Senior Director of Development - Mewbourne College of Earth & Energy

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Director of Development for the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy at the University of Oklahoma reports to the Executive Director of Advancement and serves as a key member of the college's advancement team. The Senior Director manages a portfolio of major gift prospects and donors capable of making commitments of $25,000 and above, developing and executing fundraising strategies that advance the college's priorities in energy, geosciences, sustainability, workforce development, research, and student success. Working in partnership with college leadership, faculty, alumni, industry partners, and colleagues across the OU Foundation, the Senior Director connects donor interests with opportunities that strengthen the college's impact on Oklahoma, the nation, and the global energy landscape.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Upon successful onboarding and portfolio development, serve as an accomplished frontline fundraiser with an expected individual fundraising goal of $4 million annually, or $12 million over a rolling three-year period through cash, planned and blended gifts.
• Manages an active portfolio of major gift prospects in all aspects of the development cycle, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Solicits and secures private gifts from individuals. Develops and manages an individual business travel schedule within the budget and policies of the OU Foundation.
• Works with confidential donor information, documents donor interactions and solicitations in the prospect management system keeping donor information updated.
• Collaborate across the advancement enterprise, including Principal Gifts, Planned Giving, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Annual Giving, and Advancement Initiatives, to identify opportunities, strengthen donor pipelines, coordinate engagement strategies, and advance transformational philanthropic investments.
• In partnership with Executive Director of Advancement, builds strong relationships with academic leadership, faculty and staff across the OU Norman campus to creatively connect institutional needs with opportunities for support from individual donors and achieve team goals.
• Demonstrates the ability to advance fundraising priorities across multiple divisions within the college, partnering with advancement colleagues to support aligned strategies and shared goals.
• Exercises sound judgment and discretion when managing sensitive donor relationships and confidential information.
• Works with legal documents, including donor agreements.
• Monitor and analyze individual portfolio performance, fundraising activity, pipeline health, proposal activity, and progress toward fundraising goals to inform strategy and decision-making.
• Actively and continuously learn about fundraising best practices, the academic disciplines within the college, and the University of Oklahoma through internal and external professional development opportunities, relationships, and independent study.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Ability to develop, maintain and grow interpersonal relationships including with university alumni, donors and friends, administrators, faculty, students and staff.
• Demonstrated ability to solicit major and principal gifts.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including the ability to make effective presentations to large and small groups.
• Excellent organizational and prioritization skills.
• Ability to handle multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies. Intuitive ability to recognize opportunities.
• Ability to work independently or in a team environment. Ability to compose, proofread and edit business and donor correspondence and materials.
• Exceptional goal orientation.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications and the ability to learn customized online software applications, basic data analysis.
• Ability to effectively evaluate projects/programs and produce comprehensive reports.
• Understanding of ethics as described in the Association of Fundraising Professionals Code of Ethical Standards.
• Ability to travel up to for in-person meetings in various U.S. cities and key alumni areas.
• Ability to travel independently, by car, to multiple locations for work that may be significant distances from one another.
• Occasional weekend or evening work is required.

Education/Experience

• 8 years of progressive experience in fundraising, sales and/or gift-planning-related roles
• Bachelors degree

Preferences

• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE)

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