Major Gift Officer at Colby

Job Description

Department:

Pay Rate Type:

Employee Type:

Job Summary:

The Major Gift Officer will manage a robust portfolio of prospects for gifts of $100,000 and above as  a critical component of Colby’s Dare Northward campaign. The Major Gift Officer will build and grow  the College’s prospect pool, create action plans for developing relationships with these prospective  donors, partner with the Colby Fund team and the Director of Parent Giving, and create opportunities for  the President, trustees, faculty, and staff to engage in the fundraising program. The Major Gift Officer will develop solicitation strategies in collaboration with the Director of Major Gifts.

The Major Gift Officer will report to the Director of Major Gifts, and will have direct contact with division leadership, trustees, campaign cabinet, senior administration, alumni, parents, and key faculty and staff members.

Essential Functions

To perform successfully in this position, an individual must be able to perform essential duties satisfactorily as well as possess education/experience, employ the knowledge, skills, and abilities as listed in representative fashion. Colby College actively supports the Americans with Disabilities Act and will consider reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.  This listing of essential duties is not all-inclusive, but representative; other duties may be assigned.

• Build and expand the engagement of Colby’s Major Gift prospect pool;

• Identify strategies and opportunities to align prospects with various College priorities as a key  component of the comprehensive campaign;
• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of current and prospective alumni and parent donors; 
• Create written strategic action plans for top prospects with the intent of deepening relationships  on behalf of the College, leading to increased comprehensive giving including annual, capital, and deferred gifts;
• Develop and maintain a thorough understanding of Colby’s strategic priorities and goals;
• Manage a portfolio of individual donors and prospects seeking gifts in support of College priorities  at $100,000 and above as a critical component of Colby’s comprehensive campaign;
• Attain an annual visit goal of 150 and achieve annual personal and team revenue goals;
• Partner with the Colby Fund, Reunion, and Family Philanthropy teams to ensure strong communication in the cultivation and solicitation of alumni and family Colby Fund donors and in  maximizing Colby Fund contributions from all donors;
• Engage key volunteers and effectively utilize events and other activities to move solicitations  forward;
• Conduct appropriate stewardship activities to further enhance the relationship between assigned  donors and Colby; 
• Qualify prospects for potential major gift capacity and interest;
• Cultivate strong working relationships with colleagues within the Division of College  Advancement, as well as with faculty and leaders across campus;

Position Qualifications
 

• Bachelor’s Degree required; Experience soliciting and closing major gifts strongly preferred
• An understanding of moves management systems and an ability to think and work strategically
• Superb written and oral communication skills
• An entrepreneurial spirit and an unwavering commitment to elevating work through innovative  strategies for deepened donor engagement
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including an ability to work collaboratively and successfully as a  member of a diverse community with colleagues, prospects and donors, faculty, administrators,  and volunteers to achieve common goals
• Proven Ability to work independently.

Physical/Mental Demands

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described herein are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this position and/or may be encountered while performing essential functions.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• To successfully perform the essential functions of this position, an employee must be able to maintain appropriate confidentiality with regard to employee data, documents, issues, etc., and respect privacy needs of employees and past employees with regard to the same.
• The ability to comply with highly inflexible deadlines is required to successfully perform the essential functions of this position; there will be multiple occurrences of sudden, urgent task completion required.
• There may be occurrences of employees, past employees, members of the general public, and others who express opinions, may exhibit strong emotions, which will require the employee to interact professionally, diplomatically, and appropriately in such situations.
• While performing the essential duties of this position, an employee would frequently be required to move around the office space as well as within hallways, meeting rooms, and other parts of the campus facilities. 
• There may be multiple/daily instances of prolonged personal computer use which would include keyboard and/or mouse usage as well as viewing a computer monitor.
• An employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 35 pounds to perform essential position functions.
• Specific vision abilities required by this position include close vision, distance vision, and ability to adjust focus.
• The overall work environment requires the mental ability to shift focus quickly due to interruptions; an employee must be able to mentally track multiple projects and tasks as well.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate; however, there may be unexpected instances of somewhat loud sounds.