Director of Advancement Services

Description

PREAMBLE

Boston College High School is a Catholic, Jesuit, independent school serving young men across grades 7-12 from various communities across Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, Boston College High School continues its commitment to an authentic formation of the head, heart, and hands within the parameters of the Characteristics of Jesuit Education, the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, the BC High Mission Statement, and the strategic plan. 

Reports to: Vice President of Institutional Advancement

Department: Office of Institutional Advancement

POSITION SUMMARY

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Advancement and member of the advancement leadership team, the Director of Advancement Services provides strategic oversight and operational leadership across all facets of advancement operations. Directing a team that includes the Database Administrator and Development and Stewardship Officer, this role oversees and works across four core operational pillars: Gift Processing & Fund Management, Database Management & Systems, Stewardship & Donor Relations, and Prospect Development & Analytics. 

The Director leads the team responsible for driving operational excellence, maintaining data integrity, ensuring financial compliance, and synthesizing donor insights to fuel the school’s philanthropic goals and campaign growth. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Gift Processing & Fund Management

• Gift Administration & Policy: Acting as the primary gift processor for the accurate recording, batching, processing, and tax receipting of all charitable contributions (cash, checks, credit cards, wire transfers, stock gifts, pledges, matching gifts, and online giving platforms). Establish and enhance gift acceptance policies and ensure all gifts are booked in accordance with institutional guidelines as needed.
• Financial Reconciliation & Compliance: Provide executive support to the Database Administrator, who serves as the primary operational liaison to the Finance/Business Office in conducting routine monthly, quarterly, and annual reconciliations between the advancement database and the General Ledger. Personally review final financial reconciliations and enforce strict departmental compliance with IRS regulations, FASB standards, PCI-DSS guidelines, CASE standards, and school accounting practices. 
• Fund Accounting & Commitment Documentation: Lead the creation and changes to the documentation, and tracking of all new capital, current-use, and endowed funds in partnership with the Finance Office. Manage formal gift agreements and payment schedules for major pledges, overseeing the biannual pledge reminder process and handling any changes to pledge terms in close partnership with Vice President of Advancement and Director of Major Giving.
• Audit Leadership & External Reporting: Direct all advancement revenue auditing processes and serve as the lead authority in producing official financial reports for leadership, the Board of Trustees, and external reporting agencies (e.g., CASE/VSE, US News). 

2. Database Management & Systems Infrastructure

• Systems Oversight & Architecture: Provide strategic oversight and overall system governance for the advancement CRM (e.g., Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge / NXT) and integrated third-party platforms (e.g., GiveCampus, Givzey, event/giving software). Supervise the Database Administrator, who serves as the primary hands-on system administrator executing daily maintenance, updates, and module integrations.
• Data Integrity & Policy Governance: Establish, document, and revise institutional data entry standards, protocols, and privacy policies across the department. Direct and evaluate the Database Administrator’s execution of routine data hygiene processes, including NCOA updates, duplicate merging, email appending, and constituent record maintenance. 
• IT Collaboration & Security Strategy: Partner with the Information Technology department to set overall database security protocols, manage user access permissions, and ensure strict PCI compliance. Guide the Database Administrator in executing routine technical updates, system tests, and hardware/software integrations. 
• Reporting, Analytics & List Strategy: Oversee the department’s overall reporting logic, query strategy, and data extraction pipelines. Direct the Database Administrator in generating accurate constituent lists, direct marketing segmentations, board reports, and fundraising dashboards to support engagement and campaign initiatives. 

3. Stewardship & Donor Relations

• Acknowledgment Strategy & Oversight: Establish institutional acknowledgment policies and design high-touch thank-you protocols across all giving levels. Direct and supervise the Development and Stewardship Officer, who manages the daily execution of prompt, personalized tax receipts, dynamic thank-you correspondence, and executive signature workflows.
• Fund & Endowment Reporting Infrastructure: Set the framework and timeline for annual impact and financial reporting for endowed scholarships, capital projects, and restricted funds. Oversee the Development and Stewardship Officer in gathering impact stories, compiling narrative/financial reports, and delivering personalized stewardship packets to donors and benefactors. 
• Donor Recognition & Intent Compliance: Collaborate with advancement leadership and major gift officers to establish overarching donor recognition strategies, naming opportunity matrices, and donor touchpoint plans. Supervise the Development and Stewardship Officer in tracking recognition milestones, managing dynamic donor lists, and auditing ongoing adherence to donor intent, gift agreements, and naming policies.

4. Prospect Development, Pipeline & Analytics

• Prospect Research & Identification: Oversee the identification, wealth screening, and initial assessment of prospective leadership and major gift donors. 
• Portfolio & Pipeline Management: Partner with the Director of Major Giving to manage prospect assignments, portfolio hygiene, and prospect movements management. 
• Advanced Analytics: Deliver data-driven insights, pipeline metrics, and portfolio performance analysis to optimize strategies, solicitation timing, and donor trends. 
• Briefings & Strategy Support: Development of a system to provide detailed briefing profiles and intelligence summaries for the President, Vice President of Advancement, and key volunteers ahead of strategic visits and events. 

5. Staff Management & Departmental Leadership

• Team Supervision: Supervise, mentor, and evaluate Advancement Services staff: Database Administrator and Development and Stewardship Officer.
• Training & User Support: Provide ongoing training and operational support to the broader advancement team to build data literacy and process compliance.
• Leadership & Collaboration: Participate as a member of the advancement leadership team working collaboratively with major giving, annual giving & alumni engagement, events & communications.

6. General Advancement and School-Wide Support

• Collaborative Teamwork & Cross-Functional Alignment: Work collaboratively with colleagues across advancement, the administrative and student facing areas of the school to foster a team-oriented culture, streamline internal workflows, support school-wide initiatives and engagements, and our shared Jesuit Catholic mission. 
• Fiscal & Calendar Year-End Initiatives: As directed and needed, be an active participant during calendar and fiscal year-end outreach and direct marketing efforts to drive donor participation and gift revenue.
• Flexible Work Demands & Travel: Ability and willingness to work non-standard hours, including required evenings and weekends during high-volume periods. Travel off-campus or locally as needed to represent the Office of Institutional Advancement or support donor-facing activities. Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Experience: Minimum of 5+ years of progressive experience in advancement operations, gift administration, or database management—preferably in independent high schools or higher education. 
• Technical Expertise: Expertise in Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge / NXT (or equivalent relational CRM) and reporting tools (e.g., Crystal Reports).
• Financial Acumen: Deep knowledge of gift acceptance, charitable tax laws, fund accounting principles, and financial reconciliation processes. 
• Analytical Skills: Proven ability to translate raw data into actionable insights, donor pipelines, and strategy recommendations. 
• Interpersonal & Communication Skills: Exceptional written, verbal, and proofreading skills with a strong collaborative spirit. Ability to work seamlessly across the administrative and student facing areas of the school. 
• Discretion: High degree of integrity and absolute discretion when handling sensitive financial and biographical donor data. 
• Mission Alignment: Appreciation for Jesuit Catholic education and the mission and values of Boston College High School.