Senior Director for Advancement

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liber education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions in more than twenty-five countries as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.

AAC&U seeks a dynamic Senior Director for Advancement. The Senior Director for Advancement drives AAC&U’s fundraising, sponsorship, and partnership development strategies. This position is responsible for cultivating philanthropic and corporate relationships, overseeing grants, and ensuring non-dues revenue growth. This position reports to the Strategic Advisor for Membership and Advancement.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and implement annual fundraising and sponsorship plans with measurable revenue goals.
• Lead corporate partnership cultivation efforts, focusing on multi-year sponsorship packages and mission-aligned collaborations.
• In consultation with the President and Strategic Advisor for Membership and Advancement, manage board and executive engagement in donor cultivation and stewardship.
• Coordinate with the Strategic Advisor for Membership and Advancement to align sponsor and member value propositions.
• Actively pursue new individual and corporate donors for AAC&U and lead the fundraising component of the AAC&U Advantage Campaign.
• Ensure effective communication, reporting, and recognition for sponsors and donors.
• Develop quarterly advancement reports for senior leadership and the board.
• Oversee the research, development and implementation of sponsorship/partnership for AAC&U programs and events (annual meeting, conference, institutes, webinars, and publications) to include identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding both major individual donors, sponsors, and public and private foundations.
• Manage Giving Tuesday campaigns for AAC&U.
• Prepare and deliver sponsorship updates to the Strategic Advisor for Membership and Advancement;
• Keep abreast of developments in the foundation and government funding marketplace, and report on opportunities, changes, and trends.
• Supervise advancement team.
• Oversee administrative and budgetary responsibilities for advancement.
• Perform related special projects or other duties as assigned

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree. Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 5 years of fundraising and development professional experience in a director role overseeing performance outcomes and fundraising reach.
• Experience preferably in association, non-profit, and/or higher education.
• Demonstrated success in fundraising and revenue generation within an organization.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.
• Demonstrated skill in CRM fundraising software.
• Preferable experience in data management (Nimble, etc.)
• Experience managing multiple projects simultaneously and meeting continuous deadlines.
• Significant experience with successful collaboration with teams.
• Supervisory experience.

Salary commensurate with experience; exceptional benefits. A reasonable rate for this position is: $125,000- $140,000. Please submit a letter of interest with salary requirements and CV to: AAC&U, Box Advancement/Membership, 1812 R Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 or to jobs@aacu.org will begin on or before February 2, 2025.

AAC&U believes that a broadly diverse staff is critical to achieving excellence as a national higher educationassociation. We seek to recruit, develop,and retain the most talentedpeople from a diverse candidate pool. We are fully committed to equal employment opportunity and compliance with the full range of fair employment practices and non-discrimination laws.

Exceptional Benefits