OFFICIAL JOB TITLE*: Advancement Officer; Assistant Advancement Officer; Associate Advancement Officer; OR Senior Advancement Officer*

DIVISION: University Advancement

DEPARTMENT: University Advancement

BARGAINING UNIT STATUS*: ESU, Cat. 16 (Associate- or Assistant-level); ESU, Cat. 17 (Advancement Officer); or ESU, Cat. 18 (Senior-level)

EEO STATUS: 33

JOB CODE: 023

FLSA STATUS: Exempt

REPORTS TO: Vice Chancellor of Advancement

SUPERVISES: N/A

SALARY: ESU Salary Range* Commensurate with experience

*Official Job Title and Bargaining Unit Status (Category) are dependent upon the qualifications of the selected incumbents.

SUMMARY PURPOSE OF POSITION: The Advancement Officer is a member of the fundraising team and is responsible for a wide range of major gift fund raising activities throughout the United States. The Advancement Officer collaborates closely with top-level University administrators, faculty, and volunteers to provide professional and strategic approaches to cultivating, soliciting and stewarding many of the highest capacity prospects for the University. The incumbent collaborates closely with other University development professionals and administrators in support of University-wide development goals and provides leadership in addressing issues of professional practice, policies and procedures. The Advancement Officer plays a key role with the Vice Chancellor of Advancement in developing policies and strategies regarding donor cultivation and confidentiality, as well as fund creation and management. The incumbent is responsible for identifying and promoting major gift prospect relationships and developing long range plans for donor development. The Advancement Officer represents the Vice Chancellor as assigned, and collaborates with campus leaders, the Chancellor’s Office, and other Institutional Advancement staff including those in the Annual Giving, Advancement Services, Foundation, and Alumni Office to secure major gifts for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

EXAMPLES OF PRIMARY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward relationships with an assigned portfolio of suspects, prospects and donors. Many of these prospects are of the highest rating and/or require partnerships with campus and university leadership.
Work collaboratively with volunteers, other advancement staff, and university representatives to cultivate and solicit donors for college-wide priorities.
Provide leadership, direction and consultation to faculty and administration to engage them in the development program.
Participate in all aspects of the gift cycle from identifying prospects, initiating contact and developing a relationship and strategy to engage potential donors and friends with the ultimate goal of soliciting their participation and fiscal investment in the university. Maintain stewardship contacts with donors.
Use the prospect management system to its fullest extent, entering contact, solicitation and prospect moves into the fundraising system in a timely fashion.
Conduct confidential conversations with prospective donors to determine most advantageous method of donation from a personal finance, tax implication and university point of view.
Develop proposals and gift agreements for donor giving priorities and opportunities.
Maintain knowledge of current tax laws, investments and planned giving opportunities; use knowledge in prospect cultivation and solicitation.
Adhere to the highest ethical standards and standards of confidentiality; convey sensitivity to needs of the donors.
Assist in developing long and short-range strategic planning activities to create and implement fund raising goals and objectives.
Participate in the development and implementation of strategic and operational planning for the Division of Institutional Advancement.
Develop and implement policies for the Division of Institutional Advancement.
Serve as liaison to the University of Massachusetts President’s Office as well as various national groups and constituents.
Facilitate relationships among key institutional leadership, prospects and donors.
Develop and maintain an extensive knowledge of philanthropic communities.
Recommend and implement cultivation and solicitation strategies for individual prospects, working with administration, faculty and volunteers as appropriate in order to solicit gifts at and above the major gift level.
Attend committee meetings and prospect review meetings; provides communication updates to departmental management.
Follow the University’s best practices to build and/or support student academic success and retention, and assist in meeting strategic objectives for persistence and timely graduation of all the student population.
Travels as required in order to carry out the duties of the position.
Meet or exceed goals and metrics that are developed annually.
Performs special projects and other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS – ADVANCEMENT OFFICER:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree.

EXPERIENCE: Significant (over five years) fund raising experience. Demonstrated successful fund development and client relationship skill experience.

OTHER: Frequent local, regional and national travel is a requirement, as is flexibility in work hours to include evenings and weekends in order to successfully accomplish objectives and satisfy goals.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Demonstrated experience in consistently soliciting major gifts and generating significant commitments from donors including six and seven figure commitments.
Demonstrated experience in and knowledge of development/fundraising concepts and techniques.
Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with donors, volunteers, deans, faculty and development staff.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Self-motivation and discipline to regularly set and achieve work goals.
Ability to adapt and respond to various situations.
Excellent organizational, interpersonal and networking skills with large groups as well as with individuals.
Ability to maintain a high level of poise and professionalism in all circumstances.
Ability to initiate and build relationships with prospective donors, and interact via telephone and in person with institutional representatives.
Demonstrated ability to take primary responsibility for diverse number of projects and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.
Working knowledge of best practices in gift planning and procedures.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Appreciation of the value of higher education.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS – ASSISTANT ADVANCEMENT OFFICER:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree.

EXPERIENCE: Previous (over one year) experience in fundraising or a comparable industry, with demonstrable skill presenting abstract ideas to sophisticated clients/donors.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Demonstrated experience presenting abstract ideas to sophisticated audiences and generating significant commitments from donors/clients.
Demonstrated experience in and knowledge of development/fundraising concepts and techniques.
Ability to work cooperatively and effectively as a member of a team.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Self-motivation and discipline to regularly set and achieve work goals.
Ability to adapt and respond to various situations.
Excellent organizational, interpersonal and networking skills with large groups as well as with individuals.
Ability to maintain a high level of poise and professionalism in all circumstances.
Ability to initiate and build relationships with prospective donors, and interact via telephone and in person with institutional representatives.
Demonstrated ability to take primary responsibility for diverse number of projects and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.
Working knowledge of best practices in gift planning and procedures.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Appreciation of the value of higher education.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS – ASSOCIATE ADVANCEMENT OFFICER:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree.

EXPERIENCE: Demonstrated (over three years) fund raising experience with demonstrated gift success and/or demonstrable skill presenting abstract ideas to sophisticated clients/donors.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Demonstrated success in soliciting major gifts and generating significant commitments from donors including six and seven figure commitments.
Demonstrated experience in and knowledge of development/fundraising concepts and techniques.
Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with donors, volunteers, deans, faculty and development staff.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Self-motivation and discipline to regularly set and achieve work goals.
Ability to adapt and respond to various situations.
Excellent organizational, interpersonal and networking skills with large groups as well as with individuals.
Ability to maintain a high level of poise and professionalism in all circumstances.
Ability to initiate and build relationships with prospective donors, and interact via telephone and in person with institutional representatives.
Demonstrated ability to take primary responsibility for diverse number of projects and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.
Working knowledge of best practices in gift planning and procedures.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Appreciation of the value of higher education.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS – SENIOR ADVANCEMENT OFFICER:

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree.

EXPERIENCE: Significant (over seven years) fund raising experience. Demonstrated experience in securing six and seven figure gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other private funding sources.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:

Demonstrated experience in consistently soliciting major gifts and generating significant commitments from donors including six and seven figure commitments.
Demonstrated experience in and knowledge of development/fundraising concepts and techniques.
Ability to work cooperatively and effectively with donors, volunteers, deans, faculty and development staff.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Self-motivation and discipline to regularly set and achieve work goals.
Ability to adapt and respond to various situations.
Excellent organizational, interpersonal and networking skills with large groups as well as with individuals.
Ability to maintain a high level of poise and professionalism in all circumstances.
Ability to initiate and build relationships with prospective donors, and interact via telephone and in person with institutional representatives.
Demonstrated ability to take primary responsibility for diverse number of projects and to complete them in a timely manner with limited supervision.
Working knowledge of best practices in gift planning and procedures.
Proficient in Microsoft Office, specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Appreciation of the value of higher education.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS – ALL LEVELS:

Demonstrated record of success in generating significant commitments from donors, at the six-figure level of giving.
Experience working in Higher Education.
Experience working for a public entity.
Experience working with a diverse population of benefactors and prospective donors.
Demonstrated understanding of all facets of giving to include Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Planned Giving as well as Alumni Relations and building a donor pipeline.
Master’s Degree.
Certified Fund Raising Professional.

UMass Dartmouth offers exciting benefits* such as:

75% Employer-Paid Health Insurance
Flexible Spending Accounts
Life Insurance
Long Term Disability
State Pension Retirement Plan
Optional Retirement Savings Plans
Tuition Credit (Employee, Spouse, & Dependents)
Twelve (12) paid holidays
Paid personal, vacation, and sick time
And More!

Benefits: Benefits at UMass Dartmouth

Applicants must be authorized for employment in the U.S. on a full-time basis. Employment-based visa sponsorship not available.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest, current resume, and the contact information for up to three professional references.

NOTE: For all levels, work location required at both the University’s main campus as well as the UMass Club in Boston. These positions are not eligible for discretionary leave time per the ESU Contract.

The deadline for INTERNAL applicants will be July 7, 2023.

The review of applications will begin July 10, 2023 and will be ongoing.

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth

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