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Inside Higher Ed · 2 weeks ago

Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Charlotte, NC

Full-time

Onsite

Director/Executive

8+ years exp

Inside Higher Ed is seeking a Vice President for Institutional Advancement who will serve as JCSU’s chief advancement officer and a key advisor to the President. This role involves providing vision and executive leadership for a comprehensive advancement strategy, focusing on major gifts, alumni engagement, and operational excellence.

Digital MediaEducationHigher EducationJournalismRecruiting

Responsibilities

Serves on the President’s Executive Cabinet; partners with the President and Board to set an ambitious, measurable advancement strategy and cultivate a culture of philanthropy across campus

Translates academic and strategic priorities into fundable initiatives with clear goals, budgets, outcomes, and ROI; leads multiyear planning cycles and quarterly KPI reviews

Designs and leads campaigns (comprehensive and targeted): readiness assessment, goal setting, volunteer structure, prospect strategy, gift counting/crediting policies, and progress reporting

Advises on naming opportunities, endowment growth strategies, and gift acceptance considerations in alignment with University policy

Maintains a high-value portfolio (~40-60 or more prospects); personally cultivates, solicits, and stewards 6-, 7-, and 8-figure gifts; sets the pace in prospect activity and results

Orchestrates philanthropic engagements of the President, Trustees, deans, and volunteer leaders in donor strategy and solicitations; prepares briefings and ensures timely follow-through

Develops compelling cases for support and gift opportunities (endowed scholarships and chairs, academic programs, student success initiatives, athletics, facilities, and innovation funds)

Advances a pipeline from discovery to principal gifts with disciplined portfolio management, stage movement goals, contact strategies, and proposal calendars

Oversees prospect development/research, portfolio optimization, analytics/BI, CRM integrity and adoption, gift processing, acknowledgments, stewardship plans, and reporting cadence

Implements data standards and operating policies (contact reports, moves tracking, pipeline reviews) to drive forecasting accuracy and continuous improvement

Ensures donor-intent compliance, fiscal stewardship, receipting/tax compliance, and timely acknowledgments; partners closely with Finance, Legal, and Audit

Grows alumni participation and lifelong engagement through segmented communications, regional programming, volunteer leadership, and digital communities

Drives annual giving with integrated, multichannel campaigns (email, direct mail, social, phone/text, day-of-giving), clear value propositions, and strong testing/analytics

Leads corporate and foundation relations to align proposals and partnerships with institutional priorities; strengthens grants management and stewardship

Expands planned/estate giving, endowment building, and legacy society engagement; integrates bequest pipeline development into portfolio and campaign strategy

Partners with University Communications and Marketing to deliver compelling advancement storytelling, creative collateral, campaign microsites, impact reports, and media strategies

Serves as a visible ambassador to alumni, parents and families, corporate partners, foundations, community leaders, and civic organizations; represents JCSU at events and in the media

Recruits, develops, and retains a high-performing, diverse team; sets clear goals, coaches to outcomes, and promotes accountability and collaboration

Establishes professional development pathways for gift officers and advancement staff; embeds metrics literacy and donor-centric habits across the division

Develops and manages budgets, staffing plans, and vendor/technology investments; allocates resources toward strategies with the highest return

Negotiates and manages key advancement platforms and services (CRM, research/wealth screening, email/marketing automation, online giving, stewardship tools)

Growth in principal/major gift pipeline (qualified prospects, stage movement, proposals delivered)

Increases in commitments and cash/in-kind revenue; documented transformational gifts

Campaign readiness milestones (case for support, volunteer structure, goal/strategy, baseline dashboards)

Operational benchmarks (CRM adoption and data quality, stewardship SLAs, portfolio coverage, forecasting accuracy)

Qualification

Advancement leadershipMajor gifts fundraisingCampaign leadershipAdvancement operationsCRM utilizationData analyticsPortfolio managementHigh integrityRelationship buildingProject managementCommunication skills