Senior Director of Development Intercollegiate Athletics
Competing within the prestigious Big Ten Conference, Michigan State University Intercollegiate Athletics is a self-sustaining unit and private support plays a crucial role to keep that fiscal responsibility. With private support from Spartans across the country we are able to offer a championship level opportunity in the classroom, in competition and in the community. The chosen candidate for Senior Director of Development for MSU Intercollegiate Athletics will be an exceptional fundraiser, an accomplished motivator and mentor, an effective manager of people, a visionary leader who has a proven track record in successfully implementing comprehensive development programs and a leader who can be a strategic partner with the Athletic Director. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned fundraiser/manager who thrives on fundraising, leading a team driven to succeed and wishes to serve in a leadership role for one of the preeminent development programs at Michigan State University.
BASIC FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITY
Serving as the chief development officer and a member of the Athletic Department’s executive leadership team, the Senior Director maintains a personal portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and employs an aggressive strategic moves management program to ensure movement along the development donor continuum pipeline. Leading by example, the Senior Director will oversee a team of eight professional staff including eight frontline fundraisers and will work closely with the Athletic Director, Intercollegiate Athletics leadership and volunteer leadership to ensure that the unit reaches its full philanthropic potential.
As MSU strategically positions itself to prepare for its next campaign, the Senior Director will assume a leadership role in planning and assessing the feasibility for the next Intercollegiate Athletic goal and priorities in conjunction with leadership. This includes recruiting and training volunteers, conducting a needs assessment of programs, preparing case statements, identifying, and cultivating prospects, developing and reviewing proposals and actively soliciting contributions. While funding from all sources of support is stressed, focused attention will be on the more than 10,000 prospects with known or suspected principal and major gift capacity.
CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
In collaboration with colleagues from University Advancement, the Senior Director shall:
Fundraising
Plan and implement methods of prospect identification, solicitation and cultivation in order to achieve successful solicitations for funds, and match donor's interest with the needs of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Plan and implement the major gifts and planned gifts program for the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics as well as funding from other sources, including corporations and foundations.
Provide assistance to donors regarding University policies and procedures and resolves problems in order to maintain a positive image of the University.
Personnel Management
Set clear direction and priorities for professionals and administrative support personnel. Promote and exemplify excellence through well-defined and measurable goals.
Lead by example; foster a work environment that recognizes and rewards cross functional collaboration and team-based efforts with other colleagues on campus. Celebrate current achievements and set clear expectations for future success.
Actively mentor and train staff, providing frequent opportunities for professional learning and growth. Emphasize retention as a means of increasing capacity and expertise of the team. Fully leverage human and financial resources and promote greater efficiency.
Supervise, direct, motivate and evaluate support staff in order to assure consistent quantity and quality of work performed.
Provide the structure and guidance necessary to promote a high-performance culture that meets the needs and expectations of a successful and diverse alumni community.
Recruits, trains, motivates and evaluates volunteers in order to accomplish department goals and objectives.
Programmatic Management
Audit internal operations in order to develop standardized procedures and to ensure conformity with established policy. ?Plan and implement seating programs to enhance revenue for MSU athletics.
Plan, host and communicate at meetings of the public and University personnel in order to provide information on the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and/or University.
Assist in budget preparation in order to ensure consistency with departmental goals.
Assist in setting both long- and short-term goals in order to determine resources required.
Coordinates with external relations staff, including alumni, public relations and communication, in order to ensure coordination of information to alumni and friends of the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
Prepare and interpret statistical data results for Department of Intercollegiate Athletics Administrators.
Coordinate the composing, editing and publishing of Department of Intercollegiate Athletics literature in order to provide staff and volunteers with campaign progress reports.
Required:
Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing and/or Business; five to eight years of related and progressively more responsive or expansive work experience in professional and higher education fundraising, public relations, marketing, development of budgets, preparation and presentation of case statements and analysis of operations; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Travel required.
Desired:
Bachelor’s degree
Eight years in professional fund raising, five years of progressively responsible professional experience in higher education development, public relations or a related field. Experience in athletic fundraising preferred.
Demonstrated successful track record of athletic fundraising in a complex university setting.
Experience managing volunteers in a campaign setting.
Demonstrated organization, interpersonal and written/oral communications.
Demonstrated success in managing a large team.
Demonstrated success in working in a large, complex organization.
Demonstrated experience in facilitating major gifts through planned giving instruments.
How to Apply:
If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Patricia Karam, Director of Recruitment at karampat@msu.edu.
All candidates must submit an application and resume through the Michigan State University Human Resources web-based system, the URL for this website is careers.msu.edu. Please indicate the position number 687306 when submitting your application.
Screening of applicants will continue until the position is filled.
MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.
MSU is committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity. The university actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans and persons with disabilities.
Internal Number: 687306
About Michigan State University
From our headquarters in Spartan Stadium tower to our fundraising offices across campus and in regions across the United States, we are working to build lasting relationships with alumni, friends, and donors who care about MSU as much as we do.
Through the combined efforts of University Development and the MSU Alumni Association, we provide information systems, communications, marketing and event support for all college and university-sanctioned advancement efforts.
University Development fosters connections with individuals and organizations whose financial support fuels the efforts of students, faculty, and staff to make both MSU and the world a better place.
The MSU Alumni Association works to improve the quality of life for more than 500,000 Spartans around the globe by being the common thread that links them to one another, and to their university.
