Executive Director of Law Advancement

St. Mary's University • Full-time • San Antonio, TX, US • 1d ago

The Executive Director supports the School of Law by developing and securing successful philanthropic support for the school. Theposition is responsible for formulating and executing strategies to increase gift opportunities with prospective donors. The positionreports to the Vice President for University Advancement and is part of the Advancement Leadership team and serves at the pleasure of theDean of the School of Law and Vice President for University Advancement. The position is a member of the School of Law’s senior staff.

St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the commongood through community, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence: www.stmarytx.edu/about. St. Mary's is the oldest Catholic university in the Southwest and continues to advocate the Marianist mission.St. Mary's enrolls approximately 3500 students in a diverse university with four schools, more than 40 academic programs including Ph.D. andJ.D. programs, and numerous pre-professional programs. The successful candidate is expected to support and contribute to the University'sMarianist educational mission.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following.

Cultivates andmanages a dedicated portfolio of major gift prospects, solicits individuals and closes gifts to meet annual and campaign goals.
Makes approximately 120 substantive visits annually across the nation. Utilizes and understands metrics driven programs and performanceexpectations.
Provides leadership in the area of Advancement to the Law School; promotes and manages a team responsible formulti-faceted alumni engagement programs and supports the Dean’s fundraising initiatives within the context of approved fundraisingpriorities.
Fosters a culture that optimizes opportunities to engage and secure annual, major and planned gifts to benefit theLaw School.
Provides strategic leadership for the Law School Advancement team, which includes staff responsible for fundraisingand alumni engagement.
Maintains focused purposeful efforts to advance a professional culture within Law School Advancement.
Work closely with the dean to systematically engage identified faculty or donors in the fundraising process; provides them withthe resources, training, and tools necessary to leverage their most successful alumni and existing donors in supporting program priorities.
Partners with the dean to identify and recruit philanthropically-oriented alumni, existing donors, and community members to thedean’s Board of Visitors.
Works closely with the Vice President for University Advancement and the Dean in areas of strategicplanning and strategies used for donor relationships.
Travels as necessary to engage and hold face to face weekly meetings withdonors, prospects, alumni, and friends.
Supports law school leadership and provides strategic advice for donor relationships.
Creates, implements, and evaluates fundraising programs whose purpose is to build a long-term base of support for the Law School.Assists in the development of other fundraising strategies and case statements.
Guides, mentors, and trains development officerswith roleplaying exercises, assisting in the development of tailored donor strategies; guides development officers and staff by providingguided problem solving and growing relationship building skillset.
Work closely with the Director of Law Alumni Relations and theDean to maximize alumni engagement.
Conducts prospect research, and stay abreast of industry trends by attending trainings andreviewing reports and publications; acts as key leader, and participates in leadership meetings and strategic planning.
Workswith other University Advancement and Law School colleagues to support alumni relations, stewardship, recognition, records and research.
Performs other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Bachelor’s degree from an accredited collegeor university; Masters or Juris Doctorate preferred.
5 years of professional experience with progressively responsible positionsin fundraising/philanthropy in non-profit, higher education, or similar environment, to include leading teams with successful engagement andfundraising.
Must have the ability to demonstrate intermediate to advanced skills in MS Office and Office 365 (Word, Excel, Teams,Outlook and PowerPoint) including experience with virtual platforms such as Zoom. Experience with Banner, ARGOS, Raiser’s Edge ispreferable.

Must have valid driver’s license, motor vehicle liability insurance and personal injury insurance; or have aself-reliant source of transportation to conduct business on a daily basis
Must clear and maintain a favorable backgroundinvestigation and clearance
Must be able to work some nights, weekends, travel, and attend special events as needed.
Must be able to occasionally travel in Texas and other U.S. metropolitan areas.
Must possess exemplary interpersonal andlistening skills with the intellectual depth, maturity, and confidence to garner trust to navigate a complex environment; the ability tobuild bridges and collaborative relationships with all members of an operation across an institution and a diverse constituency.
Must be highly responsive to the needs of others.
Ability to work well with others, prioritize goals, and stay focused in amulti-tasked diverse religious based (Catholic) work environment.
Ability to coordinate and execute constituent and developmentstrategies.
Ability to interface frequently with administrators, faculty, staff, students, donors, trustees and high profileindividuals in the community.
Ability to stay informed of activities of the University and the Law School in order to effectivelyarticulate and incorporate relevant information in an oral and a written case for support.
Knowledge of best practices in field;experience introducing innovative approaches to increase private philanthropic support. Experience with technology and software programs tosupport fund-raising efforts.
Ability to think independently and take initiative to plan and implement effective partnerships andrelationships that sustain existing gifts and generate new gifts, including prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, andstewardship.
Ability to stay abreast on all matters and activities of the Law School and University in order to effectivelyarticulate and incorporate relevant information in an oral and a written case for support.
Ability to prepare and maintainaccurate records and reports, as well as maintain confidentiality of all records and information.