Associate Director of Development, Major Gifts, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Alumni Affairs and Development (AA&D) is a dedicated team supporting Harvard's advancement activity through front-line fundraising, alumni and volunteer engagement, technology, prospect management and research, business process, events, communications, and many other areas.

We strive to create an environment of respect that leverages the many talents, perspectives, and experiences of our employees; to deliver the strongest possible results by incorporating diverse perspectives into our daily work; and to make AA&D a great place to work for everyone.

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Associate Director of Development, Major Gifts, Faculty of Arts and Sciences to join our team. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and executing sophisticated qualification, cultivation, and solicitation strategies leading to the realization of four, five, and six-figure major gifts from an assigned portfolio of approximately 350+ alumni and parent prospect households.

The Associate Director will partner with colleagues in Donor Development team, Gift Planning, Harvard College Fund colleagues and volunteers, and others throughout AA&D to encourage major gift level support across the FAS.

At maturity, this role will generate $2 million+ per year.

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of 350+ prospects annually.
• Complete a minimum of 120 personal meetings annually with prospective donors and secure new commitments towards Flexible Current Use and other priorities at FAS.
• Through thoughtful strategies and intentional prioritization of prospects, ensure revenue goals are met by focusing on upgrading donors and through maintaining an active regional/territory presence.
• Identify a minimum of 3 planned gift donors.
• Actively seek new prospects for addition to the FAS leadership and major gift pipeline through referrals from prospects, list reviews, and other methods.
• Adhere to all prospect management processes and policies around contact reports, proposals, etc. to ensure cross-departmental transparency and effectiveness.
• Serve as a partner to the Harvard College Fund team, Gift Planning, and Major Gift colleagues by identifying new prospects, volunteers, and supporting the goals of elevating unrestricted and flexibly restricted support at FAS.
• Actively seek to improve professional skills, knowledge, and understanding of Harvard by developing relationships with colleagues, attending campus events and activities, and participating in training activities.
• Utilize knowledge of prospects' interests, to develop and execute robust, multi-step prospect strategies.
• Strategically leverage academic leadership, faculty, and other members of the Harvard community, as needed, leading to successful solicitation and closure of five and six-figure gifts.
• Support the formation of unrestricted and flexibly restricted cases for support by providing feedback and insight garnered from interacting with assigned prospects.
• Serve as a member of the AA&D team by participating in group strategy discussions, providing project leadership when requested, sharing information with colleagues, and contributing to the achievement of the overall goals of Harvard University.

• BA/BS required.
• Minimum of 6 years' experience in development or directly related transferable experience.
• Experience received while in college may contribute to the required work experience minimum for this position if the role was within the development field.
• Travel expectations of roughly 35% of working days spent on the road in specified territory/region.
• Strong active listening skills, including an ability to ask sensitive questions with tact.
• Demonstrated ability to uncover interests, motivations, and objections from prospective donors, clients, or others strongly preferred.
• Someone who is pleasantly persistent while exhibiting judgment.
• Comfortable making solicitations with a bias to asking during each initial prospect meeting.
• Ability to function at a high level within a complex organization, with prior university experience preferred.
• Experience working with fundraising volunteers preferred.
• Demonstrated experience of qualifying prospects during initial visits to determine inclination and capacity to make significant gifts to aid in the identification of new donors at the major gift level.
• Excellent interpersonal skills required to relate to donors, volunteers, and colleagues.
• Must be able to consistently display tact, diplomacy, discretion, and maintain confidentiality inside and outside of the organization.
• Must be a team player who understands individual success as part of a larger team's success.
• Demonstrated ability to persuasively communicate the case for unrestricted and current use support strongly preferred.

Harvard University views equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging as the pathway to achieving inclusive excellence and fostering a campus culture where everyone can thrive.

We strive to create a community that draws upon the widest possible pool of talent to unify excellence and diversity while fully embracing individuals from varied backgrounds, cultures, races, identities, life experiences, perspectives, beliefs, and values.

We invite you to visit Harvard's Total Rewards website to learn more about our outstanding benefits package, which may include:

• Paid Time Off: 3-4 weeks of accrued vacation time per year (3 weeks for support staff and 4 weeks for administrative/professional staff), 12 accrued sick days per year, 12.5 holidays plus a Winter Recess in December/January, 3 personal days per year (prorated based on date of hire), and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents who are primary care givers.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, disability and life insurance programs, along with voluntary benefits.
• Child and elder/adult care resources including on campus childcare centers, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness programs related to stress management, nutrition, meditation, and more.
• University-funded retirement plan with contributions from 5% to 15% of eligible compensation, based on age and earnings with full vesting after 3 years of service.
• Competitive program including $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and reduced tuition through other participating Harvard graduate schools.
• Program that provides 75% to 90% reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year for eligible courses taken at other accredited institutions.
• Programs and classes at little or no cost, including through the Harvard Center for Workplace Development and LinkedIn Learning.
• Various commuter options handled through the Parking Office, including discounted parking, half-priced public transportation passes and pre-tax transit passes, biking benefits, and more.
• Access to Harvard athletic and fitness facilities, libraries, campus events, credit union, and more, as well as discounts to various types of services (legal, financial, etc.) and cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston.

This position is eligible for 100% remote work. Employees may work from any of the Harvard Registered Payroll States, which currently includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, and California (CA for exempt positions only).

Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.