Director of Development, CANR / Development Officer II/SWorking/Functional TitleDirectorof Development, CANR
Position Summary
Are you passionate about building relationships and securing major gifts forinterdisciplinary research that tackles pressing global challenges? The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan StateUniversity is the largest STEM academic unit. It is a dynamic interdisciplinary powerhouse focused on solving global challenges that reachfar beyond traditional agriculture. The college, along with MSU Extension and AgBio Research, serves as an epicenter of innovation thattackles pressing global issues such as climate science, sustainability, urban planning, food security, and public health.
TheCollege of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University is seeking a talented and ambitious individual to join ourcollaborative development team as the Director of Development.
In this results-oriented position, you'll play a critical role inshaping the future of STEM education and research. You'll leverage your strategic thinking and interpersonal skills to cultivaterelationships with alumni and friends, securing vital resources that fuel innovation and opportunity in the College of Agriculture andNatural Resources.
What will you do?
- Become a champion for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and MichiganState University by raising support for cutting-edge research with a real-world impact across multiple fields: You'll manage a portfolio of75 - 100 prospects, fostering long-term relationships that elevate the College's reputation and fuel its success.
- Uncover hiddenpotential: Employ your keen eye for discovery to identify new alumni and donors, building a robust pipeline for futuregiving.
- Leverage your strategic planning experience: Develop and execute personalized cultivation and stewardship strategies,averaging 12-15 strategic face-to-face visits and 2-4 solicitations per month.
- Collaborate for collective success: Partner withfaculty, college leadership, and internal stakeholders to deepen relationships and maximize your impact.
- Be a part of and learn froma team dedicated to building a cohesive culture: Work alongside a high-performing development team, sharing best practices and celebratingcollective achievements.
Why You'll Love Working Here:- Make a tangible difference: Your efforts will directly translate intoincreased resources that empower students, faculty, research, and programs in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, AgBioResearch, and MSU Extension.
- Join a collaborative environment: We foster a supportive and team-oriented atmosphere where you'll beempowered to grow and excel.
- Be part of a prestigious institution: You'll have the privilege of donning Spartan green and white,while representing the land grant mission to provide high-quality education, conduct research, and engage with the public to advanceknowledge and improve lives.
Duties and Responsibilities:The Director of Development will manage a portfolio of 75-100 majorand principal gift donor prospects, focusing efforts on prospects whose philanthropic capacity is $100,000 or more to maximize thefundraising potential within the College and on behalf of Michigan State University. Additionally, the Director will oversee and manage theAssociate and Assistant Directors of Development, providing leadership, mentorship, and strategic direction to ensure their success inadvancing the college's development goals.
The Director will average 12-15 strategic visits per month, resulting in greaterengagement and movement toward a major gift solicitation at a rate of 2 to 4 solicitations per month, with all solicitation efforts clearedand coordinated with the college and University Advancement at Michigan State University. A significant amount of the Director's time willbe dedicated to traveling out of state and managing prospect activity within a few major metro areas.
The duties of the Director ofDevelopment are as follows, but are not limited to:
Fundraising -
- Engage in the identification, cultivation, andsolicitation of gifts, mainly from individuals, as well as some corporations and professional groups in support of the College ofAgriculture and Natural Resources' strategic and campaign priorities.
- Collaborate and coordinate with University Advancement,administrators, and faculty in the college to create and carry out fundraising strategies and solicitation of gifts of $100,000 andmore.
- Identify and maintain an active pool of 75 prospects under strategic management.
- Achieve college fundraising goalsthrough an active and consistent program of prospect and donor outreach that includes 180 significant contacts annually.
- Utilizephone calls, email, mail, social media, and other strategies to identify, connect with, and engage alumni with the goal of solicitingfinancial support.
- Identify, qualify, and work to build strong, engaged relationships with major gift prospects to determine andmerge prospect passions, interests, and needs with the college's funding priority areas.
- Schedule joint prospect visits with membersof college leadership, faculty, or other Development colleagues.
- Serve as a liaison officer between the unit and donors andpotential donors to ensure that such information and services as may be desired are provided to the full extent permitted by universitypolicy, rules, and regulations.
- Serve as a consultant to donors on the tax advantage of various types of gifts.
- Plan andhost campus visits for donors or potential donors and their representatives.
Management -- Provide mentorship andprofessional development opportunities to enhance fundraising effectiveness and career growth.
- Set clear performance goals andmetrics to ensure alignment with the college's strategic fundraising priorities.
- Conduct regular one-on-one meetings to reviewprogress, provide feedback, and address challenges.
- Collaborate with Associate and Assistant Directors on donor strategies,portfolio management, and solicitation plans.
- Facilitate communication and collaboration among team members to foster a cohesive andhigh-performing advancement team.
- Evaluate performance and provide constructive feedback during annual reviews, ensuringaccountability for achieving individual and team fundraising targets.
- Encourage innovative approaches to donor engagement andoutreach that align with best practices in higher education fundraising.
Program Management -- Develop and preparesolicitation appeals, proposals, and other materials with a focus on gifts of $100,000 or more that, through the clear identification offunding priorities and articulation of the case for support of the college, engender a level of understanding that is conducive to givingand that help achieve the unit's fundraising goals.
- Assist with the coordination of and participation in college alumni and donorengagement, prospecting, recognition, and stewardship events.
- Utilize the Advance alumni and donor database to coordinate with otherdevelopment colleagues, record contact activities, update donor information, record strategic moves management steps, and giftdocumentation.
- Build working relationships with internal constituents to enhance information exchange between units within thecollege, including advising faculty and administrators on appropriate fundraising strategies.
- Serve as a primary development liaisonwith several units within the college and will identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward alumni and friends of CANR, MSUE, andAgBioResearch, as well as business, industry, and foundations, in support of the Land Grant mission and the units'priorities.
Communication and Stewardship -- Cultivate, engage, and train Michigan State University alumni, leadership, andemployees as potential donors and volunteers.
- Engage faculty, department chairs, program directors, and other college leaders inorder to assist in the understanding and implementation of fundraising procedures, to seek their advice on funding needs, to answerdevelopment questions, to advise them on development strategy, and to solicit them as potential donors; and
- Obtain advice andcounsel from peers across the enterprise in order to coordinate the cultivation and solicitation of donor prospects.
SUPERVISIONRECEIVED: Direction is received from the Senior Director of Development for the College of Agriculture and NaturalResources.
Minimum Requirements
Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-yearcollege degree program in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing and/or Business; three to five years of related and progressively moreresponsible or expansive work experience in public relations, volunteer administration, professional and higher education fund raising,marketing or related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
DesiredQualifications
- Experience managing front-line fundraisers.
- Candidates should have a proven track record of drivingsix-figure gifts to business deals with demonstrative experiences closing gifts.
- Experience working with leadership to developfundraising priorities.
- Experience working on multifaceted gift conversations.
- Travel involving automobile, airline, andrail.
- Possession of a valid vehicle operator's license at the time of hire.
Equal Employment OpportunityStatementAll qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexualorientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.
Required ApplicationMaterials
Resume and cover letter
Special Instructions
Interested in joining the team at Michigan StateUniversity? For questions, contact Patricia Karam, Director of Talent Acquisition, at karampat@msu.edu.
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Work Hours
8 am - 5 pm with possible evenings andweekends
Website
Advancement.msu.edu
Remote Work Statement
MSU strives to provide a flexible workenvironment, and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performedremotely as mutually agreed upon.
Bidding eligibility ends May 12, 2026, at 11:55 PM
To apply, visit https://careers.msu.edu/jobs/director-of-development-canr-development-officer-ii-s-east-lansing-michigan-united-states
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