Senior Director of Gift Planning

at  Utah State University

Overview:
Utah State University is seeing a highly collaborative, driven, and innovative Senior Director of Gift Planning (Development Officer SR) who will be responsible for creating a planned giving program for the University. Reporting to Jonathan “Jon” Paulding, Associate Vice President, Central Advancement, the Senior Director will manage the Director of Gift Planning and oversee all aspects of gift planning for Utah State University, including developing and executing a marketing strategy for planned giving. The Senior Director will identify planned gift prospects and build a portfolio of planned gift prospects to meet individual, unit, and overarching goals. The Senior Director will build relationships with and inspire the confidence of donors and their legal and financial advisors. The Senior Director will meet with stakeholders to think strategically and creatively through the gift planning process to help USU stakeholders and investors reach their philanthropic goals.
This position collaborates with other development colleagues and works closely with university and foundation leadership. The Senior Director enhances the performance of other fundraisers by helping them develop planned giving and complex gift competencies, providing feedback and perspective on their fundraising approach/methods, coaching them to realize their optimal performance and objectives, and traveling with gift officers to assist donors in achieving their philanthropic goals. The Senior Director will identify planned giving prospects and build a portfolio to help achieve USU advancement’s goals.
The Senior Director of Gift Planning is committed to a culture of excellence, demonstrates advanced fundraising competencies and helps lead USU’s sustained fundraising success and growth. This position requires extensive public contact with high-level alumni, donors and volunteers. Frequent travel is required.

Responsibilities:

• Manage the Director of Gift Planning.
• Develop and implement both annual and long-range goals, objectives and strategies to maximize private support through various sources (individuals, alumni, friends, and planned giving vehicles) for Utah State University.
• Implement marketing strategies, activities, and materials that promote planned giving vehicles and communicate effectively the myriad of benefits of planned giving in charitable estate planning.
• Enhance the performance of unit-based fundraisers by helping them develop planned giving and complex gift competencies, providing feedback and perspective on their fundraising approach/methods, and coaching them to realize their optimal performance and gift acquisition objectives.
• Collaborate with USU leaders and development peers to link donors’ passions with USU priorities and ensure a gratifying gift and/or engagement experiences.
• Manage a portfolio of planned giving prospects; appropriately qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward prospects to advance philanthropy at USU.
• Utilize the suite of advancement resources to provide regular individual and team progress reports on gift planning officer and unit performance, and to implement and achieve strategies for success. Complete contacts/proposals in a timely manner.
• Partner with prospect analytics and research, the principal gift workgroup and campaign operations to identify new donor opportunities, analyze team performance, and implement effective practices.
• Develop and conduct planned giving seminars for development staff and well as donors and advisors on the benefits of planned giving, gift planning tools, estate planning tools, and techniques to effectively communicate complex gift conversations.
• Participate with the planned giving advisory board by providing resources and tools to grow USU’s planned giving partnerships.
• Other duties as required.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree plus a minimum of five years of planned giving experience.
• Demonstrated experience building successful, productive and collaborative relationships with top university administrators, deans and board members.
• Demonstrated experience staffing dean’s councils, advisory boards and committees.
• Demonstrated professional maturity, competency, and skilled problem-solving.
• A willingness and ability to travel (at least one trip per month); evening and weekend work is required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Understanding of complex planned giving vehicles.
• Knowledge of wealth transfer planning, including wills, trusts and estate and gift tax laws.
• Ability to have complex gift conversations and a track record of closing planned gifts or negotiating contracts.
• Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, as well as analytical, research and management skills.
• Knowledge of, and commitment, to the use of information technology to support advancement programs.
• Strong interpersonal skills, particularly with donors, volunteers and staff members from diverse backgrounds.
• Ability to position the Deans to maximize their potential as a fundraiser for the College/School.
• Ability to work effectively with multiple stakeholders (students, alumni, faculty, staff) from diverse backgrounds.
  Required Documents:

Along with the online application, please attach:

• Resume/CV to be uploaded at the beginning of your application in the Candidate Profile under “Resume/CV”
• Cover letter to be typed/pasted at the end of your application

Document size may not exceed 10 MB.
Advertised Salary: Commensurate with experience, plus excellent benefits ADA:
Employees work indoors and are protected from weather and/or contaminants, but not, necessarily, occasional temperature changes. The employee is regularly required to sit and often uses repetitive hand motions.
College/Department Highlights:
The Division of Advancement is a welcoming office where inclusiveness and teamwork are highly valued. Advancement staff are engaged in the meaningful work of securing private financial resources to fuel Utah State University’s mission by creating gratifying gift and engagement experiences for USU’s generous and passionate alumni and friends. Comprising the division are the office of the Vice President, the USU Foundation & Board, Advancement Services, the Alumni Association (Alumni Engagement), Gift Planning, Corporations and Foundations, Strategic Communications, the Annual Fund and ACE (Alumni Center for Engagement). Furthermore, the division coordinates all fundraising efforts across campus, including colleges, various programs, extension campuses, and USU Athletics. Through the collaboration of these units, the Division of Advancement is able to achieve significant annual fundraising goals by inspiring stakeholders to invest their time and resources in Utah State University.
University Highlights:
Founded in 1888, Utah State University is Utah’s premier land-grant, public service university, with a strong commitment to excellence, access, and inclusion, empowering people to lead successful lives of involvement, innovation, and impact. Utah State provides high-quality education to 27,500-plus students locations throughout the state, including at three residential campuses, eight statewide campuses, and 23 education centers. USU Online educates students from all 50 states and 55 countries. For over 25 years, USU Extension has served and engaged Utahns in all of Utah’s counties. As an R1 research institution, Utah State is dedicated to advancing knowledge through research and scholarly activities, providing a high-quality undergraduate and graduate education at an affordable price.
Utah State is committed to cultivating a community of inclusive excellence where all perspectives, values, cultures, and identities are acknowledged, welcomed, and valued. We seek to recruit, hire, and retain people from all walks of life who will champion excellence in education, research, discovery, outreach, and service. We believe that promoting a strong sense of community and belonging empowers and engages all members of USU to thrive and be successful. Forbes recognized our commitment to employees when they named Utah State the best employer in Utah in 2023. Learn more about USU.
The university provides a Dual Career Assistance Program to support careers for partners who are also seeking employment. Additionally, USU is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, contact the university’s ADA Coordinator in the Office of Human Resources at (435) 797-0122 or hr@usu.edu.

• Manage the Director of Gift Planning.
• Develop and implement both annual and long-range goals, objectives and strategies to maximize private support through various sources (individuals, alumni, friends, and planned giving vehicles) for Utah State University.
• Implement marketing strategies, activities, and materials that promote planned giving vehicles and communicate effectively the myriad of benefits of planned giving in charitable estate planning.
• Enhance the performance of unit-based fundraisers by helping them develop planned giving and complex gift competencies, providing feedback and perspective on their fundraising approach/methods, and coaching them to realize their optimal performance and gift acquisition objectives.
• Collaborate with USU leaders and development peers to link donors’ passions with USU priorities and ensure a gratifying gift and/or engagement experiences.
• Manage a portfolio of planned giving prospects; appropriately qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward prospects to advance philanthropy at USU.
• Utilize the suite of advancement resources to provide regular individual and team progress reports on gift planning officer and unit performance, and to implement and achieve strategies for success. Complete contacts/proposals in a timely manner.
• Partner with prospect analytics and research, the principal gift workgroup and campaign operations to identify new donor opportunities, analyze team performance, and implement effective practices.
• Develop and conduct planned giving seminars for development staff and well as donors and advisors on the benefits of planned giving, gift planning tools, estate planning tools, and techniques to effectively communicate complex gift conversations.
• Participate with the planned giving advisory board by providing resources and tools to grow USU’s planned giving partnerships.
• Other duties as required