Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Join to apply for the Vice President for Institutional Advancement role at Inside Higher Ed Responsibilities Serves on the President’s Executive Cabinet; partners with the President and Board to set an ambitious, measurable advancement strategy and cultivate a culture of philanthropy across campus. Translates academic and strategic priorities into fundable initiatives with clear goals, budgets, outcomes, and ROI; leads multiyear planning cycles and quarterly KPI reviews. Designs and leads campaigns (comprehensive and targeted): readiness assessment, goal setting, volunteer structure, prospect strategy, gift counting/crediting policies, and progress reporting. Advises on naming opportunities, endowment growth strategies, and gift acceptance considerations in alignment with University policy. Maintains a high-value portfolio (~40-60 or more prospects); personally cultivates, solicits, and stewards 6-, 7-, and 8-figure gifts; sets the pace in prospect activity and results. Orchestrates philanthropic engagements of the President, Trustees, deans, and volunteer leaders in donor strategy and solicitations; prepares briefings and ensures timely follow-through. Develops compelling cases for support and gift opportunities (endowed scholarships and chairs, academic programs, student success initiatives, athletics, facilities, and innovation funds). Advances a pipeline from discovery to principal gifts with disciplined portfolio management, stage movement goals, contact strategies, and proposal calendars. Oversees prospect development/research, portfolio optimization, analytics/BI, CRM integrity and adoption, gift processing, acknowledgments, stewardship plans, and reporting cadence. Implements data standards and operating policies (contact reports, moves tracking, pipeline reviews) to drive forecasting accuracy and continuous improvement. Ensures donor-intent compliance, fiscal stewardship, receipting/tax compliance, and timely acknowledgments; partners closely with Finance, Legal, and Audit. Grows alumni participation and lifelong engagement through segmented communications, regional programming, volunteer leadership, and digital communities. Drives annual giving with integrated, multichannel campaigns (email, direct mail, social, phone/text, day-of-giving), clear value propositions, and strong testing/analytics. Leads corporate and foundation relations to align proposals and partnerships with institutional priorities; strengthens grants management and stewardship. Expands planned/estate giving, endowment building, and legacy society engagement; integrates bequest pipeline development into portfolio and campaign strategy. Partners with University Communications and Marketing to deliver compelling advancement storytelling, creative collateral, campaign microsites, impact reports, and media strategies. Serves as a visible ambassador to alumni, parents and families, corporate partners, foundations, community leaders, and civic organizations; represents JCSU at events and in the media. Recruits, develops, and retains a high-performing, diverse team; sets clear goals, coaches to outcomes, and promotes accountability and collaboration. Establishes professional development pathways for gift officers and advancement staff; embeds metrics literacy and donor-centric habits across the division. Develops and manages budgets, staffing plans, and vendor/technology investments; allocates resources toward strategies with the highest return. Negotiates and manages key advancement platforms and services (CRM, research/wealth screening, email/marketing automation, online giving, stewardship tools). Growth in principal/major gift pipeline; increases in commitments and cash/in-kind revenue; operational benchmarks (CRM adoption and data quality, stewardship SLAs, portfolio coverage, forecasting accuracy). Qualifications Master’s degree required; terminal degree preferred. 8+ years of progressive advancement leadership in higher education (HBCU or a mission-aligned institution strongly preferred), including campaign leadership. Demonstrated record of closing principal/transformational gifts (7- and 8-figure) and consistent personal production at the major-gift level. Experience staffing Presidents/Chancellors and Trustees in high-level donor strategy and solicitations. Expertise in advancement operations: portfolio management, analytics/BI, prospect research, gift administration, stewardship, and CRM utilization. Strategic, data-informed, and outcome-oriented leadership; exceptional relationship-building and communication skills. High integrity and sound judgment; strong planning, project management, and change-management skills. Comfort with frequent travel and evening/weekend engagements; ability to thrive in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment. To apply, please include a cover letter, resume/CV, and contact information for three supervisory references including the most recent supervisor. #J-18808-Ljbffr