Career Center

The Opportunity

Brandeis University â“ a distinguished top-tier private research university recognized for its academic excellence and leading-edge research â“ has an exciting opportunity for a talented and motivated Assistant Vice President, Development.

Brandeis is dedicated to first-rate undergraduate education while making groundbreaking scientific discoveries, advancing artistic and creative expression, and tackling some of societyâ™s most pressing economic, human rights, and health policy issues. Brandeis offers a culture of learning and mentorship essential to a 21st-century liberal arts education where close relationships with professors and research opportunities enable students at all levels to collaborate with faculty members and peers across the institution.  Established as a nonsectarian university in 1948 by members of the American Jewish community, our visionary founders shared a commitment to social justice and to making the world a better place. Our foundersâ™ pioneering spirit and intellectual pursuits continue today at Brandeis â“ from helping to solve a national public health crisis through work at its Opioid Policy Research Collaborative, to the biological discoveries that, in 2017, earned two faculty members a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

We aspire to further such important endeavors and are looking to grow our team with individuals who share our passion and commitment. In preparation for its next ambitious campaign, the Division of Institutional Advancement (IA) seeks to strengthen the bonds with the universityâ™s many constituencies. By working together, we will secure the financial resources necessary to continue the legacy of excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship at Brandeis.

Located nine-miles west of downtown Boston, a global hub for higher education and innovation, Brandeis University is accessible via major highways (I-90 and I-95) and the MBTA Brandeis/Roberts commuter rail stop.

Position Summary

The Assistant Vice President, Development is responsible for working closely with the Vice President for Development to build a sophisticated culture of philanthropy at Brandeis that will grow, diversify, and sustain fundraising revenues well into the future. Critical to this work will be enhancing the Universityâ™s relationship with alumni/ae, parents, friends, and international constituents.  The near-term focus of the incumbent will be to prepare for, and manage a robust team of fundraisers towards, achieving success in an upcoming campaign.  Responsibilities include both management and principal gifts frontline fundraising work.

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage and mentor a team of major, principal, and planned gift officers to ensure individuals and teams are meeting or exceeding visit, solicitation, and dollars-raised goals. Ensure they have the processes, tools and capabilities to be successful. With the Vice President, develop operating standards and best practices for development officers. Build and promote a sense of team unity, working toward common goals as defined by Brandeis leadership.
• Manage a portfolio of 50 - 75 prospective donors with $1M+ in gift capacity; work with the president, provost, deans, trustees and other leadership to strategize, cultivate, and solicit high-priority gifts.
• Collaborate effectively with other Institutional Advancement departments, including donor relations, communications and alumni relations to ensure consistent messaging and a pipeline of engagement opportunities; and advancement services, prospect development and data strategy teams on research, prospect management, and reporting functions relative to fundraising management needs.

Qualifications

• Bachelorâ™s degree required.
• Minimum 10 yearsâ™ experience in progressively responsible positions.
• Demonstrated experience and success soliciting and closing philanthropic gifts at the $1M+ level with a preference for experience in higher education and/or organizations with affinity-oriented donor bases.  Comfort working with all types of prospects and donors (alumni, foundations, friends, etc.) and with all types of giving vehicles (outright gifts, planned gifts, complex assets).
• Ability to contribute to strategic and campaign planning, develop annual team and individual goals and work plans, and monitor performance based on both quantitative and qualitative factors.
• Demonstrated success building and managing a high-performing fundraising team, particularly major, principal and leadership annual giving officers.
• Must be able and willing to travel throughout the United States and/or international regions, as needed, to attend events and meet with prospects and donors to further cultivation and solicitation strategies in assigned territories.
• Exhibits excellent written and oral communication skills that promote academic and business professionalism and convey information clearly and concisely.
• Superior interpersonal skills with proven ability to successfully interact and collaborate with colleagues and external constituents in a professional manner, exhibiting excellent written and oral communications skills.
• Ability to apply good judgment and discretion when dealing with highly confidential alumni, parent, student, family, donor and prospect information.
• Ability to successfully interact with varied constituencies, including those of considerable academic, community, social, and business status.  At all times represents Brandeis University in an exemplary and professional manner.
• Must be a detail-oriented, self-starter with an ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities to meet challenging timelines and achieve annual goals.
• Adheres to University and departmental business policies and procedures. 
• Presents a collegial, collaborative and customer-service demeanor that positively reflects the core values and standards of the institution and demonstrates tact and diplomacy.
• Must be able and willing to work occasional evenings and weekends.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Diversity, equity and inclusion aren't just important values at Brandeis today ┠they are rooted in our identity as an institution. They serve as a regular reminder for self-reflection, and a continuous call to grow.  Founded as a model of ethnic and religious pluralism, Brandeis University welcomes students, faculty, and staff of every nationality, religion, and orientation.  Social justice is central to the mission of Brandeis, which endeavors to foster a just and inclusive campus culture that embraces the diversity of our larger society.  Brandeis embodies the American heritage of cultural diversity, equal access to opportunity and freedom of expression.  Read more online about our

About Brandeis University

As a medium-sized private research university with global reach, we are dedicated to first-rate undergraduate education while making groundbreaking discoveries. Four major academic units with 3,600 undergraduates and 2,050 graduate students comprise the University: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, the International Business School, and the Rabb School of Continuing Studies. In 1985, Brandeis was elected to membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), which represents the 62 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. Brandeis has been ranked among the top 35 national universities by U.S. News & World Report every year since the rankings’ inception. Our 235-acre campus is located in the suburbs of Boston, a global hub for higher education and innovation. Our faculty are leaders in their fields, as passionate about teaching and mentorship as they are about pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Our students are motivated, compassionate, curious and open to exploring new and challenging experiences. Brandeis was founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian university under the sponsorship of th...e American Jewish community to embody its highest ethical and cultural values and to express its gratitude to the United States through the traditional Jewish commitment to education. By being a nonsectarian university that welcomes students, teachers and staff of every nationality, religion and orientation, Brandeis renews the American heritage of cultural diversity, equal access to opportunity and freedom of expression.

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