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Location

East Lansing, MI | United States

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Job description

Working/Functional Title

Senior Director, College of Business

Position Summary

BASIC FUNCTION AND RESPONSIBILITY

Ranked one of the top 25 business programs in the country, the Eli Broad College of Business at Michigan State University seeks a results-oriented individual to lead its highly successful advancement team as the Senior Director of Development. The chosen candidate 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 who can be a strategic partner to the Dean. This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned fundraiser/manager who thrives on fundraising and who wishes to serve in a leadership role for one of the preeminent development programs at Michigan State University.

Serving as the college’s chief development officer, the Senior Director maintains a personal prospect portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and employs an aggressive, strategic moves management program to ensure movement along the development pipeline. Leading by example, the Senior Director will oversee a team of 10 including 6 frontline fundraisers, and work closely with the Dean as part of the college leadership team, senior administrators, and volunteer leadership to ensure that the College 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 College goal and priorities. 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 certainly are stressed, focused attention will be on an alumni base of 70,000 and – more specifically – on the more than 10,000 prospects with known or suspected principal and major gift capacity.

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising:

• Plans and implements 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 College.
• Plans and implements the major, planned, and principal gifts program for the College as well as funding from other sources, including corporations and foundations.
• Provides assistance to donors regarding tax laws, policies, and procedures and resolves problems in order to maintain a positive image of the University.
• Collaborates with colleagues across campus to ensure that the donors’ philanthropic interests are being met.

Personnel Management:

• Supervises, directs, motivates, and evaluates support staff in order to assure consistency, quantity, and quality of work performed.
• Set clear direction and priorities for professionals and administrative support personnel. Promote 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. 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.
• 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 college goals and objectives.

Programmatic Management:

• Audits internal operations to develop standardized procedures and to ensure conformity with established policy.
• Plans, hosts, and communicates at meetings of the public and University personnel in order to provide information on the College and/or University.
• Assists in budget preparation to ensure consistency with departmental goals.
• Assists in setting both long- and short-term goals/plans to determine resources required.
• Supervises and/or coordinates with external relations staff, including development, alumni, public relations, and communications, in order to ensure coordination of information to alumni and friends of the College.
• Coordinates the composing, editing, and publishing of College materials in order to provide staff and volunteers with campaign case statements and progress reports.

COMMUNICATIONS/INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

• Michigan State University Alumni/Individuals/Major Corporations/Businesses/Employees and Corporate Leadership - to solicit as potential donors, handle their donor requests and to cultivate and train them as potential volunteers.
• Faculty - to educate and engage them in Development process, to seek their advice on needs, and to answer funding questions and advise them on funding strategy.
• Staff - to train and oversee their work and to establish priorities.
• Department Heads/Michigan State University Executive Management - in order to consult and coordinate work within the University structure, to aid in the identification of potential donors and gain support of special projects.
• Michigan State University Vice President of University Advancement and Associate Vice President of University Development - to advise on the progress of specific College campaigns.
• Michigan State University campaign leadership - to seek their advice on the cultivation and solicitation of major donors and to assist them in soliciting donors.
• Michigan State University Trustees - to seek advice and obtain assistance for solicitation.
• Peers/Professional Organizations - to obtain advice and counsel on options being considered for programs.
• Government Agencies/Foundations - to assess current funding priorities and particular donor procedures.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Direction is received from the Executive Director of Constituency Programs and from the Dean of the Eli Broad College of Business.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED

Supervision over the Associate and Assistant Directors of Development for the College and other stewardship/events/alumni relations College advancement administrative staff.

Unit Specific Education/Experience/Skills

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing and/or Business; five to eight years of related and progressively more responsible 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.

Desired Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree; Communications, Public Relations, Marketing, and/or Business preferred.
• Eight years of successful fundraising experience (preferably in higher education) including several years at a director or manager level. Experience in related fields such as public relations or marketing may be taken into consideration.
• Demonstrated organizational, interpersonal, and written/oral communications.
• Demonstrated experience in facilitating major gifts through planned giving instruments.
• Working knowledge of tax laws affecting charitable giving.
• Travel involving automobile.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship, age, disability or protected veteran status.

Required Application Materials

Resume and cover letter

Special Instructions

HOW TO APPLY

If you have any questions regarding this position, please contact Patricia Karam, Director of Recruitment at [email protected] . 

All candidates must submit an application, resume, and cover letter through the Michigan State University Human Resources web-based system, the URL for this website is careers.msu.edu. Please indicate the position number XXXXXX when submitting your application.

Screening of applicants will continue until the position is filled.

MSU is committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential. The University actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans, and persons with disabilities . 

Work Hours

8 - 5 with some evenings and weekends

Website

Advancement.msu.edu

Remote Work Statement

MSU strives to provide a flexible work environment and this position has been designated as remote-friendly. Remote-friendly means some or all of the duties can be performed remotely as mutually agreed upon.

Bidding eligibility ends August 8, 2023 at 11:55 P.M.

About Michigan State University

Spartans work every day to advance the common good in uncommon ways.Together, we tackle some of the world?s toughest problems to find solutions that make life better?from alternative energy to better food safety to breakthrough medical and environmental applications achieved through rare isotope research.We teach. We explore and we discover. We collaborate and lead. We innovate, inspire, and empower. We achieve our potential and create circumstances that help our students and others achieve theirs.We're good at it, and we've been at it for more than 150 years.The nation?s pioneer land-grant university, MSU began as a bold experiment that democratized higher education and helped bring science and innovation into everyday life. The revolutionary concept became a model for the nation.Today, MSU is one of the top research universities in the world?on one of the biggest, greenest campuses in the nation. Home to nationally ranked and recognized academic, residential college, and service-learning programs, we?re a diverse community of dedicated students and scholars, athletes and artists, scientists and leaders.In ways both practical and profound, we work to create a stronger, more sustainable, and more hopeful future for all.

Connections working at Michigan State University

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