Major Gifts Officer
Duke Alumni Engagement & Development
Full Time
The Major Gift Officer is responsible for the strategic identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individual prospects at the $100,000+ level. S/he will manage portfolios of prospects with multiple Duke affiliations and philanthropic interests in a regionally organized program.
Work Performed
Qualify, Cultivate, Solicit and Steward Prospects
Identify, cultivate and solicit major gift prospects in all phases of the fundraising cycles, with a focus on those with the potential capacity to make gifts above $100k. Develop and manage a portfolio of prospects and maintain active efforts to evaluate prospects identified through fieldwork, screening and research.
Develop, execute and lead strategies for involvement, cultivation and solicitation of single and multi-interest donors, including appropriate referrals to and/or joint work with colleagues in schools and units.
Clear and efficient use of language skills to learn qualification information and invite prospects into collaborative discussions. Manage a disciplined approach to confirming details of a proposal verbally with prospects by asking clarifying questions. Ensure that the giving conversation is grounded in the measurable and emotional impacts a gift/donor can have on a priority.
Strategically utilize resources for cultivation and solicitation. Collaborate with higher level Duke representatives and effectively leverage other donor stories to illustrate the ways in which others partner with Duke.
Demonstrate decisiveness and sound judgment to predict how a decision will affect individuals and groups in the department or university and develop strategies to build support for the decision.
Develop thoughtful stewardship plans for key donors; initiatives involve high level impact reports, dedications and special events. Maintain a focus on re-qualifying donors when they move from stewardship back into the donor engagement process.
Create, evaluate and refine plans and timetables for regional, departmental or theme assignments;
assist with planning and/or directing cultivational events or programs.
Maintain a robust knowledge of University-wide funding priorities, and a general knowledge of school and unit funding priorities. Assist administrators and faculty in the recognition and prioritization of institutional and departmental funding needs; keep abreast of institutional and departmental priorities, programs, personalities and events
.
Volunteer and Relationship Management
Identify, staff and train individual volunteers and volunteer committees, encouraging their placement on school or unit boards or other activities, involving Duke representatives as appropriate. Suggest changes to strengthen membership of existing volunteer boards or organizations.
Facilitates collaboration among various functional or stakeholder groups.
Maintain active communication with development officers throughout Duke to coordinate prospect activity and to make and "take" referrals.
Maintain a working knowledge of Duke's regional volunteer and prospect base and regional activities.
Sophisticated understanding of the entire university and effectively communicate the greatest needs, top priorities and practices. Independently manage relationships with key faculty, chairs, etc.
Perform other related duties incidental to the work described herein.
Required Competencies:
Collaborating with others: Ability to work collaboratively, formally and informally within one’s
team and across the organization.
Goal & Task Management: Prioritize and coordinate tasks with attention to deadlines, concurrent management of projects and ability to create and follow a set strategy for short and long-term goals and objectives.
Curiosity & Information Seeking: Expresses an underlying curiosity in people and an ability to go beyond questions that are routine to gain an understanding of the prospects capacity, affinity and inclination.
Decisiveness & Judgment: Uses sound judgment to make appropriate, timely decisions in complex situations for which there are no set procedures.
Ability to influence: Ability to move or persuade others to act in a desired way. Uses indirect influence.
Flexibility: The ability to adapt to and work effectively with a variety of situations, and with various individuals. Adapts tactics appropriately.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Makes decisions and takes action with limited information. Anticipates impact of change and directs self and others in smoothly shifting gears.
Expressing ideas orally and in writing: Ability to effectively and persuasively communicate ideas, thoughts, and facts orally and in writing.
Listening: Is an “active listener”. Establishes rapport with and is receptive to speaker. Picks up on
underlying messages; “hears between the lines”.
Organizational Awareness: Ability to learn and understand organizational relationships and dynamics. Uses networks, alliances and individuals to achieve objectives.
Leadership: Ability to effectively manage and guide group efforts. Takes an active role in developing motivational strategies.
Preferred Qualifications
Seven to ten years fundraising experience, preferably in major gifts for an academic environment.
Must be willing to travel.
Ability to plan and implement a fundraising plan for a metropolitan area of strategic importance to Duke University; knowledge of Duke University and metropolitan areas highly desirable.
Ability to understand the needs and interests of leadership and prospects in order to align those with Duke priorities. Interest in all aspects of education and a dedication to promoting Duke’s fundraising priorities.
Demonstrates a high probability of gift closure.
Strong collaborative abilities and enthusiasm for working in teams.
Significant experience staffing major gift volunteers; campaign volunteer management preferred.
Demonstrated ability to handle multiple, complex fundraising activities simultaneously.
Excellent oral and written communication skills; demonstrates active listening.
High level of creativity, initiative, and motivation.
Maintain a high level of confidentiality with respect to prospects and donors.
Minimum Qualifications
Education
Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor's degree program.
Experience
Work requires five years of progressive fund raising experience in a related organization with a proven track record in major gifts. Campaign experience is desirable. OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE
