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Director of Development, Leadership Annual Giving
Advancement | Alumni Association
Position Overview
The Ohio State University’s Office of External Affairs seeks a collaborative, mission-driven fundraiser and people leader to serve as the Director of Development, Leadership Annual Giving (LAG). The Director of Development provides direction and leadership and proactively administers the long- and short-term strategies for annual giving at the leadership level for the university’s Academic colleges, Wexner Medical Center (WMC) and Health Sciences colleges (HSC). Leadership level is defined as annual gifts in the amount of $3,000 to $99,999, including the acquisition, renewal, upgrading and stewardship of these gifts based on donor interest and passion.
In addition to leading the LAG program, the Director actively manages a focused portfolio of high-end leadership annual giving prospects (typically $50,000–$99,999) and may manage prospective donors capable of making major gifts of $100,000 and above and partners with colleagues to strengthen the major gift donor pipeline. The Director prepares prospective donors for solicitation by strategically using available resources to assess giving capacity, build interest, raise philanthropic sights, sustain engagement, and secure gift commitments. Success is measured through annual performance metrics, including donor meetings, gift commitments, dollars raised, and effective use of available donor database, reporting, analytics, and budget resources.
This position builds strong relationships with Chief Development Officers and colleagues across Academic colleges, WMC, HSCs and Advancement to develop, assess, message and document meaningful LAG donor opportunities. The Director sets metrics and benchmarks, monitors giving trends, researches and develops best practices and tools, and manages program needs including data, tracking, and performance to support university-wide annual giving strategy. Reporting to the Executive Director of Philanthropic Engagement or Senior Director of Development, the Director supervises and develops a team of fundraising professionals and plays a key role in Ohio State’s Advancement talent pipeline. The Director champions organizational values, establishes clear accountability standards, demonstrates coaching excellence, and uses data-driven management practices to guide performance and continuous improvement. The Director of Development will be proficient with MS Office programs and regularly utilize the customer relationship management system (TAS), including timely input of prospect and donor information. This role requires flexibility and adaptability to shifting priorities and may include occasional evening and weekend work.
All members of External Affairs are part of creating a culture that inspires an exceptionally multifaceted and talented team and are expected to exhibit The Ohio State University’s Shared Values . The Office of External Affairs is committed to acting with kindness, respect, and integrity at all times and welcoming our colleagues’ ideas, voices, and perspectives, acknowledging that we are better together.
Department Overview
Leadership Annual Giving (LAG) is part of the Alumni Association’s Connections Team and advances Ohio State’s mission by cultivating and stewarding leadership-level annual gifts ($3,000–$99,999) across Academic colleges, the Wexner Medical Center, and Health Sciences. LAG partners closely with colleges/units and central Advancement teams to develop donor opportunities, strengthen engagement, and build a pipeline of future major gift donors.
Duties and Responsibilities
95% - Provides direction and leadership and administers the long- and short-term strategies for the LAG program focused on the university. Works closely with University Marketing and Advancement Communications to develop communications and activities in support of strategies. Sets metrics and benchmarks, monitors giving trends, manages program needs including data, tracking and performance, and ensures relevant data is captured in TAS (the fundraising customer relationship management system). Researches and develops best practices and tools to support LAG fundraising and prospect movement. Collaborates with Chief Development Officers and colleagues across Advancement, colleges/units and the Wexner Medical Center to develop, assess, message and document meaningful LAG donor opportunities that strengthen the major gift donor pipeline, provides ongoing guidance and performance feedback to LAG-focused staff in other colleges/units. Identifies, qualifies, and cultivates a primary portfolio of prospective high-end LAG prospects, pursues connections and discovers donor values, capacity, interests, and passions, ensures quality and momentum within the portfolio to convert prospects to donors. Builds context for gift proposals, develops and implements strategic gift solicitations, and maximizes stewardship to enhance relationships. Recruits, trains, evaluates, motivates, and coaches employees of various backgrounds and identities, establishes and monitors goals, provides performance feedback and coaching, and supports professional development, completes annual performance management procedures, manages performance issues, is responsible for using independent, consistent and fair judgement in exercising authority, develops procedures, assigns and prioritizes work, and ensures that the resources needed to accomplish work are provided.
5% - Completes special projects and performs other duties as assigned.
Metrics and Collaboration
The annual performance of all fundraisers at Ohio State is measured by the number of qualifications, cultivations, solicitations and commitments/dollars raised the individual accrues over each fiscal year. Each fundraiser may have different expectations regarding these figures based upon, but not limited to, their experience level, unit size, prospect portfolio, past performance, etc. Goal setting is done with the individual’s manager prior to each fiscal year to assure transparency, consistency and alignment.
All fundraisers at Ohio State are encouraged and expected to collaborate with their colleagues across the institution and can be counted as ‘Secondary’ on a gift in the solicitation, commitment and dollars raised phases of the development cycle. A secondary fundraiser can be considered when a team is working on a multi-unit gift, the fundraiser is a subject matter expert in an area critical to the solicitation or a fundraiser has a pre-existing, meaningful relationship with the donor and their participation helps move the gift forward.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Four (4) years of relevant experience with at least two (2) years of professional fundraising experience (building relationships towards philanthropic end through making calls, conducting face-to-face appointments, creating and presenting proposals, closing gifts) and two (2) years of related experience in marketing, sales, public relations, financial advisement, account management or related field with emphasis on donor cultivation, solicitation and relationship cultivation of individuals/businesses.
- Demonstrated ability to hire, supervise, coach, and support professional development for staff (people-leader expectations).
Desired Qualifications (We’re committed to building a team that reflects a variety of skills and experiences and encourage you to apply even if your experience does not align perfectly)
- Master's degree in related field or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- At least four (4) years of professional fundraising experience raising the highest level of philanthropic gifts at an organization (preferably five or six figures and above)
- At least four (4) years of professional fundraising experience in higher education or a hospital/health care environment
- Experience leading a leadership annual giving program (e.g., gifts in the $3,000–$99,999 range) and managing program metrics/benchmarks.
- Experience using TAS and reporting/analysis tools to manage performance, data quality, and prospect movement.
- Experience partnering with CDOs and college/unit partners to document donor opportunities and strengthen the major-gift pipeline.
The Office of External Affairs is committed to providing tools and resources for you to learn our business, proprietary databases, university-specific processes, and advancement practices.
In accordance with the Disaster Preparedness and University State of Emergency Policy 6.17 this position has been designated as a standby position.
You Need to Know
Aside from the unparalleled benefits of working for The Ohio State University and working in the vibrant, smart, enjoyable, and growing city of Columbus, Ohio, this opportunity will provide exceptional rewards that arise from working for an institution doing worldwide life-changing teaching and research. Learn more here: Careers at Ohio State .
To learn more about the Office of External Affairs, please visit Advancement Careers .
The budget for this position is up to $85,300.00. . The offer for this position will be based on internal equity and the candidate's qualifications.
Function: Development and Engagement
Sub-function: Development
Career Band: People Leader - Managerial
Career Level: M1 Associate Manager/Supervisor
Longaberger Alumni House (0022)
Regular
40
First Shift
Final candidates are subject to successful completion of a background check. A drug screen or physical may be required during the post offer process.
Thank you for your interest in positions at The Ohio State University and Wexner Medical Center. Once you have applied, the most updated information on the status of your application can be found by visiting the Candidate Home section of this site. Please view your submitted applications by logging in and reviewing your status. For answers to additional questions please review the frequently asked questions .
The university is an equal opportunity employer, including veterans and disability.
