Associate Vice President, Capital Giving & Campaigns: Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods.

Who We Are:

The Swarthmore Office of Advancement manages the College’s relationship with its alumni, families, and friends to further Swarthmore’s commitment to intellectual rigor and creativity, nurturing of student confidence and curiosity, production of new knowledge, and inclusive excellence, among other goals.  Advancement works closely with the President, faculty, and senior colleagues to foster positive and productive relationships that not only accelerate the objectives of the College but also represent meaningful and beneficial engagement for the Swarthmore community.

The Office of Advancement manages and maintains alumni, family, and friend records; engages constituents in the life of the College in a variety of ways, contexts, and over time; provides and supports meaningful opportunities for volunteering; and partners with the President and Board of Managers to share information about the College and raise critical philanthropic support for the College’s priorities and new initiatives. Advancement ensures that alumni and donors are appropriately recognized and informed about the impact of their service and contributions and manages all gift acceptance and stewardship.

The opportunity:

The position of Associate Vice President, Capital Giving and Campaigns (AVP) is an outstanding opportunity for an advancement leader who is a gifted and inspired manager, a creative and collaborative colleague, and an experienced fundraiser. Working closely with the Vice President for Advancement (VP) and senior colleagues, they will create, hire for, and manage the Campaign and Capital Giving Office at Swarthmore. Planning Swarthmore campaigns, supporting the definition and building out of priorities, setting up projects and their management, establishing and implementing new practices in relationship management, developing fundraising strategies, hiring and supervising staff, creating and carrying a portfolio of high-level donors, the AVP will enable a new era of resource growth for Advancement and the College. Candidates will be hired into either an Assistant Vice President or Associate Vice President role based on experience and professional qualifications. Qualifications in this job description are reflective of the Associate Vice President level.

The AVP will have a track record in the Advancement field and with campaigns as a builder and strategist. They will balance ambitious goal-setting with support for group achievement and individual advancement. At the staff level–working with the Leadership Committee in Advancement and across the College—the AVP will be a key leader not only in campaign planning but also in broad, multi-year fundraising.

The AVP will collaborate with the Vice President to implement short and long-term engagement, fundraising, and campaign programs. They will be a key manager and advisor in defining and overseeing new pipeline development, donor engagement, volunteer committees, and prospect management systems and protocols. Providing leadership for and leveraging Swarthmore Advancement’s implementation and ongoing use of a Technolutions-based “Slate” database, the AVP will develop best practices in prospect engagement, solicitation, stewardship, and use of analytics for strategic planning to ensure unflagging focus on the alignment of donor interest with the College’s resource needs.

The AVP will hire and fill out the capital giving staff who raise capital and endowment gifts at the $100,000+ level. In this, they will have the unique opportunity to reinvigorate the program. As a “player coach,” they will model and create an effective and comprehensive program. The AVP will accelerate fundraising results through collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and proactive portfolio management and metrics-based achievement.

Essential Responsibilities

• In the spirit of player/coach, carry a prospect pool of ~25 top prospective donors, modeling a strong work ethic and traveling a minimum of one to two days per month year-round to engage, solicit, and steward assigned donors.
• Hire for and create major/capital giving program, adding leadership positions and four or more new fundraisers to the team and creating goals, metrics, and measurables that will maximize giving from Swarthmore’s robust major gifts prospect pool ($100,000+)
• Develop, lead, and mentor staff who are prepared to meet the ongoing challenges of broadening and diversifying Swarthmore’s volunteer support, alumni and family engagement, and philanthropic revenue. Assess current staff capacity and recruit new staff as necessary.
• Lead the development of fundraising strategies and prepare Advancement for the next Swarthmore campaign in close partnership with the VP.
• With the Associate VP for Principal and Planned Giving, develop priorities and programs and orchestrate this across the College and with partner offices.
• Develop volunteer opportunities, model volunteer and project management within the context of a major gift.
• Develop fundraising project planning and train staff to manage fundraising organization and solicitations, aligning closely with faculty and program leaders in priority areas.
• Meet fundraising goals set by College leadership and the Board of Managers
• Ensure best-in-class policy/procedure/practice for prospect management, donor engagement, and campaign activity.  Manage a “moves management” continuum that enables a proactive front-line staff to solicit donors and cleave Swarthmore alumni, families, and friends to the College.
• Ensure that the pipeline for major gifts donors, volunteers, and leaders of alumni, family, and other programs is robust, accurate, and constantly and consistently pushing new candidates to front line staff.
• Maintain a leadership style that is open and fluid and empowers staff through active communication and delegation.
• Monitor and measure staff on engagement metrics and fundraising progress and productivity, evaluate results, and initiate appropriate changes.  Celebrate current achievements and set expectations for future success.
• Provide regular updates to the VP on the progress of goal-setting, priorities, staff planning, and management development.
• Establish and maintain all human resources/talent management related activities within their areas, including recruiting, onboarding, performance management, annual review processes, etc.
• Play an active role in the life of the College, including but not limited to committees, task forces, and areas of personal interest.
• Oversee Advancement’s compliance in all aspects of business with College policies and procedures. Assist in developing a gift acceptance policy.
• Work collaboratively with leaders across Swarthmore to lift the priority and profile of fundraising and broadly communicate fundraising needs and impact.
• Monitor and measure staff on effective use of the donor engagement and solicitation protocols and on fundraising progress and productivity. Evaluate results and initiate appropriate changes
• Represent VP at internal and external meetings and committees upon request.
• Play an active role in the life of the College, including but not limited to committees, task forces, and areas of personal interest.
• Act as an executive sponsor on campus-wide and/or cross-departmental initiatives as requested.
•  Supervisory Responsibilities
• Manage a staff of three individual giving fundraisers and administrative staff initially; grow staff from there.
• Hire for and create major/capital giving program, adding leadership positions and four or more new fundraisers to the team and creating goals, metrics, and measurables that will maximize giving from Swarthmore’s robust major gifts prospect pool ($100,000+)
• Develop, lead, and mentor staff who are prepared to meet the ongoing challenges of broadening and diversifying Swarthmore’s volunteer support, alumni and family engagement, and philanthropic revenue. Assess current staff capacity and recruit new staff as necessary.
• Ensure best-in-class policy/procedure/practice for prospect management, donor engagement, and campaign activity.  Manage a “moves management” continuum that enables a proactive front-line staff to solicit donors and cleave Swarthmore alumni, families, and friends to the College.
• Establish and maintain all human resources/talent management related activities within their areas, including recruiting, onboarding, performance management, annual review processes, etc.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Manage a staff of three individual giving fundraisers and administrative staff initially; grow staff from there.
• Hire for and create major/capital giving program, adding leadership positions and four or more new fundraisers to the team and creating goals, metrics, and measurables that will maximize giving from Swarthmore’s robust major gifts prospect pool ($100,000+)
• Develop, lead, and mentor staff who are prepared to meet the ongoing challenges of broadening and diversifying Swarthmore’s volunteer support, alumni and family engagement, and philanthropic revenue. Assess current staff capacity and recruit new staff as necessary.
• Ensure best-in-class policy/procedure/practice for prospect management, donor engagement, and campaign activity.  Manage a “moves management” continuum that enables a proactive front-line staff to solicit donors and cleave Swarthmore alumni, families, and friends to the College.
• Establish and maintain all human resources/talent management related activities within their areas, including recruiting, onboarding, performance management, annual review processes, etc.

Who you are:

The ideal candidate will have an exceptional track record of raising major gifts and successfully leading fundraising campaigns, with personal success in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors at the $100,000+ level. They will have the ability to inspire individuals with gift capacity, have a deep understanding and appreciation for the philanthropic process, and combine outstanding achievement in fundraising with a strong track record in the management of professional and volunteer fundraisers. They will have the ability to hold colleagues to ambitious metrics and develop high-functioning teams, both as a member of the senior staff and in building their own office.  The AVP will have a high level understanding of Advancement data, analytics, CRM management, and Advancement “back office” and service areas.  They will have a strong commitment to the values of Swarthmore College, including supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.

What you bring:

The ideal candidate will be an experienced and accomplished professional with a bachelor’s degree, and a minimum of ten to fifteen years’ experience in the advancement field, including seven to ten+ years of campaign and supervisory experience. They will have the ability to build and inspire teams and to collaborate with colleagues in the senior management group.

What You Will Get:

You’ll work at one of the world’s most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a collaborative work environment. Join a team of passionate, creative advancement professionals who work hard and have fun supporting the College students, faculty, and staff.