Director of Development

Central Washington University is recruiting a Director of Development to join our University Advancement team in Ellensburg, Washington or Seattle, Washington. This role is an important member of our team as they enhance the vision for the University. The role is a campus-based position, which means you get to see the lives you are impacting. We're offering a salary, depending on experience, from $80,588 - $100,736 annually plus the awesome CWU benefits.

Who we are:

We are a team of individuals committed to Changing Students' Lives. No matter what job, each of us plays a part in supporting and empowering our students to fulfill their dreams.

Working in higher education provides career growth and career choice. Think of a university campus like a mini city, operating across 380 acres. You'll find diverse academics, libraries, athletics and sporting events, full service and quick serve dining, conferences and events from small to large, recreation centers, housing, health services, police and public safety for the campus population of ~10,000 students.

Central Washington University has been named a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Top Producing Institution for the 2022-2023 academic year. In addition, for the seventh time in eight years, CWU is a recipient of the prestigious Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. Come join us on our journey to encourage, inspire, and create spaces where all identities thrive on campus.

Tour our campus in Ellensburg here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjdhOegDa9A

What we offer:

Our investment in you begins the day you join our team, a healthy and successful future for you is important to us. We offer medical, dental, life and disability insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, tuition assistance for you and your dependents, discounts across town, an employee assistance program for individualized counseling, and a wellness incentive program. Learn more: Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

The Role:

The Director of Development (DOD) is an externally facing position that is responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of prospective and current donors to CWU, including alumni, parents, friends, and other constituents' groups. The DOD will focus on fundraising priorities articulated by university leadership. The DOD may be assigned to a specific school, college or unit or may be assigned regionally to represent broader university priorities. The DOD has a focus of activity on major gifts and will manage a portfolio of major gift donors and prospects. Travel throughout Washington state and occasional out of state travel is required. All employees are expected to support CWU's commitment to diversity and to bring and support inclusion into the university environment.

Fundraising
- Manage and be directly responsible for a portfolio of major gift prospects for the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major gifts; develop and document written cultivation and solicitation strategies/proposals, purposefully guiding donors to make major investments in Central Washington University and develop relationships to maximize their giving potential over time.
- Plan and implement cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for major gift prospects and well as identify and qualify new and prospective donors through regular strategic contacts.
- Meet explicit annual performance objectives as part of an annual work plan determined in partnership with the position's supervisor(s),
- Develop strong working relationships with Advancement and School/College/Athletics/University colleagues. Meet/interact regularly with colleagues in order strategize, develop plans, and solve problems.
- Work with Prospect Research and Management to identify new donor prospects and maintain database records of all fundraising and engagement activity as required by Advancement policies and procedures.
- Develop detailed knowledge of university and college programs and activities necessary to engage donors and prospective donors.

Planning, Strategy, and Integration
- Work collaboratively with Annual Giving and Gift Planning to enhance coordinated fundraising efforts.
- Coordinate cultivation activities and solicitations with other Central Washington University representatives, including Deans, key faculty, and volunteers as appropriate. Ensure appropriate stewardship plans are prepared, and activities conducted, for assigned donors.
- Ensure that donors are thanked and recognized by working closely with Advancement stewardship staff and university/college staff as appropriate.
- Set fundraising goals with university, college, and advancement leadership
- Coordinate closely with Engagement team as part of donor cultivation and stewardship efforts.
- Participate in relevant college or university meetings with deans and department chairs and faculty on all development/fundraising based activities.

- Perform other duties as assigned

• Bachelor's degree AND 3 years of direct fundraising experience including success in soliciting and closing major gifts in a non-profit organization.
• Demonstrated willingness and/or experience working with students and/or co-workers from a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and experiences.
• OR applicable combination of education and/or experience which demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree.
• Experience working in Higher Education.
• A record of promoting inclusivity in the work environment.
• Demonstrated participation in programs designed to promote inclusion.
• Ability to incorporate multicultural perspectives and issues into everyday conversations.

Professional Competencies:

• Working with donors and prospects: Confidently builds relationships towards solicitation, occasional personalized stewardship. Comfortable closing major and planned gifts. Displays intellectual and social curiosity by asking probing questions and develops links between seemingly disparate ideas. Excellent communication skills and able to make persuasive verbal and written case for support.
• Portfolio Management and Systems: Ability to prioritize portfolio and plan for donor pipeline and able to succeed in a metrics driven environment.
• Institutional Knowledge and Navigation: Understands role of Advancement as part of highly functioning university and has industry network to keep knowledge updated
• Pipeline Strategy and Development: Understands and is able to draw on resources across the university and advancement to develop prospect pipeline.
• Volunteer Management: Works strategically with volunteers to enhance engagement, cultivation, and solicitation efforts.
• Strategic Planning: Able to plan out fundraising goals and activities over multiple years as part of a wider Advancement effort.
• Academic Leadership: Able to work closely with academic leaders on planning and donor activity and leverage their skills towards fundraising success.
• Discretion and Confidentiality: Works with high level donors with discretion and tact.

Institutional Competencies:

• Accountability/Dependability: Accepts responsibility for quality of own work; acknowledges and corrects mistakes. Shows up on time, meets standards, deadlines, and work schedules.
• Judgement: Makes timely, informed decisions. Analyzes options and determines appropriate course of action.
• Teamwork: Promotes cooperation and mutual support to achieve goals. Encourages participation and mutual support.
• Adaptability/Flexibility: Responds positively to changing business needs and responsibilities. Adapts approach and methods to achieve results; recovers quickly from setbacks and finds alternatives.
• Commitment to Diversity: Recognizes the value of diversity and helps create environment that supports and embraces diversity.

Don't meet every single requirement? At CWU we're dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every requirement, we encourage you to apply anyway. This may be the job for you!

Salary: This position has a minimum annual salary of $80,588.00 and maximum annual salary of $120,883.00. The Hiring Department's expected hiring range is $80,588 - $100,736. In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the hiring range is based on the candidate's current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position.

Schedule/Appointment: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm (1 hour lunch), with some weekends and evenings

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an indoor office setting with frequent in-person interactions. It is essential to be able to remain at a desk/computer workstation for prolonged periods of time, perform extensive data entry and other computer-related tasks and create/maintain filing systems for departmental records. Attendance at University and College events and functions which may occur in the evening and/or weekends. Extensive travel away from the office is required.

Benefits: CWU offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical and dental insurance, retirement and optional savings plans, life and disability insurance, along with vacation and sick leave plans depending on employment classification. For additional information please visit Benefits, Perks, and Leave.

An employee of CWU may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program if the employee has student loans. To learn more, visit: https://ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program.