Senior Associate Director, Gift Planning

Northeastern University is looking for a strategic, collaborative, and experienced gift planning professional to join its development team as Senior Associate Director, Gift Planning (SRAD). The Senior Associate Director will be a key contributor to the gift planning team during an exciting time of growth, including the University’s recently announced comprehensive campaign. This is an exceptional opportunity to generate support for an institution that is having a transformative impact on students and faculty and advancing innovative pathways in education and research.

Working in a fast-paced environment, the SRAD will ensure that the present and future network of support for the University expands by focusing on increasing revocable and irrevocable deferred gift revenue and helping the Office of Gift Planning meet University campaign and other strategic fundraising goals. They will collaborate with major gift counterparts in developing donor strategy and presenting planned gift options to prospects, respond to planned giving inquiries and prepare qualified gift proposals, and provide training and education in gift planning and its impact and importance to advancement colleagues and volunteers.

The SRAD will build and manage a portfolio of alumni, parents, and friends, with a focus on bequests, life-income gifts, complex gift transactions, and outright major and principal gifts as appropriate. The SRAD will collaborate closely with all levels of development to employ planned gift strategies that maximize the donors' potential and conduct joint visits with development colleagues. They will be expected to utilize analytics and other information to initiate planned giving prospect review and strategy development and to stay knowledgeable on current and pending legislative tax and technical developments related to planned giving.

The ideal candidate will bring professional experience in gift planning or related fields such as estate planning, trust and estate management, and charitable giving tax law. They will offer excellent analytical skills to resolve complex gift situations that require the innovative application of technical knowledge, along with superior organizational and interpersonal skills, sensitivity and discretion, and adherence to the highest ethical standards. Further, they will demonstrate a highly collaborative approach, authentic relationship-building skills, and the empathy necessary to relate to multiple constituencies.

Select Responsibilities

• Manage all aspects of the Donor Engagement Process (Identification, Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship) for a portfolio of 100-120 prospects with giving capacity of $100k-$500k.
• Act as the primary contact and collaborate with major gift officers at colleges within the Northeastern global campus network, assisting and advising with planned gift strategies so that maximum giving is achieved.
• Collaborate actively with development staff across the Office of University Advancement on joint visits to prospects where a planned gift could be employed.
• Serve as primary for responses resulting from specific gift planning marketing efforts with a focus on building pipeline discovery.
• Prepare planned giving illustrations and proposals.
• Utilize all resources available to remain knowledgeable on current and pending legislative, tax and technical developments related to planned giving.

Select Qualifications

• A bachelor's degree and at least five to seven (5-7) years of gift planning or fundraising experience, or comparable work experience gained within the legal or financial planning professions.
• Demonstrated, quantified success in securing planned gifts or visits is highly desirable.
• Ability to articulate complicated gift planning concepts to donors, professional advisors, and internal constituents including trustees, volunteers, development staff, and faculty.
• Team player, able to relate effectively with all levels of staff, alumni and volunteers.
• High level of self-confidence, creativity, enthusiasm, engagement, self-motivation and energy needed to achieve ambitious goals.
• Ability to work independently in achieving activity and revenue goals.