Director, Divisional Relations and Strategic Initiatives

Date Posted: 05/07/2024
Req ID: 37239
Faculty/Division: VP - Division of University Advancement
Department: Divisional Relations
Campus: St. George (Downtown Toronto)

Description:

About Us:

The Division of University Advancement (DUA) promotes and supports the University of Toronto by engaging a worldwide community of donors, alumni, students, faculty and staff on U of T’s ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement goals. DUA encompasses a highly skilled team of staff focused in the areas of development, alumni and volunteer engagement, advancement services, and advancement marketing and communications. The uniquely integrated structure of University Advancement encourages each division to bring its particular strengths and expertise to the common cause of advancing U of T’s relations with alumni, donors, and friends. In this ecosystem, there is an emphasis on the collaboration, diplomacy, teamwork and mission focus as the Division of University Advancement supports our Faculties, Campuses and Divisions as a shared service. 

Through our current Defy Gravity campaign, the team supports U of T’s commitment to inclusive excellence – the idea that every member of our community should thrive in an environment of belonging – and helps the University bring together top minds from every conceivable background to create a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world. 

The Division of University Advancement at the University of Toronto is committed to a transformative agenda deeply rooted in the University’s vision for growth and innovation. We are focused on growing fundraising efforts; doubling the number of newly engaged alumni; achieving Advancement goals through the foundational integration of Alumni Relations and Development both centrally and through collaborations with divisional colleagues; creating an organization and culture that fosters diversity and inclusiveness.

Your Opportunity: 

The Divisional Relations office serves as principal liaison and expert adviser to divisional advancement teams across the university. The Divisional Relations team assists divisions in defining and structuring funding priorities and cases for support, establishing fundraising goals, developing pipelines and strategies, and deepening productivity to secure maximum results in order to grow fundraising performance, build organizational capacity, instill best fundraising practices, and further integration of development and alumni engagement goals, across the University’s multiple divisions and campuses.

Reporting to the Assistant Vice-President, Divisional Relations, the Director, Divisional Relations and Strategic Initiatives works to further the strategic priorities of the Divisional Relations portfolio. The Director is responsible for the management and implementation of Divisional Relations Strategic Plan and Operational Effectiveness Program, with a focus on delivering Divisional Relations multi-year Strategic Initiatives arising from annual Business Planning processes. This will involve providing leadership, advice and guidance in support of cross-divisional and inter-departmental advancement initiatives on the Divisional Relations team, as well as, across the Division of University Advancement and the University of Toronto.

The Director, Divisional Relations and Strategic Initiatives is a high caliber development professional who will manage the development and implementation of the divisional relations advancement strategy and contribute to the growth of fundraising performance across the University of Toronto.

In this highly collaborative role, the Director, Divisional Relations and Strategic Initiatives must build effective working partnerships with colleagues in central and divisional advancement programs, and with faculty and staff across the institution, as well as volunteers and other external constituencies.

In this role, the Director will also support Provostial fundraising approvals of divisional funding priorities, proposals and related development documents, in accordance with the division of University Advancement strategic initiatives and institutional guidelines.

Major Activities include:

Strategic Planning

• Provides leadership and supports strategy development and meetings for Divisional Business Planning that support, build and sustain fundraising momentum and capacity across the University, and achieve campaign objectives.
• Manages and implements Divisional Relations strategic plan and operational effectiveness program (OEP), with the focus on delivering Divisional Relations multi-year Strategic Initiatives (SIs) that support institutional strategies for development productivity and growth.
• Creates and supports the implementation of systems, tools and resources for managing cross-departmental Strategic Initiatives, while ensuring alignment and efficiency, including through the use of emerging technologies.
• Provides advice and support to the program directors on fundraising plans, policies, strategies, and approaches and operational effectiveness. Directs the efforts of multiple project teams in support of various Divisional Relations Strategic Initiatives, from framing the initiatives to implementation, while tracking progress against defined metrics.
• Assumes responsibilities for ongoing projects, undertakes research on a wide variety of issues and topics, follows-up on decisions and ensures ongoing maintenance of the highest level of proactivity and service for the portfolio.
• Leads and provides project management support for working groups & steering committees, including liaising with members, preparing reference material, developing responses, plans and arranging meetings, and setting timelines.
• Develops shared ways of working and collaborative advancement priorities and plans between Divisional Relations and other DUA portfolios in support of ongoing improvement. Resolves issues and concerns that arise through the development of initiatives, engagement, collaboration and coordination of divisional units.
• Drafts, composes, and edits a wide range of written information including high-level and sensitive correspondence, highly confidential documents such as strategic university reports and proposals in support of portfolio goals.
• Participates in the development of guidelines and processes related to advancement data in collaboration with Advancement Services, to support process improvements.
• Develops training resources and tools, in collaboration with Advancement Talent Management, that support fundraising growth and productivity across the University. 
• Manages projects and initiatives based on sound working knowledge of University policies, procedures, priorities and deadlines.

Provostial Fundraising Approvals

• Develops systems and tools that support Division’s in strategically reviewing and prioritizing funding priorities.
• Creates new approaches to collaborative fundraising between Faculties. This includes creating standard practices for the development of advancement opportunities requiring multiple departments.
• Creates, shares and promotes opportunities for funding priorities relating to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging, in alignment with Funding Priorities Working Group and recommendations of the Advancement EDI Task Force Report.
• Provides subject matter expertise in developing funding priorities, analyzing existing funding priorities and supporting the development of new and transformative approaches to funding in the $1-5 million range.
• Monitors and tracks the approval of divisional funding priorities, proposals and related development documents, in accordance with the division of University Advancement strategic initiatives and institutional guidelines.
• Reviews and edits funding proposals (divisional and DUA); performs risk assessment and avoidance of terms resulting in negative impact or lack of compliance with University guidelines; resolves problems as they arise and determines how best to manage sensitive and/or critical information.
• Creates and maintains a repository of Major Gift proposals and templates to support Divisional and DUA Advancement teams, in collaboration with Advancement Communications and Marketing.
• Maintains a master tracking document of all approved and pending funding priorities.
• Monitors the master tracking documents to determine overall trends and patterns.
• Ensures data integrity is maintained by divisional input; educates and trains development officers accordingly.
• Performs detailed analysis on approved funding priorities and develops reports for the Assistant-Vice President and other senior advancement executives used to support divisional and institutional strategy.
• Ensures distribution of approved funding priorities to appropriate senior advancement executives

Qualifications Required:

Education: 

• Undergraduate degree or an acceptable equivalent combination of education and experience

Experience:

• A minimum of seven (7) years of recent and related, years of progressively more senior experience in advancement, preferably in an educational institution.
• Demonstrated success in major gifts and fundraising.
• Experience in strategic fundraising planning and execution.
• Experience developing and implementing strategic solicitation plans that incorporate a defined fundraising goal, targeted audiences, and strategies in line with institutional goals.
• Experience in initiating, planning, and strategically implementing fundraising projects.
• Experience in a post-secondary environment is an asset.
• Demonstrated experience and success managing, motivating, and mentoring key stakeholders, bringing out the best in teams and individuals.

Skills:

The Director will possess:

• Excellent strategic and tactical project management skills; outstanding written and verbal communications skills. 
• Strong research, analytical and problem-solving skills. 
• Vision, the ability to think and plan strategically, and a creative, entrepreneurial spirit. 
• The ability to mentor, coach, motivate and inspire colleagues and volunteers. 
• High level of initiative. 
• Excellent attention to detail and superb organizational skills, including the ability to set campaign fundraising goals and timelines and to establish an internal system for meeting deadlines, tracking, follow-up, monitoring, and reporting of progress. 
• Ability to work in a hectic and results-oriented environment with a strong focus on results; ability to meet deadlines and budgets.
• Tact, diplomacy, judgment, and the ability to analyze and problem solve. 
• Ability to work in a hectic and results oriented environment. 
• Creative abilities to be resourceful, cost-efficient and intuitively driven. 
• Excellent communication and relationship building skills with an ability to prioritize, negotiate, and work with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.

Closing Date: 05/28/2024,11:59PM ET
Employee Group: Salaried
Appointment Type: Budget - Continuing
Schedule: Full-Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone: 1AP -- Broadband Salary Range: $85,671 - $197,704
Job Category: Administrative / Managerial