Development Director, Strategic Giving-College of Liberal Arts

Position Classification:

Regular, full-time, salaried, exempt and benefit-eligible staff position. For more benefit information visit Why Work at UCO?

General Schedule:

This position typically works 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at UCO's main campus in Edmond, Oklahoma. 

Position Overview:

The Development Director, Strategic Giving - College of Liberal Arts serves as a strategic fundraising partner to the College of Liberal Arts and the Foundation. The position is responsible for developing and managing an existing portfolio of College of Liberal Arts donors, and emerging new mid-range donors to the college and Foundation.

In addition to serving as the primary development director for the College of Liberal Arts, this position supports the Foundation's broader fundraising strategy by helping establish, strengthen, and manage new and mid-range donor pipelines university wide. The Director will identify donors with greater capacity, qualify emerging prospects, develop upgrade strategies, and cultivate donors toward increasingly significant philanthropic commitments.

The position will work closely with the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Directors of Development, and the Annual Giving Director to develop and maintain a source of upcoming major gift donors to the University.

Job Duties:

College of Liberal Arts Fundraising

• Serves as the primary development professional responsible for advancing philanthropic support for the College of Liberal Arts.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising plan for the College of Liberal Arts.
• Manage a portfolio of major, mid-level, leadership, and emerging major-gift prospects and donors.
• Establish meaningful relationships with alumni, friends, corporations, foundations, and other college constituents.
• Work with the Dean, department chairs and school director, faculty, and college leadership to understand strategic priorities and translate those priorities into compelling funding opportunities.
• Work closely with the Senior Director of Development for goal setting, metrics plans and evaluations on progress.
• Work closely with Director of Development team on fundraising initiatives, priorities, and mentorship.
• Conduct donor meetings, initial discovery visits, campus visits, lunches, events, and other engagement opportunities.
• Prepare and coordinate proposals, solicitations, gift agreements, and stewardship plans.

Mid-Range Giving Pipeline — Foundation Responsibility

• An additional component of this role would be serving as a Foundation-wide resource for mid-range giving development.
• Identify annual or new donors with the capacity and inclination to increase their giving.
• Identify donors who may be ready to transition from annual giving to mid-range giving or major gift donors.
• Work with Directors of Development on strategies for emerging prospects.
• Create meaningful opportunities for donors to become more deeply connected to the University.
• Move qualified donors into prospective DOD portfolios and assist with scheduling introductory meetings.
• Partner with other development officers when a donor has interests across multiple colleges or University priorities.
• Monitor donor movement through the pipeline.
• Identify gaps in the pipeline and recommend strategies to address them.
• Re-engaging lapsed or declining mid-level donors’ university wide.

Qualifications/Experience Required:

Bachelor's degree and 4+ years of progressive experience in fundraising, sales and/or gift planning-related roles (or equivalent combination of education and experience).

Must have a valid driver's license, clean driving record, and be able to operate a typical motor vehicle.

Qualifications/Experience Preferred:

CFRE preferred but not required. Experience in Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge or other like application preferred.

Three to five years of responsible experience in public relations, marketing, or fund raising, preferably at a public or private higher education institution, or comparable volunteer experience. Fundraising experience

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:

• Strong understanding of fundraising principles and best practices; ability to articulate best practices and craft multi-dimensional fundraising strategies for both individual donor development as well as broad-based appeals.
• Ability to develop, maintain and grow interpersonal relationships including with university alumni, donors and friends, administrators, faculty, students and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to solicit gifts, including face-to-face direct solicitation.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to make effective presentations to large and small groups.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills. Ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a community.
• Intuitive ability to recognize opportunities.
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment.
• Exceptional goal orientation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and the ability to learn customized online software applications and basic data analysis.
• Ability to effectively evaluate projects/programs and produce comprehensive reports.
• Adherence to the ethical standards of the profession.
• Ability to travel both locally and regionally as needed to engage key stakeholders
• Occasional weekend or evening work is required.

Physical Demands:

Reasonable accommodations (in accordance with ADA requirements) may be made, upon request, to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.