region(s).

This position is Boston-based and is not available for remote work. Travel support and administrative assistance to effectively work a major gifts portfolio in a designated region(s) is provided by University Advancement.

• 5+ years of professional experience with at least 3 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

Engage and Solicit Major Gifts Prospects in select region

Cultivate, solicit, and build alumni, parent, and friend relationships. Strategize with faculty and other colleagues on next steps with prospects. Travel as needed to designated region(s) to build relationships with existing volunteers, prospects, and donors and to solicit gifts in the $100K – $1M+ range.

Building and Sustaining Prospect Pipeline

 Discover new prospects and build pipeline to feed gifts at the major gift level. Work with the Senior Associate Vice President to create a strategic development plan for advancing a portfolio of approximately 120 prospects.; establish region-based plans for cultivating and soliciting alumni and current parents in targeted region(s); engage faculty strategically with prospects; maintain correspondence; and keep the Senior Associate Vice President, faculty, and appropriate University administrators apprised of funding opportunities and trends; and achieve annual fund-raising goals and activity (visits, video meetings, calls, proposals, etc.) metrics.

Maintain Prospect Portfolio

 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 Senior Associate Vice President; work with Advancement’s Stewardship team to ensure that past, present, and future donors are appropriately recognized; including their administration and accounting.

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.