General Description
Reporting to the President, the Vice President will be a member of the President’s Cabinet and work collaboratively with senior leadership and faculty, Trustees, members of the Urban College of Boston Foundation Committee, alumni leaders, and other stakeholders across the College community. The Vice President serves as the staff liaison to Urban College of Boston’s Foundation Committee and manages two direct reports (a Senior Manager of Development Operations and an Administrative Coordinator).
Position: Vice President of Advancement
Location: Urban College of Boston, Boston, MA
Employment Type: Full-Time
Reports To: President
Compensation: The annual salary for the position is benchmarked at $170,000, with a performance base bonus of 10-15% of the base salary. As a regular, benefited employee, the appointee will have the opportunity to participate in a comprehensive benefit package.
Job Summary
The Vice President is charged with building the College’s Advancement division and – in collaboration with the President – the new Foundation Committee, expanding the donor base, and markedly increasing contributed revenue. The Vice President will be empowered to examine and evolve all dimensions of Institutional Advancement in consultation with the President, including the organizational design and functional alignment thereof and bringing new levels of sophistication, precision, and analytical rigor to fundraising processes and infrastructure.
This position offers an exciting opportunity for an individual who is interested in building a department from the ground up and balancing the responsibility of setting high-level strategy and remaining directly engaged in the daily operational work needed to execute that strategy. Unlike many colleges and universities, Urban College’s fundraising strategy is not focused on soliciting alumni; instead, the person in this position will be responsible for identifying and cultivating donors who are drawn to the College’s mission of opening new pathways to opportunity through individualized, supportive, and multilingual education that prepares a diverse community of learners to pursue career advancement and transform their lives.
Principal Duties and Responsibilities
The following describes the essential duties of the person assigned to this position. They are not intended as an exhaustive list of all job duties and responsibilities.
Executive Leadership and Planning
- Provide vision and leadership in developing and implementing integrated strategic plans for Institutional Advancement in concert with the College’s strategic plan, setting measurable goals and objectives in the areas of major giving, annual giving, institutional grants, foundation and corporate relations, special events, and alumni relations.
- Collaborate with the President, Cabinet members, respective leadership of the Board of Trustees and the Foundation Committee, and other academic and administrative leaders to identify a full range of philanthropic and alumni engagement priorities and drive a culture of philanthropy.
- Strategically partner with the President and respective volunteer leadership to deepen the engagement of the Board of Trustees, Foundation Committee, and Alumni Association, leveraging the extraordinary talent, relationships, and resources of these groups and facilitating their appropriate roles as fiduciaries or long-term stewards of the College.
- As required, serve as the President's representative to the Urban College of Boston community, including alumni, volunteers, and current and prospective Urban College of Boston supporters.
Fundraising and Alumni Relations
- Ensure strategic management of activities for identification of giving prospects, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, and model best practices in prospect strategy, approaches, as well as transparency and collaboration, serving as a resource to colleagues on related matters.
- Build and manage a select portfolio of high priority major and principal gift prospects, including individual and institutional sources, from cultivation through solicitation and stewardship.
- Lead and oversee donor cultivation and solicitation opportunities that involve the President, Cabinet members, Trustees, Foundation Committee members, and other high-level volunteer leaders.
- Ensure ongoing prospect discovery and engagement at all levels of giving, including both traditional and non-traditional sources, as well as examination of existing donors that may have greater capacity.
- Develop, build, and ensure creative, cutting-edge alumni relations initiatives that engage alumni in the life of Urban College of Boston and promote opportunities for volunteerism. Align alumni relations efforts with fundraising activities, increasing alumni participation in giving and identifying and cultivating all potential prospects for annual leadership gifts and major gifts.
- Participate in community engagement to enhance Urban College of Boston’s visibility, with a focus on potential strategic partnerships, fund- and friend-raising work, and lifelong engagement with alumni.
- Conduct travel (primarily regionally) to support Urban College of Boston priorities, including donor cultivation and solicitation, alumni engagement, and strategic communications.
Management and Oversight:
- Hire, manage, inspire, mentor, and evaluate a dynamic, innovative, high-performing, cohesive, and diverse Institutional Advancement team, which will initially be comprised of two direct reports: a Senior Manager of Development Operations and an Administrative Coordinator.
- Set appropriate annual goals and monitor progress on a regular basis to maximize staff performance, ensuring the utilization of appropriate metrics on a team and individual basis.
- Oversee comprehensive Institutional Advancement operations, including related messaging and special events that build relationships with a growing constituency base.
- Ensure that efficient processes, management controls, policies, and data-informed decision-making guide the work of the Institutional Advancement team.
- Collaborate with the Chief Financial Officer to ensure sound fiscal responsibility, including in Advancement budget development and management, provision of documentation for the College’s annual audit, implementation of investment policy, and maintenance and management of the College’s unrestricted and restricted funds in accordance with internal policies and generally accepted accounting principles.
- Ensure the College adheres to donor agreements and intentions and implements strong donor stewardship practices that more closely tie them to the life of the College, coordinating stewardship initiatives with colleagues throughout the institution as needed.
- Perform other related duties as assigned by the President.
Candidate Profile: While Urban College of Boston will consider a broad range of backgrounds, the ideal candidate will have the following qualifications/experience.
Professional Skills and Competencies
- Ten or more years of experience ideally in higher education or nonprofit fundraising, serving in roles with progressive levels of responsibility, including a sophisticated understanding of the following: individual giving, institutional giving, major gifts, annual giving, planned to give, capital and comprehensive campaigns (planning, execution, closure), fundraising operations, stewardship, board relations, alumni relations, and events.
- Demonstrated success in setting and achieving ambitious fundraising goals.
- Knowledge of and fundamental adherence to the principles, ethics, and best practices of modern fundraising and alumni relations, including the integration of various programs to deepen and expand constituency engagement, diversify the funding base, and cultivate greater donor commitments.
- Track record of setting strategic direction, establishing goals, benchmarking, and shared accountability, as well as working across divisional/departmental lines when necessary to achieve results.
- Demonstrated commitment to and understanding of how to build diversity, equity, and inclusion in fundraising and alumni relations functions; competent with respect to issues such as racial, cultural, religious, sexual, and gender identity.
- Demonstrated experience working in partnership with the President/CEO/Chancellor to develop and execute strategies and the ability to successfully collaborate with senior staff, programmatic leaders, and volunteer leaders on advancement-related activities, providing them with quality support and intelligence and increasing their comfort with and success in fundraising.
- Proven ability to personally cultivate, solicit, and steward major gifts from individual and institutional donors at six and seven-figure levels. A high level of comfort and effectiveness working with high-net-worth individuals and corporate business leaders, domestically and internationally. Demonstrated strength in prospect discovery and in building effective strategies to compel new major donor investment. A forward thinker with a track record of utilizing new methods of donor engagement and connectivity, who will be driven by innovation in developing philanthropic best practices.
- Demonstrated ability in planning and executing integrated, strategic, and innovative communications in support of building an extended Urban College of Boston community and achieving established goals.
- Capacity to extract and analyze data to make effective, efficient decisions about donor strategy and process. Working knowledge of modern data management practices.
- A keen eye for operational efficiency and optimal use of resources. The ability to plan, monitor, and tightly manage a budget and achieve ambitious goals within a capacity-constrained environment.
- Experience in building and enhancing advancement infrastructure as well as effectively leveraging technology to streamline or integrate processes and expand the team’s reach. Experience with donor management software (Urban College currently uses Bloomerang). Competent with Microsoft products, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Teams, and SharePoint.
- Ability to travel extensively (domestically) on behalf of Urban College of Boston to build stronger relationships.
Additional Personal Characteristics
- Commitment to the mission and values of Urban College of Boston. Unimpeachable integrity and commitment to the highest standards of professionalism; mature judgment in handling sensitive material with confidentiality and respect. Values-driven, committed to personal and professional development. Leads by example and with humility. Elevates institutional goals and values beyond personal gain, ensuring efforts are mission-focused and quality driven.
- Demonstrated understanding of the benefits and challenges of working on and leading a small team.
- Collegial, approachable, emotionally intelligent leader, with the interpersonal skills to develop and sustain impactful relationships with an array of diverse constituencies. A sense of humor and perspective, and a penchant for transparency, consultation, and collaboration.
- Good listener with superior communication (oral and written) and negotiation skills, and presence to engage all constituents with empathy, warmth, and energy to serve as an effective, highly visible ambassador of the College.
- An energetic self-starter who is organized, detail oriented, resilient, agile, and creative in adapting to changing circumstances in a dynamic environment.
To Apply
Interested applicants should submit a: 1) cover letter and 2) resume. Please submit your application materials to hr@urbancollege.edu. Review of applications will begin with those received up to and including April 4, 2025, and continue until the position is filled.
Work Location
This full-time (37.5 hours per week) position is based on the College’s Boston campus (2 Boylston Street, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA 02116) but is currently approved as a hybrid position with an expectation to be available on campus two days per week (currently Wednesday and Thursday). This employment model is subject to periodic review by the President.
