Job Summary

Reporting to the Senior Director of Development, the Director of Leadership Giving is a key member of the frontline development team, responsible for raising philanthropic gifts in support of Harvard Divinity School’s multi-religious mission. Harvard Divinity School educates scholars, teachers, ministers, and other professionals for leadership and service both nationally and internationally. To help in building a world in which people can live and work together across religious and cultural divides, we strive to be a primary resource in religious and theological studies for academia, for religious communities, and in the public sphere.

Building on momentum from the recent Harvard Campaign, the Director of Leadership Giving will raise funds that enable HDS to deliver on its mission, with a focus on securing gifts that are unrestricted or for the School’s highest funding priorities.  S/he will generate and manage a portfolio of approximately 150 leadership giving donors/potential donors ($10,000-$100,000 annually), many of whom are not HDS alumni, by performing identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
Through their work, the Director of Leadership Giving will also assist in the development and growth of HDS donor and volunteer pipelines by qualifying potential major gift and planned giving donors, securing increased gifts from current donors, engaging new constituents and identifying new volunteers.

This position requires a command of advanced fundraising principles, a bias for making the ask, a high level of organization, professionalism, entrepreneurial thinking, and mastery of the objectives of annual unrestricted/current-use fundraising. It also requires significant travel.

Job-Specific Responsibilities

• Develop and execute strategies for increasing leadership giving for unrestricted/flexible funds and around priority areas.
• Identify and qualify potential donors—in collaboration with our AA&D Research Team colleagues—and work with donors at every stage of engagement.
• Achieve annual performance metrics including annual target of 100 unique in-person (or video call/phone call when travel not feasible) meetings a year and funding goals to be set each year.
• Promptly track plans and outreach in the AA&D database, to ensure transparency and effectiveness.
• Produce briefings and written explanations of development proposals, strategies, and priorities.  May also include volunteer and committee management, event planning and meeting facilitation.
• Through effective sharing of information and building of trust, collaborate with colleagues across the University to identify and engage alumni of other Schools who would be interested in the work of the Divinity School.
• In collaboration with other frontline colleagues, promote support for the Annual Giving and Planned Giving programs, as well as for capital or special project support.
• Serve as fundraising representative for priority areas or programs defined by senior leadership.
• Articulate the Divinity School’s value proposition and appreciation for a wide range of faith traditions and expressions.
• Travel with and provide staffing support for the Dean and members of the faculty on behalf of fundraising efforts.
• Actively seek to improve professional skills, knowledge, and understanding of HDS and Harvard by developing relationships with colleagues across campus, attending campus events and activities and participating in training activities.
• 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 vital member of the HDS Development and External Relations team by participating in group strategy discussions, providing project leadership, sharing information with colleagues and contributing to the achievement of the overall goals of the Harvard Divinity School.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required
• Minimum 8 years of development experience (or a field where skills are easily transferable).

Additional Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience in individual donor solicitation and volunteer management.
• Must be resourceful and have good judgment in identifying and qualifying potential donors, and be gracious, compelling and persistent in securing meetings and following up. Priority consideration will be given to those with experience in organizations (in higher education or other nonprofits) that do not have traditional alumni bases or clear-cut constituents.
• Strong results orientation and proven track record in setting and achieving ambitious goals.
• Superb organizational, prioritization, interpersonal, public speaking, presentation, written and oral communication skills. Must be able to consistently display tact, diplomacy, discretion, and maintain confidentiality inside and outside of the organization.
• Demonstrated ability to persuasively communicate the case for unrestricted and current-use support strongly preferred.
• Facility with information systems and strong detail orientation.
• Ability to operate both autonomously and in a team, understanding individual success as part of a larger team’s success, with high levels of professionalism, collegiality and self-motivation.
• Ability to coordinate effectively with other School and University departments, volunteers, and members of faculty and senior administration.
• Willingness and ability to travel roughly 35% of the time (or conduct effective meetings over video and phone until travel is feasible again).

Important Note: Your cover letter and resume should be combined into a Single Document under the resume tab. Cover letters are required for every position at Harvard Divinity School.