The Opportunity
Join a wonderful team focused on engaging the community and Cougar alums in the foundational success of WSU Vancouver!
As a Director of Development 2 you will be responsible for supporting the Vancouver Campus fundraising goals by planning and conducting outreach designed to promote constituent understanding of the Vancouver Campus activities and research with the aim of cultivating donors and raising philanthropic gifts. Your efforts may include, but are not limited to annual giving, major gift development, and planned gift identification and advancement. You will extensively travel in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere as required. As a Director of Development 2 you will qualify approximately 50 prospective donors, manage a portfolio of 50-100 donors, secure 5-15 major gifts or pledges, open a minimum of 10 solicitations, and meet a minimum annual fundraising goal of $250,000.
As a Director of Development 3 you will be responsible for supporting the Vancouver Campus fundraising goals by planning and conducting outreach designed to promote constituent understanding of the Vancouver Campus activities and research with the aim of cultivating donors and raising philanthropic gifts. At this level, you may have assigned lead or management responsibilities for assigned development staff. Your efforts may include, but are not limited to annual giving, major gift development, and planned gift identification and advancement. You will extensively travel in Washington State, the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere as required. As a Director of Development 3 you will manage a portfolio of approximately 125-150 donors, secure 12-16 major gifts or pledges, open a minimum of 20 solicitations, and have a minimum annual fundraising goal of $750,000. As the Director of Development 3 you will close a third of major gifts at $50,000 or higher.
Percentage Breakdown of Job Functions:
80% Major Donor Cultivation, Solicitation and Stewardship
15% Unit Specific Responsibilities
5% Other duties as assigned.
This is a full time (100% FTE), permanent position. This position is overtime exempt.
This position works on-site on the WSU Vancouver campus.
Director of Development 2 Monthly Salary:
$5,337 - $ 8,172 | Grade 6 Zone 3 |Commensurate with experience and qualifications
Director of Development 3 Monthly Salary:
$5,922 - $ 9,072 | Grade 7 Zone 3 |Commensurate with experience and qualifications
In accordance with RCW 49.58.110, the above salary reflects the full salary range for this position. Individual placement within the range is based on the candidate’s current experience, education, skills, and abilities related to the position. Successful candidates typically begin up to mid-point of the salary range. For additional information, please review WSU’s Administrative Professional Compensation Structure.
Benefits: WSU offers a comprehensive benefits package which includes paid sick and vacation leave; paid holidays; medical, dental, life and disability insurance package for employees and dependents; retirement; deferred compensation and optional supplemental retirement accounts. For additional information, please review the detailed Summary of Benefits offered by WSU for AP staff and Total Compensation.
Required Qualifications for Director of Development 2
• Bachelor's degree and three (3) years of progressively responsible relevant experience, which includes one year of full-time fundraising experience of successful face-to-face gift solicitation of $10,000 or more, or equivalent experience; equivalent experience includes experience in sales; marketing; public relations; and/or advancement experience which has involved direct face-to-face contact with clients, customers, prospective customers and members of the public. A Master’s degree in a related field may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.
• Experience demonstrating strong interpersonal skills in establishing and maintaining internal and external relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate, develop and steward client/donor relationships
• Understanding of proposal development and writing, fundraising and/or client development principles and techniques; project management skills; and relevant event planning/management.
• Demonstrated success in proposal writing and submission.
• Must have, or be able to obtain by time of hire, a valid driver’s license and meet requirements in accordance with SPPM 7.10 and departmental driving standards. Evening and weekend work required. (Required)
Preferred Qualifications for Director of Development 2
• Fundraising experience closing major gifts of $25,000 and above.
• Evidence of ability to plan and execute a fundraising project from conception to realization.
• Experience engaging faculty and translating their research into layman terms for prospective donors.
• Experience with alumni/donor database applications.
Required Qualifications for Director of Development 3
• Bachelor's degree and four (4) years of progressively responsible relevant experience, which includes two (2) years of full-time fundraising experience, demonstrated success in proposal writing and submission, evidence of ability to plan and execute a fund drive (i.e. responsibility for a project from conception to realization), demonstrated success in face-to-face solicitations of gifts of $25,000 or more, OR comparable experience.
• Comparable experience includes progressively responsible full-time consultative sales in real estate, industrial equipment, vehicles, custom services, or bulk commodities, which include long term relationships between salespeople and clients, which includes negotiating the terms and conditions of individual sales with customers, program oversight and management, clearly defined goals and objectives, and a demonstrated track record of sales success. A Master’s degree in a related field may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.
• Experience demonstrating strong interpersonal skills in establishing and maintaining internal and external relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to cultivate, develop and steward client/donor relationships
• Understanding of proposal development and writing, fundraising and/or client development principles and techniques; project management skills; and relevant event planning/management.
• Demonstrated success in proposal writing and submission.
• Must have, or be able to obtain by time of hire, a valid driver’s license and meet requirements in accordance with SPPM 7.10 and departmental driving standards. Evening and weekend work required.
Preferred Qualifications for Director of Development 3
• Fundraising experience closing major gifts of $50,000 and above.
• Evidence of ability to plan and execute a fundraising project from conception to realization.
• Experience engaging faculty and translating their research into layman terms for prospective donors.
• Experience with alumni/donor database applications.
About WSU Vancouver
WSU Vancouver is located on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. One of six campuses in the Washington State University system, WSU Vancouver provides baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people, communities and economy of Southwest Washington.
As the only Tier-1, land-grant and public four-year educational institution in Southwest Washington, WSU Vancouver is committed to accessibility, openness and service to people. WSU appreciates extraordinary community support and is dedicated to developing areas of academic and research excellence that fulfill regional needs.
WSU Vancouver leads with an equity lens and is recognized nationally as a top college for equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.
Area/College:
Washington State University Vancouver
Department Name:
Development and Alumni Relations
City, State, Zip:
Vancouver, WA 98686
Department Link:
https://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/alumni
Application Instructions
Applicants must upload the following required documents to their online application. Application materials should clearly communicate how the applicant meets all required qualifications and additional requirements.
1. Resume
2. A cover letter
3. A contributions to equity statement (*see information and link below)
External candidates, upload all documents in the “Application Document” section of your application. Current WSU Employees (internal candidates), before starting your Workday application, please use these instructions to update your education and experience in your worker profile in Workday. Internal candidates, upload all documents in the “Resume/Cover Letter” section of your application.
Documents may be submitted as one file or separate files. Applicants are encouraged to upload as a PDF, if possible.
Reference contact information will be requested later in the recruitment process through Workday.
*Please include a statement on contributions to equity. Provide examples from your past activities and experience as well as your future plans to advance equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging at WSU Vancouver. Include examples such as any of the following: Programming, events, and initiatives; Committee, council, or board service; Student and/or staff outreach, recruitment, and retention; Community engagement and volunteerism. WSU Vancouver's strategic plan embeds equity in all 5 goals, including a specific goal for equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (Goal 4). Please see our Strategic Plan, Goal 4 for more information on what WSU Vancouver is doing in this space, https://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/strategic-plan.
Background Check
This position has been designated by the department to require a background check because it requires access to children or vulnerable adults as defined by RCW 74.34, engages in law enforcement, requires security clearance, interacts with WSU students in a counseling or advising capacity, has access to personal identifying and/or financial information, unsupervised access to university buildings/property, or other business-related need. A background check will not be completed until an initial determination of qualification for employment has been made.