Teachers College - Jobs - Job Details - Assistant Vice President of Leadership Giving

About Us

Our name notwithstanding, Teachers College was founded on the proposition that education alone can’t correct our society’s inequalities — that to maximize the life chances of all people, we must also support poorer communities’ physical and nutritional health and psychological wellbeing. Thus, fields such as education psychology, nursing education, nutrition education, special education, conflict resolution and spirituality and education were created at TC, and for more than a century we have prepared psychologists, nutritionists, health educators, speech pathologists and other professionals, as well as teachers and school leaders.

Job Summary/Basic Function:
The Assistant Vice President of Leadership Giving is responsible for the day-to-day management of front-line fundraising team members and select support staff, who offer opportunities to make an impact through leadership, major, planned, and institutional giving.

A highly motivated self-starter who is results oriented, the AVP is a member of IA’s Leadership Team. The AVP collaborates closely with the Associate Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Assistant Vice President of Advancement Operations, the Senior Executive Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations, and the Senior Director of Stewardship & Donor Engagement to achieve divisional fundraising and retention goals. The AVP will lead prospect engagement opportunities, strategies and solicitations at all levels by collaborating with institutional leadership and with heads of TC’s academic programs and centers to ensure the success of philanthropic giving. The AVP will serve as a valued source of fundraising expertise and guidance.

CHARACTERISTICS, DUTIES, & RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Fundraising

• Serve as a major gift officer for TC by managing and meeting priorities and goals that coincide with strategic plans both within IA and TC-wide.
• Develop and implement donor solicitation plans that are longitudinal and potentially complex in nature, by focusing on a portfolio of approximately 60-75 highly rated donors and prospects with the capacity to make  leadership gifts and above.
• Initiate, develop and coordinate delivery of proposals that directly support TC’s strategic fundraising priorities based on its strategic plan and major initiatives.
• Secure dollar commitments at a level established during goal setting, and set the pace for revenue and donor retention, as well as ever increasing new dollar goals.
• Set and achieve goals and metrics related to donor visits, solicitations, gifts and pledges closed and other critical KPIs. Meet established Fundraising Performance Metrics (FPMs) for the role, and support direct reports in achieving their own FPMs.
• Assist the Vice President and AVP of Operations with the benchmarking of campaigns and special fundraising initiatives as needed.
• Identify constituents not yet on TC’s radar who could support TC with significant and transformational gifts.
• Promote and practice collaborative and donor-centered fundraising principles when developing donor and prospect strategies.
• Coordinate with the donor relations team on the personalization and preparation of proposals for gift solicitations.
• Update call reports to document substantive donor interactions in a timely manner.

Departmental Management and Operations

• Develop team and individual goals. Devise actionable plans and performance measures, and monitor team activity and progress toward those goals.
• Lead, manage, and mentor direct staff to ensure they each achieve their individual goals.
• Represent the VP at meetings, community events and on TC committees, task forces, and working groups as assigned.
• Support the AVP, Advancement Operations to ensure that fundraising, gift acceptance and other divisional and organizational policies and procedures are consistently implemented by staff.
• Promote IA’s commitment to a collaborative culture and effective, positive communications. The AVP should be a team player who leads by example.
• Work within IA and across departments and divisions to develop research materials to adequately support the successful solicitation of principal and planned gifts.
• Help supervise, in support of the VP and other leaders within IA, the work of key volunteers as assigned.
• Aid the prospect research team, as needed and called upon, in the creation and refinement of prospect lists, with an eye to appropriate portfolio balance that ensures robust qualification of new prospective donors. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Minimum 10 years of direct experience in management and frontline fundraising experience in not-for-profit organizations, with proven success in face-to-face asks for substantial, six-and seven-figure philanthropic gifts.
• Higher education experience required.

Demonstrated Skills and Competencies:

• Thrives in a complex, fast-paced organization serving multiple stakeholders.
• Ample experience managing fundraising staff.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work well within a team environment.  Building a collaborative culture is one of the hallmarks of IA Operations at Teachers College.
• High level of discretion in dealing with confidential information and a willingness to uphold TC’s ethical standards.
• Experience attracting, managing, and retaining fundraising staff.
• Practiced communications skills and ability to write persuasively and effectively for varied audiences.
• Attention to detail.
• Experience using databases required; technology expertise is important.
• Ability to travel required; hybrid role with 3-days per week on-site required, as per TC’s policy. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degrees and/or related certifications highly desired.

Salary Range:

215,000-240,000

Work Modality:

Hybrid

Competitive Compensation and Benefits 

The salary range reflects the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate of the compensation for the position at the time of the job posting.  Salary decisions are dependent on several factors including but not limited to market and organizational considerations, experience, and qualifications of a selected candidate as well as internal and external equity.

Our benefits contribute significantly to the total compensation package that includes medical, dental, vision, and supplemental insurance plans; flexible and hybrid work schedules; tuition remission; life insurance; short and long-term disability insurance; an exceptional employer retirement matching program; health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA), Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility, and a robust Employee Assistance Program (EAP).

Hybrid/Remote

Teachers College maintains a hybrid work environment, which provides employees with flexible work arrangements while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person college-campus culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite or in a hybrid model (a combination of in-office and virtual days). Employees are expected to live within a 150-mile radius of the College.