Now Hiring - Director of Development II, College of Education in Eugene, OR

Department: University Advancement
Appointment Type and Duration: Regular, Ongoing
Salary: Starting salary $95,000 - $105,000; candidates with advanced skills and experience may be considered for a starting salary above this range
Compensation Band: OS-OA10-Fiscal Year 2[please apply online]
FTE: 1.0

Application Review Begins

Review begins August 13, 2023; position open until filled.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Department Summary

University Advancement (UA) supports the University of Oregon’s (UO) mission of providing exceptional teaching, discovery, and service by strategically positioning the university to create awareness, build long-term relationships, and secure resources that increase understanding and further its aims. The division consists of approximately 200 employees primarily working out of Eugene, with offices in Portland and Bend. We are committed to fostering equity and inclusion in a welcoming, safe, and respectful environment that recognizes the value of all members of our community.

The Office of Development as part of University Advancement has a mission to maximize philanthropic impact at the University of Oregon. We do this by identifying, connecting, and engaging alumni and friends around the globe with their passions to advance the vision and priorities of the university.

The College of Education at the University of Oregon is one of the highest ranked colleges of education in the United States and has a strong tradition of scholarship, outreach, and impact at local, state, national, and global levels. The assigned mission of the College of Education is to prepare individuals to become administrators, teachers, researchers, and related professionals. Our faculty conduct innovative research and scholarship in education and the clinical sciences and are national and international leaders in prevention science, school-based intervention, research methods, and measurement designed to improve educational and social service systems for all. Faculty and staff are devoted to inspiring and mentoring the approximately 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students who comprise the College and who will be the next generation of educational leaders.

Position Summary

The Director of Development works as part of Development to promote university fundraising priorities and image to alumni, parents, and friends of the University. The Director is assigned to the College of Education and is responsible for identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors and new prospects. This position will concentrate on gifts in the major gift ($100k+) range, ideally focusing on $500k+ gifts.

This position is field-oriented, requiring frequent travel and direct contact with donors and donor prospects. The Director works collaboratively with colleagues in the assigned unit, Development, and across the University to identify new prospects and strategically cultivate alumni, parents, and friends. The Director will be responsible for meeting fundraising goals as they relate to the strategic needs of the university and the assigned unit, priority, or region. Performance, as measured against these goals, will be evaluated annually.

Reporting jointly to the College of Education Dean and Executive Director of Development Programs, this position leads the College’s development program and is responsible for managing all fundraising activity, including representing the College in development meetings on campus and setting fundraising goals and strategies in conjunction with leadership in the College and Development.

Travel within Oregon as well as to cities in other states up to 50% of the time is an essential expectation of this position. This position is jointly funded by the College of Education and University Advancement.

This position is located in Eugene and is eligible to work a hybrid schedule. This position will need to work on campus approximately 3 days per week.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of skills and experience.
• Three years of professional frontline fundraising experience or five years combined experience in development and in a closely related field such as corporate sales.
• Two years of experience as a permanent supervisor or four years of lead work and mentorship of junior staff.

Professional Competencies

• Working with donors and prospects: Extensive experience in prospect identification, cultivation, and solicitation with a demonstrated ability to build relationships with donors and prospects, including those who are hard to engage or not well connected to the university. Ability to initiate discussions about lifetime giving and maximize gift potentials, and comfortable with high six-figure asks.
• Portfolio management and systems: Ability to identify top prospects and strategies for a portfolio, including leveraging data and analysis tools to optimize activity and portfolio makeup; prioritize prospects and regions while fully engaging with a robust portfolio, and provide constructive feedback on prospect management systems and structures.
• Professionalism and citizenship: Ability to establish and maintain strong working relationships with faculty, staff, and others and serve as an example to development colleagues of professionalism, engagement of the broader team, proactive communication, and collaboration, including sharing credit with colleagues. Experience actively contributing to new initiatives and discussions with management, peers, and campus partners.
• Institutional navigation and industry knowledge: Ability to successfully navigate campus relationships, effectively represent the university, and persuasively articulate how the UO distinguishes itself from peer institutions. Extensive knowledge of the university’s history, mission, demographics, faculty, current programs, departments, culture, and of best practices, trends, current strategies, and other information relevant to philanthropy in higher education major gifts. Ability to network and establish connections within the industry.
• Management and supervision of employees: Demonstrated ability to manage people and/or programs, including recognizing strengths of individual team members and seeking out professional growth opportunities, navigating performance concerns and workplace conflict, setting metrics and goals, and anticipating overall expectations and needs for the program. Ability to adapt management style in response to employee needs and personalities.
• Volunteer management: Ability to set the philanthropic agenda of a board and work with volunteers in setting philanthropic priorities for solicitation, stewardship, and relationship building while leveraging their strengths, personal networks, and capacity. Ability to work closely with academic and administrative partners on board member engagement, giving, decision making, and retirement.
• Academic leadership: Strong ability to use natural inclinations and abilities of deans and faculty members to cultivate and solicit donors, focus fundraising activity to meet metrics and engage donors, and ensure academic leaders understand the role of development. Ability to foster strong relationships and build fundraising strategy with key faculty leaders, including encouraging academic partners to focus efforts on top prospects and maximizing their impact on giving. Skilled in establishing confidence with academic leadership to lead strategy and represent the interests of the program.
• Strategic planning: Strong ability to articulate how individual initiatives and programmatic direction fit into overall advancement strategy; ability to work with leadership to create long-term strategies based on the business plan, unit’s strategic direction, campaign priorities, and campus strategic planning.
• Commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to interact, communicate, and work effectively with individuals, recognizing and respecting the many and varied identities of each person.
• Ability to travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in higher education development and understanding of the nature of a professional school and research university.
• Demonstrated experience working effectively with volunteer boards.
• Three years of management experience.

FLSA Exempt: Yes

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background inquiry.

The University of Oregon is proud to offer a robust benefits package to eligible employees, including health insurance, retirement plans and paid time off. For more information about benefits, visit [please apply online]

The University of Oregon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the ADA. The University encourages all qualified individuals to apply, and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status, including veteran and disability status. The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation in connection with the application process, please contact us at [please apply online] or 541-[please apply online].

UO prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by UO policy. Questions may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, Office of Civil Rights Compliance, or to the Office for Civil Rights. Contact information, related policies, and complaint procedures are listed on the statement of non-discrimination.

In compliance with federal law, the University of Oregon prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and services. The Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at [please apply online]