The Director of Development will serve as a key member of the newly formed Duke Campaigns team and will provide fundraising leadership and support for the Duke Climate Commitment, a university-wide initiative which will leverage the institution’s proven expertise in building civic-minded leaders, its research and policy excellence, and its distinct location to create a blueprint for educating and deploying a generation of climate-fluent change makers. Identified by the president and the provost as one of three university-wide campaign initiatives, Duke’s Climate Initiative will activate every facet of the institution as it responds to climate change.

The Director of Development will work alongside the AVP on the Duke Campaigns team to build and scale the fundraising enterprise for the Duke Climate Commitment, determining fundraising goals, creating programmatic content, and serving as a critical facilitator to engage the provost area, deans, associate deans of development, and fundraisers across all of Duke’s ten schools and AED. The Director of Development will report to the Assistant Vice President on the Duke Campaigns team and will work collaboratively with and at the direction of the AVP to accomplish shared objectives.

WORK PERFORMED

Develop and Implement Campaign Priorities

In collaboration with the Assistant Vice President for Duke Campaigns, drive, prioritize and implement fundraising strategies for the Duke Climate Commitment.

• In partnership with the AVP, serve as a liaison to the academic and programmatic leadership of the Duke Climate Commitment to build, implement, and assess associated fundraising strategies
• Identify, articulate, and regularly evaluate a comprehensive set of fundraising priorities, ensuring their alignment with the initiative and with school financial and fundraising goals
• In coordination with the AVP, serve as a liaison to frontline fundraising teams in each of Duke’s schools and within Duke Alumni Engagement and Development (AED)
  • Attend planning and strategy meetings with development and academic leadership
  • Proactively communicate new and emerging climate funding priorities to frontline fundraising teams
  • Guide fundraisers in the development and assessment of donor proposals intended to support climate
  • Meet weekly with the AVP to discuss, determine, monitor, or assess fundraising priorities and strategy
  • Convene key fundraising and engagement stakeholders from across campus to assist with key campaign planning objectives for climate
• Assume a leadership and/or project management role as needed in aid of broader campaign planning efforts within the department

Portfolio Development and Management

• Build and maintain a new portfolio of prospects and donors who will be cultivated and solicited for major ($100K+) and principal ($1M+) gifts in support of the Duke Climate Commitment.
  • Serve on the prospect management teams of prospects and donors who are managed by other fundraising colleagues within AED and other school/units
  • Travel independently and in partnership with frontline fundraisers to cultivate, solicit, and steward campaign donors and prospects in support of campaign priorities
  • As needed, meet on-campus with major gift and principal gifts prospects, within the parameters of the university’s prospect management system
• Serve as a primary point of contact for prospect engagement inquiries from university-wide fundraisers and partner with fundraising colleagues on the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of major and principal gift prospects.
• Actively develop, track, and manage climate prospect strategies created in collaboration with respective prospect Team Leads and the AVP.
• Utilize and leverage Duke’s Prospect Management systems and protocols to ensure transparency and collaboration.

Content Development

• In coordination with Development Marketing and Communications, create development and alumni communications content as well as marketing and branding pieces for the Duke Climate Commitment designed to build awareness, increase engagement, and inspire commitment to philanthropic support.
• Serve as the primary liaison to Development Services/Special Events and assist in the planning and execution of events designed to build awareness and to feature faculty and students and/or faculty research that aligns with the Duke Climate Commitment.

Reporting and Analytics

• In partnership with the Director of Campaign Operations and the Prospect Research, Management & Analytics team, develop and drive research efforts to identify major and principal gift prospect pools for climate priorities; evaluate and analyze prospects and monitor fundraising progress against these pools.
• Counsel fundraisers in the identification and prioritization of climate prospects within their individual portfolios in order to build cultivation and solicitation strategies for each prospect.
• In collaboration with the Duke Campaigns team and other stakeholders, ensure that new climate gifts are properly coded and tracked.

Stewardship

• Assist the AVP in collaborating with key campus colleagues and stakeholders to generate stewardship plans for climate donors
• Assist in the generation of annual stewardship and/or impact reports, ensuring appropriate recognition and delivery of timely and accurate information
• Serve as a resource for Marketing and Communications, providing donor and gift information for organization-wide recognition opportunities

Preferred Skills

• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively and strategically with diverse constituents to achieve shared success
• Strong understanding of the fundraising process and the impact of philanthropy; fundraising experience preferred, either in higher education or with climate/environment organizations
• Capacity to influence and/or guide others toward achieving a goal or solving a problem
• Strong sense of organizational awareness and ability to use this to achieve objectives
• High level of comfort with ambiguity and an ability to respond to change and commit to decisions under pressure
• Ambition, creativity, and resourcefulness
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong customer service orientation
• Team player
• Attention to detail and follow-through
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
• A commitment to continuous learning
• Project and data management skills
• Proficiency in MS Office Suite programs

Preferred Experience

Work requires a minimum of seven years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, preferably in a university setting or with organizations focused on climate/environment. Excellent communication, analytical, and organizational skills. Exceptional interpersonal skills. Strong ability to manage multiple projects and timelines. Ability to work cooperatively and strategically in a team environment with all levels of professional, technical, and administrative staff – including deans and faculty. Skilled at integrating resources on a timely and organized basis.

Duke Behavioral Competencies

• Ability to Influence
• Curiosity and Information Seeking
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Decisiveness and Judgement
• Organizational Awareness
• Goal and Task Management
• Collaborating with Others
• Expresses Ideas Orally and in Writing
• Flexibility
• Models Integrity & Ethics
• Listening
• Self-Management

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education
Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor’s degree program.

Experience
Work requires seven years experience in alumni affairs, public relations,fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing, student activities or a related field in order to acquire skills necessary to administer, coordinate and/or participate in general fund raising activities and proposal development.  OR AN EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF RELEVANT EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE.

Duke is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual’s age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

Duke aspires to create a community built on collaboration, innovation, creativity, and belonging. Our collective success depends on the robust exchange of ideas—an exchange that is best when the rich diversity of our perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences flourishes. To achieve this exchange, it is essential that all members of the community feel secure and welcome, that the contributions of all individuals are respected, and that all voices are heard. All members of our community have a responsibility to uphold these values.

Essential Physical Job Functions: Certain jobs at Duke University and Duke University Health System may include essentialjob functions that require specific physical and/or mental abilities. Additional information and provision for requests for reasonable accommodation will be provided by each hiring department.