Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The Associate Director of the Annual Fund, Leadership Annual Giving (“Associate Director”) for the Montana State University Alumni Foundation (“Alumni Foundation”) is responsible for identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding gifts of $1,000 to $24,999.99 from alumni, faculty/staff, retirees, parents of students, and friends of Montana State University (“University”).  S/he is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy around acquiring, renewing, upgrading, and stewarding Leadership Annual Gifts based on donor interest and passion to the University.  The Associate Director reports to the Alumni Foundation’s Vice President of the Annual Fund.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

• Focus on acquiring, retaining, and upgrading donors at the Leadership Annual Giving level (between $1,000 and $24,999.99) from alumni, faculty/staff/retirees, parents of students, and friends of the University.
• Initiate and administer the long and short-term strategies for Leadership Annual Giving, including the development of programs, communications, and activities in support of these strategies, at the discretion of the Vice President of the Annual Fund.
• Assist in the planning, development, implementation, and management of the President’s Circle gift recognition society of 500+ donors.
• Create, implement, and execute a successful strategy for individual Leadership Annual Gift solicitations that ultimately increase the development pipeline to the University.
• Work effectively and collaboratively with the Annual Fund team to create specialized content and material to be used in annual fund solicitation projects for Leadership Annual Giving segments.
• Develop overall goals, objectives, and strategies to increase the pipeline of donors to the Development (major gifts) office.
• Form collaborative partnerships with academic unit development leaders, as well as the campus community.
• Work with academic unit leaders to steward and engage leadership level donors specific to their units in an effort to advance donors through the development pipeline.
• Adhere to all Alumni Foundation policies and procedures in fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of the position.

• Affect and maintain a professional, proactive, positive, highly collaborative, and performance-centric work environment.

• Perform other related duties, as assigned.

Duties and responsibilities are subject to change.

Special Skills and Qualifications:

• Exceptional written and oral communications skills including strong writing skills, editing skills, and the demonstrated ability to craft compelling messages.
• Strong multi-tasking and organizational skills, attention to detail, analytical ability and time management skills.

• Ability to demonstrate a track record in fundraising and/or marketing, preferably within a university setting.
• Willingness and ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Proven ability to motivate and lead others as a professional.

• High initiative and the ability to work independently with a sense of urgency to serve customers, both internal and external.

• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to positively interact with a wide array of individuals.

• Proficiency with using Microsoft Office (primarily Word and Excel), as well as standard office equipment including copiers, fax machines, and scanners.

• Ability to analyze data and make data-driven decisions and recommendations.
• Ability to work with a high-degree of integrity and complete respect for confidentiality.