Morristown, New Jersey
Posted: 28-Apr-25
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Type: Full Time
Internal Number: 6181839
Associate Vice President of Development
ID: 2025-2108
Category: University Advancement
Type:
FLSA Status: Exempt
Benefit Eligible: Benefit Eligible
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
Office Location: Anderson Center
Job Summary
The Associate Vice President of Development provides strategic leadership to a team of gift officers and annual giving professionals to advance Bethel University's philanthropic priorities by leading and developing a high-performing team, ensuring alignment with institutional goals and measurable fundraising success. The AVP partners with the VP of Advancement and the university advancement leadership team to establish comprehensive fundraising strategies and integrate best practices while personally managing a portfolio of high-capacity donors. Additionally, the AVP fosters a culture of cross-campus engagement, collaborating with faculty, athletics, and key stakeholders to enhance donor participation and secure transformational and planned gifts that drive long-term institutional growth.
Responsibilities
- Strategic Planning & Vision Alignment - 25%
- Work closely with the VP and university advancement leadership to develop a multi-year fundraising roadmap that aligns with the university's strategic plan and financial goals.
- Ensure giving strategies are designed to support key institutional priorities, including scholarships, capital projects, faculty support, and programmatic growth.
- Ensure the integration of fundraising best practices, emerging trends, and innovative approaches into institutional advancement efforts.
- Team Leadership & Development - 40%
- Foster a high-performing, collaborative team culture that emphasizes trust, innovation, and cross-functional knowledge sharing to maximize fundraising impact.
- Lead and support team members, ensuring accountability, professional growth, and alignment with institutional fundraising goals, while leveraging data-driven insights to identify opportunities for growth and refine strategies for continued success.
- Guide development officers in translating fundraising priorities into actionable donor engagement strategies.
- Create a high-performing advancement team by providing coaching, professional development to leverage current trends, and accountability to ensure team success.
- Set measurable fundraising targets and clear performance metrics, tracking donor engagement activity, proposal submissions, and dollars raised while regularly assessing progress and adjusting strategies to maximize donor support and accountability.
- Stakeholder Engagement & Relationship Management - 35%
- Manage a portfolio of high-capacity donors (giving capacity of $75,000 or more), cultivating personalized engagement strategies to foster long-term relationships and secure major, transformational, and planned gifts for the university.
- Develop customized cultivation plans for top prospects, incorporating tailored engagement strategies to maximize philanthropic potential.
- Work in partnership with the athletic director, faculty, leadership, and volunteers to engage donors in meaningful ways as needed in the gift solicitation process.
- Ensure proper stewardship and recognition of major and planned gift donors, demonstrating the impact of their generosity through ongoing engagement.
Required Skills
- Proven ability to lead, mentor, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a collaborative, results-driven culture aligned with institutional fundraising goals.
- Demonstrated success managing a high-capacity donor portfolio ($75,000+), with expertise in cultivating, soliciting, and securing major, transformational, and planned gifts.
- Comprehensive experience in fundraising strategies, including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, and capital campaigns, with a deep understanding of best practices in higher education philanthropy, donor engagement, and stewardship.
- Experience working with fundraising software (e.g., Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, Blackbaud).
Experience
Required Experience:
- Minimum of six years of fundraising or related experience, with a strong background in leadership, strategic planning, and fundraising oversight.
Education
Required Education:
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field (e.g., Business, Nonprofit Management, Fundraising, or a related area).
Additional Information
Travel: This position requires frequent local and regional travel, and some national travel.
Work Environment:
This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as desktop and/or laptop computers, photocopiers and smartphones.
The work environment involves working for a suburban, Christian university in which all employees are expected to have a demonstrated commitment and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a commitment to the mission and values of the University, and an agreement to abide by all University policies.
Physical Demands:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and ability to adjust focus. The job requires extended periods of sitting and traversing the Bethel Campus on a regular basis. Reasonable accommodations may be made to ensure people are able to perform the essential functions.
The mental and physical requirements described here are representative of those that must be met by an individual to successfully perform the essential functions of this position.
Expected Hours of Work:
Typically, days and hours of work are Monday through Friday, with the expectation to work specific schedules and hours as identified and communicated by management. Occasional evening and weekend work may be required as job duties demand. This is a 40 hour per week, 12 months per year position.
Benefits
Bethel is committed to offering meaningful benefits to our employees including health insurance, retirement plans, and a generous time off package. Learn more about these offerings here.
Bethel seeks to recruit, retain, develop, and support a diverse workforce who contributes to our educational and Christ-centered mission. Bethel encourages candidates to apply who can assist the University to develop a faculty that reflects the diversity of people in God's kingdom through a variety of ethnicities, cultures, and lived experiences.
Learn more about our commitment to diversity in hiring .
Bethel University is a leader in Christ-centered higher education with approximately 4,700 students from 50 states and 32 countries enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult education programs. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bethel offers bachelor's and advanced degrees in nearly 100 fields. Educationally excellent classroom-based and online programs equip graduates to make exceptional contributions in life-long service to God and the world.
Bethel University's Christ-centered mission includes a commitment to equal educational opportunity and equal employment opportunity. Bethel does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, status with regard to public assistance, familial status, or age in its admissions, educational programs, or employment practices.
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To apply, visit https://staffcareers-bethel.icims.com/jobs/2108/associate-vice-president-of-development/job?in_iframe=1
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