Northwestern University · 6 hours ago
Executive Director, Major Gifts
Evanston, IL
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
$220K/yr - $250K/yr
10+ years expNorthwestern University is seeking an Executive Director for Major Gifts to provide strategic leadership for their central Major Gifts team. This role involves overseeing senior directors and gift officers to cultivate and solicit major gift prospects, while collaborating with various stakeholders to implement effective fundraising strategies.
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Responsibilities
Develops & executes fundraising and management strategies to accelerate major gift activity in anticipation of a comprehensive capital campaign
Possesses a high level of integrity and emotional intelligence to effectively engage and partner with key internal and external constituents
Oversees and coaches team members to successfully partner with schools and programs and professional school teams
Inspires senior directors of development and regional major gift officers to meet or exceed their individual and team goals
Player-coach who personally identifies, cultivates, and solicits high-capacity donors in a highly metrics-driven program; maintains own major gift portfolio of 40+ households
Provides inspiration and high degree of accountability, and evaluates individual and team goals. Develops & implements training & mentoring
Assigns & monitors coverage of primary areas of focus ensuring that goals & objectives are attained
Works closely with prospect research and management team (PRM), to ensure optimal and effective coverage of major gift pool
Requires travel throughout the region or country
Collaborates and excels at building, managing, and motivating frontline programs and teams
Coordinates materials used by senior management, Board & volunteers for visits with high-capacity prospects
Leads a team of 12 or more staff &/or provides work direction to others
Provides training and mentorship to managers of fundraisers
Leads, coaches and evaluates performance of direct reports
Performs other duties as assigned
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in business, accounting, marketing or equivalent or 2 years equivalent experience in development function
10 years development, marketing, sales or the equivalent experience is required
Lead and inspire a team to achieve fundraising goals and foster a culture of collaboration and excellence
Demonstrate strong analytical thinking to interpret data, identify trends, and inform strategic decisions
Solve complex problems and develop innovative solutions to advance organizational priorities and donor engagement
Plan and execute long-term strategies with a global and organizational perspective, aligning with overall mission and objectives
Thrive in a fast-paced environment, managing multiple priorities with agility and precision
Adapt to change and navigate ambiguity confidently, maintaining focus and clarity during organizational transitions
Benefits
Meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans
Retirement benefits
Tuition discounts
Comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life’s challenges and opportunities
Flexible work arrangements
Programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care
Employee career development
Company
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research and teaching university that offers academic programs across various fields of study. It is a sub-organization of Northwestern Athletics.
5001-10000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Northwestern University has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (325)
2024 (308)
2023 (280)
2022 (282)
2021 (184)
2020 (155)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$98.02MKey Investors
National Peanut BoardAdvanced Research Projects Agency for HealthGRAMMY Museum
2024-10-30Grant
2024-10-04Grant· $34M
2023-11-28Grant· $0.02M
Leadership Team
Diego Klabjan
Professor
Henry Bienen
Interim President
Recent News
2026-01-25
Digital Journal
2026-01-23
Company data provided by crunchbase