Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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The Office of Philanthropic Partnerships (OPP) at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) seeks a diligent,
collaborative, and results-oriented Senior Director to inspire and
lead a team of principal gift officers ($5M+) while personally
advancing a blended portfolio of unaffiliated donors and alumni.
The Senior Director will pursue and cultivate national and
international relationships that result in transformational
philanthropic partnerships in support of signature initiative
efforts for the Institute.
The Senior Director will be asked to approach philanthropy in a
thoughtful and strategic manner, and to devise qualification and
cultivation strategies that stretch beyond traditional approaches
to loyalty-based fundraising. This is an exceptional opportunity to
assume a high-profile leadership role at an iconic institution with
world class faculty developing cause-based research that addresses
a range of complex societal issues from climate change and energy
to AI, robotics, and health.
POSITION OVERVIEW
Reporting into the Executive Director of the Office of
Philanthropic Partnerships, Jenny Liu, the Senior Director will
bring the vision, determination, and wisdom needed to lift a
high-performing team to even greater heights and contribute to a
donor-centric culture that connects philanthropists to significant,
cause-based endeavors.
Leading a team of at least three frontline fundraisers, the
Senior Director will establish, implement, track, and deliver
growth strategies for the expansion of MIT’s fundraising program.
The Senior Director will actively work with their team to identify,
develop, and engage donors with principal and transformational gift
potential for MIT (gifts of $5M+); ensure that cultivation and
stewardship plans are well developed, carefully coordinated, and
rigorously enacted; and remove barriers for a seasoned team of gift
officers who enjoy the freedom of innovating with prospects and
donors.
The Senior Director will also be responsible for managing their
own portfolio of 45-50 ultra-high net worth individuals
representing non-alumni, alumni, and corporations and capable of
making principal and transformational gifts to the Institute. Gifts
will support university-wide initiatives that aim to create major
global change at a pace and scale not yet seen before. These
philanthropic initiatives typically fall outside of an individual
college/school and often include donors with whom the President and
university leadership engage on strategic priorities. In addition
to strategic initiatives and presidential priorities, MIT will look
to raise funding for core needs across scholarships, fellowships,
professorships, and campus renewal.
The ideal candidate will showcase a proven history of personally
identifying, cultivating, and soliciting principal and
transformational gifts in addition to a clear mastery of the
fundamentals of principal gift fundraising and moves management. A
collegial, team-building style with the ability to motivate staff
and to cultivate productive, collaborative relationships in a
complex environment is essential. The Senior Director will foster a
professional work environment that rewards individual and
collective success, builds confidence, and promotes diversity in
all its forms.
SELECT RESPONSIBILITIES
Team Management
- Manage a team of principal giving officers to raise private
philanthropic funds in support of the Institute from affiliated and
unaffiliated individual and corporate donors capable of making
significant gifts; set and implement strategies for global market
development, donor development, volunteer management, and resource
allocation. - Partner with the Executive Director and the Human Resources
Strategic Talent Management team to ensure effective staff
management, including hiring and orientation, training and
development, workflow, and performance management, and developing a
diverse, equitable, inclusive work environment that promotes
creativity and innovation.
Fundraising
- Work with the Executive Director and other senior leaders and
faculty to develop and promote specific strategies for
fundraising. - Acquire a working knowledge of the Institute’s mission,
academic programs, research, and fundraising objectives and be
knowledgeable about fundraising priorities, ways of giving and how
MIT engages and manages donors and volunteers. Grow and strengthen
MIT’s relationships with alumni, parents, friends, and
organizations, effectively communicating the mission of the
Institute. - Manage a portfolio of high-net-worth individuals through the
identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and
stewardship cycles; forge relationships with a diverse population
of prospects that will help realize seven-, eight- and nine-figure
solicitations and lead MIT to new levels of distinction. - Work effectively with MIT’s most generous donors and potential
prospects to establish trust and secure gifts of $5M and
above. - Counsel Institute officers, including Senior Administrative and
Academic staff, on cultivation and solicitation strategies for
selected prospects and visits. - Oversee the preparation of funding proposals, talking points,
assessments of potential support, briefings for senior leaders, and
stewardship reports for all assigned prospects; ensure that all
interested parties and stakeholders are involved in key efforts
focused on specific prospects.
Other
- Serve as a key member of the Office of Philanthropic
Partnership’s Senior Team, participating in strategic discussions
and decisions about the overall program and providing advice and
recommendations to the President and VP for Resource Development
(RD). - Serve as a member of OPP and RD committees as requested.
- Lead and support the implementation of strategic priorities and
initiatives to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and
progressive change.
SELECT QUALIFICATIONS
- 7+ years of experience fundraising in higher education or other
comparable organization required, especially at the principal gift
level. - 3+ years of experience supervising staff, setting goals, and
effectively managing performance and budgets. - Demonstrated experience developing relationships with donors
and prospects, negotiating the interests of both the individual
donors and the Institute, and securing gift commitments at the
level of $5M and above. - Demonstrated ability to inspire high-net-worth individuals to
provide significant financial support to an institution, and to
raise donor sights, articulate aspirational goals and ideas, set
priorities, and present philanthropic opportunities. - Particular skill in developing non-alumni relationships into
principal gift conversations where there is an alignment of
interests. - Ability to travel nationally and internationally with and staff
the President, Senior Officers and key faculty on key meetings with
prospects and donors approximately 20% – 30% of the time.
To learn more, visit
https://orgchart.mit.edu/leadership/vice-president-resource-development.
Apply now
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