Director of Advancement

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the vitality and democratic purposes of undergraduate liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions in more than twenty-five countries as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.

The Director of Advancement will work collaboratively to execute activities affiliated with AAC&U’s diverse development portfolio, including sponsorships, partnerships, and fundraising. The Director of Advancement will advance AAC&U’s mission and core values through development of and thoughtful stewardship of relationships and execution of agreements. This role requires close collaboration with the association’s leadership, to ensure sponsor/partner/ donor satisfaction, retention of relationships, and facilitation of new external collaborations. Experience utilizing multiple sponsorship and fundraising channels and working with leadership to create strategy, drive growth, and execute strategic partnerships across the organization is required. This position reports to the Vice President of Research.

Priorities and Responsibilities:

• Research, develop and implement sponsorship/partnership for AAC&U programs and events (annual meeting, conference, institutes, webinars, and publications) to include identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding existing and new sponsor/partners/ donors (including individual, foundations, and corporate);
• Oversee event and program sponsors, both new and existing relationships, including the production and negotiation of sponsorship agreements under the guidance of the senior leadership;
• Establish protocols for seeking, recording, reporting, and acknowledging gifts and grants in cooperation with senior leadership;
• Lead development and implementation of creative growth strategies;
• Steward relationships with sponsors, donors, and partners with an emphasis on proactive communication and reporting of results;
• Collaborate on the design and implementation of growth and retention strategies across all of AAC&U’s development channels;
• Manage Giving Tuesday campaigns for AAC&U;
• Represent AAC&U’s development work across a variety of audiences and constituencies;
• Gather outcome metrics and prepare reports for senior leadership;
• Keep abreast of funding marketplace, and work with senior leadership to cultivate opportunities;
• Carry out administrative and budgetary responsibilities as needed in support of development activities;
• Perform related special projects or other duties as assigned

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 8 years of fundraising and development experience in a Director role overseeing performance outcomes and fundraising goals
• Effective communication skills and the ability to interact with others clearly and empathetically
• Consistent record of success setting and meeting ambitious development and fundraising goals
• Makes appropriate decisions based on relevant information and experience
• Experience with the development of partnerships
• Significant experience building generative relationships with individuals or institutions
• Strong background managing all aspects of fundraising goals
• Experience creating budgets and forecasting revenue
• Familiarity with using social media, social networking, and technology to communicate with donors and generate revenue
• Proficiency with fundraising applications using available data to perform comprehensive donor data analysis for reporting and decision-making
• Consistently delivers quality work products by deadline
• Experience working with diverse teams with demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and equitably
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Willing and able to travel

Please submit a resume, cover letter describing relevant work and educational experience, and salary requirements to AAC&U, Box HR, 1818 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009, or to openings@aacu.org. Review of applications will begin on June 20, 2022.

AAC&U believes that a broadly diverse staff is critical to achieving excellence as a national higher education association. We seek to recruit, develop, and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with the full range of fair employment practices and non-discrimination law