Senior Director, Gift Planning

Job title: Senior Director, Gift Planning
Organization: Northern Kentucky University
Location: Highland Heights, Kentucky
Industry: Higher Education

Job Description

The Senior Director, Gift Planning reports to the Assistant Vice President of Development and will serve as a business unit expert and leader for Northern Kentucky University, responsible for the coordination and execution of all planned giving activities including marketing, developing and closing planned gifts, stewarding planned giving donors and senior volunteer leadership, supporting development staff, and implementing and maintaining a cohesive communication and education campaign for planned gifts. The Senior Director will create significant impact on philanthropic revenue generation, positioning the university to achieve significant pipeline growth over the next 3-5 years in preparation for the next comprehensive campaign.

The Senior Director will design and oversee implementation and maintenance of a cohesive communication and public education campaign including newsletters, topical brochures, seminar/ public speaking opportunities, and collaborative marketing to drive pipelines for deferred and complex gifts including wills, bequests, trusts, pooled income funds, deferred gifts, real estate and annuities. Additionally, the Senior Director will identify, recruit and manage volunteers with relevant expertise in personal finance, wealth management, tax and estate planning, and law to ensure the university has a robust network of advisors to whom we can refer clients and from whom who can receive prospective donor referrals.

The Senior Director will develop and implement training and consulting to all relevant parties less sophisticated in complex gift types and vehicles to maximize their ability to identify, cultivate, and structure gift arrangements and to close and steward individual planned gifts. The Senior Director will also work in collaboration with gift officers supporting the colleges and units to identify, cultivate, and structure planned gift arrangements, and to facilitate and ensure closing and stewardship of individual planned gifts. The Senior Director will leverage the capabilities of the Crescendo Interactive platform to provide illustrations and technical expertise in planned giving to donors and staff regarding the tax and financial aspects and consequences of various planned giving vehicles to both the donor and the University.

The Senior Director will collaborate with key partners across University Advancement including Donor Relations, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving, Marketing and Communications, Advancement Operations, and Special Events to identify potential prospects, leverage university events to engage prospects and steward donors, utilize university systems to record prospect and donor interactions, track proposals, maintain prospect and donor contact information, and analyze planned giving program progress and performance. The Senior Director will work with Deans, faculty, and other senior academic and administrative leaders across the University to facilitate their appropriate participation in the development process as needed to cultivate, solicit and close gifts.

The Senior Director will personally build and manage a portfolio of 60-75 major gift prospects to generate a minimum of $1.5M in annual philanthropic revenue, and serve as a development leader within the Division to assist the AVP with the strategic direction and growth of the program through participation in special projects, as assigned.

A bachelor’s degree plus 7-10 years of progressive responsibility in fundraising/business development or a master’s degree plus at least 5 years of closely related experience, is required, as is a proven track record of closing gifts or contracts of $25K or more. MBA or JD preferred. Previous experience working in personal finance, wealth management, tax, or estate planning a plus.

The successful candidate for this role will be intellectually curious, possess a positive growth mindset and a keen understanding of and passion for the value of higher education, and have a solid knowledge base and grasp of

complex and deferred giving vehicles including their tax consequences for both donors and the institution. The successful candidate must also be able to balance leadership of self as a business unit expert against expectations as an individual fundraising contributor. The individual in this role will continuously be required to develop new, imaginative or innovative solutions, services, products, processes or programs; the work requires conceptual and imaginative thinking in a highly complex environment. Other key competencies of the successful candidate for this position include:

  • Internal motivation and drive
  • Demonstrated excellence in written and verbal communication
  • Capacity to manage and prioritize multiple projects
  • Interpersonal, cultural and emotional intelligence
  • Integrity and accountability to others
  • Learning agility
  • Strategic decision-making and judgment
  • Conflict and change management
  • Persistence and patience

The Senior Director will benefit from the partnership of a seasoned Assistant Vice President of Development and Vice President of Advancement and a significant base of alumni and prospects with as yet untapped capacity, many of whom are within peak demographics for estate planning. In addition, the Senior Director will benefit from a collaborative and collegial culture within the Advancement Division.

Competitive benefits including medical, retirement matching, generous vacation and seasonal holiday closures, and flexible/hybrid work are offered, in addition to bonus potential for excellent results at the discretion of the AVP and VP.

Qualified candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements at jobs.nku.edu.