Senior Director, Planned Giving

Wayne State University is searching for an experienced Senior Director, Planned Giving at its Detroit campus location.

Wayne State is a premier, public, urban research university located in the heart of Detroit, Michigan where students from all backgrounds are offered a rich, high-quality education. Our deep-rooted commitment to excellence, collaboration, integrity, diversity and inclusion creates exceptional educational opportunities which prepare students for success in a global society.

Job Purpose

Provide vision, leadership and direction for the university’s Planned Giving program. Design and implement a comprehensive planned giving program; manage fundraising strategies and initiatives. Manage staff and office operations in order to cultivate, solicit and steward planned gift donors to meet established fundraising goals within allocated budget. This position reports to the Associate Vice President, Major Gifts and Planned Giving.

Essential Functions

Responsible for the design and implementation of a comprehensive planned giving program to increase donor giving, including management of a personal portfolio of 100-150 prospects. Model best practices in planned giving fundraising.

Responsible for leading team to meet annual fundraising goals and achieving individual fundraising goals; allocating and prioritizing time and resources to achieve the greatest return on investment. Performance and productivity will be measured on the following core metrics as determined annually:

    Dollars raised toward Campaign goal

    Number of planned gift solicitations of $25,000+

    Number of planned gifts documented at $25,000+

    Number of meaningful contacts each month

Collaborate with division leadership and direct reports to develop fundraising plans and strategies for increasing planned gifts to the university. Establish realistic and achievable timelines; remain current with fundraising trends and serve as a resource on successful development activities, techniques and methods. Manage and strengthen creative donor marketing strategies as the key communications tool for the planned giving program.

Partner with development professionals within the schools and colleges to identify planned gift opportunities for donors, alumni and friends. Develop related proposals and assist development professionals to secure planned gifts. Conduct one-on-one solicitations and work with donors' advisors, as appropriate, to strengthen donor relations and increase planned gift revenues.

Attend and participate in prospect review meetings to strategize and prioritize donor cultivation and solicitation for major and planned gifts.

Work in partnership with the Office of General Counsel, Vice President for Finance and Business Operations, Cash Management and Investments office and Gift Administration to ensure planned gift agreements are in compliance with university policies and procedures. Responsible for managing pending estates and trusts to ensure gifts are received upon settlement of the donor's estate.

Work closely with President and VP Development to secure principal estate gifts including drafting of complex contractual gift agreements. Train major gift officers in the schools and colleges to integrate planned gifts into overall donor and prospect strategies.

Supervise a diverse staff, effectively managing performance to meet individual and team initiatives; foster a collegial and highly productive work environment. Recruit, interview, hire, train, coach, evaluate, and discipline staff. Establish and communicate performance expectations in a manner that motivates and empowers staff to fulfill job duties. Encourage, support, and ensure employee participation in training and development programs.

Manage annual budget for the planned giving program. Develop revenue and expense projections, approve expenditures for the program and monitor transactions for compliance with university policies and procedures. Provide donor or donor's representative with necessary broker/bank information for completion of stock or IRA gift transactions.  

Network with outside professional groups and organizations to keep abreast of current industry trends and best practices related to fundraising. Represent the Division of Development & Alumni Affairs at industry or community meetings at the request of leadership. Special projects and other duties as assigned.

WORK CONTEXT

This grid characterizes the position scope.

Job Reports to:  Vice President/AVP/Dean

Leadership Accountability:Develops policy and strategic plans

Supervisory Accountability:Supervises professionals and non-managers

Organizational Accountability:Manages department

Financial Accountability:Manages operating budget

Customer Accountability:Interfaces with officials and executives

Freedom to Act:Operates with significant autonomy

N/A

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education   Bachelor's degree

Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in marketing, public relations, or business administration. Master's degree preferred.

Reasonable knowledge and understanding of university policies and procedures.

Experience   Expert (established subject matter expert, 7+ years experience)

Minimum of 8-9 years experience working as a fundraising professional in donor solicitations in planned giving/estate gifts. Proven success in closing six-and-seven-figure gifts. Minimum of 4 years experience managing personnel, developing and implementing policies and procedures.

Technical expertise in financial aspects of charitable giving, charitable remainder trusts, gift annuities and other planned giving vehicles. Extensive experience in drafting complex contractual agreements.

Direct experience with creating development fundraising plans, preparing proposals and conducting major and planned gift solicitations required.

Knowledge of Banner, COGNOS and Crescendo preferred.

Familiarity and sensitivity with the special needs of older adults.

Positive and collaborative professional philosophy, recognizing that this position is integral to the achievement of the goals and objectives of Development and Alumni Affairs.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

ANALYTICAL AND PRESENTATION SKILLS: Ability to evaluate, interpret, and present complex information effectively  in professionally prepared documents or presentations. Must possess a demonstrated attention to detail in order to achieve a high degree of accuracy.

COLLABORATION: Exhibits a willingness to partner with diverse units across the university with integrity and high character to reach unified goals. Possesses the ability to navigate difficult situations with grace and understanding while being respectful and accepting of individual differences. 

COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS: Ability to communicate clearly, concisely and professionally both orally and in writing. Strong interpersonal skills are a must. Ability to work successfully with persons from diverse backgrounds.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION: Demonstrates a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through continuous development, modeling inclusive behaviors and proactively managing implicit bias.

LEARNING AGILITY: Independent and innovative self-starter who displays an ability to learn quickly and easily adapts to changing situations. Experience researching topics to gain knowledge and understanding when information gaps exist.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION: Ability to manage several projects simultaneously, prioritize and plan work activities while meeting respective deadlines. Strong organizational and time-management skills required. Maturity, sound judgment and ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously in a deadline-oriented environment.

TEAMWORK: Ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues within the division and other units to gain full understanding of the project and desired outcome; ability to produce high quality and consistent results with assistance of team members; provide support to teammates when tackling complex projects.

TECHNICAL SKILLS: Proficient in the use of complex administrative systems software, preferrably in the higher education environment. Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, especially Word, Excel and Teams. Ability to understand and translate complex concepts into lay terms.

Working Conditions

Normal office environment.

Adhere to confidentiality and data usage policy for the division.

This position requires a high level of commitment and enthusiasm. Due to travel requirements, evening meetings and special events, etc., candidate must be willing to work extended hours as needed. 

H86 - Development & Alumni Affairs

H8605-Developmnt office

• Regular Employee
• Job type: Full Time
• Job category: Staff/Administrative

• Compensation type: Annual Salary
• Hourly rate:
• Salary minimum: $130,000
• Salary hire maximum: $145,000

Normal working conditions

• Number of openings: 1
• Reposted position: No
• Reposted reason: None (New Requisition)
• Prior posting/requisition number:

University policy requires certain persons who are offered employment to undergo a background check, including a criminal history check, before starting work. If you are offered employment, the university will inform you if a background check is required.

Wayne State University provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. The university encourages applications from women, people of color and other underrepresented people. Wayne State is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.