Working as a part of the College Advancement team, the Development Officer is an essential point of contact between donors, prospective donors, alumni, academic departments, to realize philanthropic, marketing and business development opportunities, as well as sponsorship and strategic marketing initiatives. The incumbent will develop partnerships and funding opportunities and that support student learning in the classroom, as well as their transition to work/careers. These opportunities will play a key role in connecting to the business community and fostering alumni relationships to create funding opportunities, partnerships, work integrated learning experiences and employment opportunities for students.

Reporting to the Manager, the Development Officer moves prospects through the donor cycle and/or planning and executing fundraising appeals, conducting research, engage alumni, hosting events, developing program strategies and preparing business and or philanthropic proposals. This role will support a broad range of organizational goals by aligning a comprehensive strategy with the Foundation and College’s strategic plan and growth initiatives.

Duties & Responsibilities:

1. Alumni Relations:

• Is a key contributor in the development and implementation of a strategic collaborative campus-wide engagement plan for alumni that addresses the needs and leverages the strengths of individual programs, departments, divisions, and faculties.
• Expands, develops, and manages alumni programming, including alumni benefits; career support services; networking; and engagement activities.
• Supports convocation, ceremonies and other special events, activities and initiatives.

2. Event Management:

• Leads alumni program events, cultivation and/or donor recognition events, and other department hosted special events as required.
• Coordinates alumni engagement events and activities.
• Attends community event and supports campus events and may accompany current and prospective sponsors, partners or donors to continually cultivate relationships.

3. Prospect Development, Solicitation and Stewardship:

• Manages the development of a prospect portfolio for the purpose of discovery, cultivation and solicitation strategies for gift prospects that align with the College’s strategic priorities.
• Develops proposals and works with partners, sponsors or donors to generate revenue from smaller donations to legacy gifts (e.g. $500 to $25,000+).
• Leads, develops and supports campaigns and appeals.
• Works collaboratively with other members of the Foundation team, senior leadership team, departments, and other internal partners, to coordinate strategies for prospects.
• Manages effective systems and individual records for tracking/reporting and cultivating donors and prospects through the department’s database (e.g. Raiser’s Edge).
• Creates tailored proposals for partnerships, sponsorships and philanthropic donations.
• Develops and directs the implementation of strategies for closing gift solicitations and/or sponsorships.
• Produces materials and utilizes Foundation tools to steward and communicate regularly with donors, supporters and prospects.
• Ensures quality communications follow all gifts to provide thanks and documentation to donors.
• Maintains a stewardship portfolio, ensuring that donors receive personalized correspondence and reports.
• Actively participates and occasionally leads with cultivation events that identify and implement opportunities for donor recognition, stewardship and appreciation.

4. Student scholarships, bursaries and awards:

• Works with donors to establish gift agreements and terms of reference for new awards.
• Manages the awards database.
• Collaborates with the Financial Aid office in co-managing the scholarships, bursaries and awards program.
• Manages the awards budget, collaborating with Financial aid and finance departments.

5. Performs other related duties and/or projects, as assigned.

Requirements

Education & Experience

• Relevant bachelor’s degree required.
• Specialized training and/or experience in one or more areas including: fundraising: annual giving, major giving, planned giving; sponsorship; and/or alumni relations.
• Minimum of three years of related Advancement experience preferably in a post-secondary environment.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Experience working with a prospect management system (e.g. Raiser’s Edge) or similar CRM.
• Experience in writing development proposals and delivering presentations to a wide range of audiences.

Skills & Abilities

• Strong writing, editing and presentation skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, and has the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with donors, co-workers and other campus departments.
• Ability to execute a variety of complex tasks and projects independently, meeting imposed timelines while exercising good judgement.
• Strong analytical, problem solving, project management and strategy development skills.
• Excellent organizational, time management skills and ability to act with independence of judgment with minimal supervision
• Superior use of diplomacy and persuasive negotiating skills in contacts with donors and prospective donors.
• Ability to deal with multiple priorities simultaneously.
• Ability to interact successfully with diverse clientele, confidently selecting the correct approach.
• Demonstrate the ability to secure five to six figure gifts.
• Exhibit high quality of donor/client service.
• Demonstrated success in creating and implementing innovative procedures to achieve established fundraising goals and overall engagement objectives.
• Ability to work independently and harmoniously within a team environment.
• Ability to pay attention to detail.
• Ability to handle and safeguard confidential information and exercise discretion and confidentiality at all times.
• Intermediate working level with MS Office including MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access.

Competencies Desired:

• Collegiality – values and demonstrates inclusivity, openness, civility and respect
• Problem solving and decision making – considers a wide range of information and perspectives to solve problems and make reasoned decisions; demonstrates a comfort with uncertainty and ambiguous conditions
• Organizational awareness – understands and appreciates an organization’s internal culture and operating practices as well as the political and business climate in which the organization operates
• Innovation – welcomes, generates, and implements new ideas and solutions that help to achieve and organization’s strategic goals
• Student Focus – making decisions with the students in mind, focusing on providing the best possible experience for the student.
• Integrity – acts with openness, honesty and respect to build and maintain an environment of trust
• Professional maturity – demonstrates courage to take on issues and make tough decisions while managing self with aplomb and emotional maturity
• Tenacity, resilience and patience – believes that own actions and efforts will overcome obstacles, make progress and attain successful results
• Business awareness – considers and understand the financial, operational and human perspective and impact of decisions
• Visioning and Strategic Thinking - energizes people around the vision and keeps the bigger picture in mind
• Team Leadership – creates team spirit and helps to direct individuals toward achievement of team and organizational goals.
• Inspires others to do their best, develop professionally and contribute to the success of the leadership team.
• Relationship management – builds and maintains a crucial network of contacts both internally and externally.
• Communication – uses the power of personal interaction and language to effectively influence, inspire and lead others.
• Achieves results – goal-oriented individual who thrives on achieving outcomes through consultative and collaborate methods.

Benefits

Salary range: $66,984 to $89,312

Working Conditions

• Occasional evenings and or weekend work may be required for special events or for partnership development.
• Must have a current Class 5 BC driver’s license and access to a vehicle as there may be travelling required for sponsor, partner or donor meetings within the Lower Mainland, off-campus or possibly out-of-town.

Shortlisted candidates will be required to provide proof of educational and professional credentials noted on their resume. In addition, those shortlisted with international credentials must have their education credentials evaluated through WES (World Education Services) and provide Langara College, People & Culture document evaluation access for employment purposes.

Langara is committed to enhancing our diverse workforce.

Application deadline: We are accepting rolling applications until the position is filled.

Check status of the search process here: https://www.gerardsearch.com/searches.html

Contact Emilia@gerardsearch.com for more information.