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Senior Director Major Gifts- COE

Northeastern University

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Posted:

December 16, 2025

Location:

Boston, Massachusetts

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Senior Director Major Gifts- COE

About the Opportunity

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. It is not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of personnel so classified.

JOB SUMMARY

The Senior Director of Major Gifts is the content specialist responsible for building and executing a College's fund-raising strategy. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice President, Advancement, the Senior Director of Major Gifts works with College faculty and Advancement staff across the university to discover, identify, and build relationships with prospective donors-developing strategies for their cultivation and soliciting gifts.

Plans, organizes, and carries out COE's major gifts fund-raising program for alumni, parents, and friends of the College.

Discovers, builds, and manages a portfolio of 80+ prospective donors who exhibit considerable promise for evolving to major gift capacity over time and whose philanthropic priorities match the education and research programs. Solicit gifts in the $250K - $5M+ range. Identify key regions nationally for cultivating and soliciting prospective donors.

Manage a small team of development professionals.

Coordinates efforts with Advancement colleagues, and works collaboratively, where appropriate, with colleagues in corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy, as well as with other directors of major gifts, on special cross-disciplinary projects.

This position is Boston-based and is not available for remote work. Overnight travel and some evening and weekend work required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Demonstrated experience cultivating and soliciting, alumni, parents, and friends at the $100K+ level, and maintaining positive relationships with donors
Superior communication skills-highly collaborative and entrepreneurial in approach and possessing interpersonal skills necessary for building relationships with various university constituents, both internal and external
Ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of the Northeastern University Advancement team
Data- and metric-driven mindset
An appreciation and understanding of the mission of Northeastern University

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES & ACCOUNTABILITIES

Lead major gifts fund-raising effort and serve as the content expert for Advancement for assigned College

Cultivate, solicit, and build alumni, parent, and friend relationships. Strategize with faculty and other colleagues on next steps with prospects within College and across disciplines.
Travel as needed to build relationships with existing volunteers, prospects, and donors. Solicit gifts in the $250K - $5M+ range. Work with the Senior Associate Vice President, Advancement and other advancement teams (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to ensure the development goals of College are met.
Advise faculty, fund-raising colleagues, and administrators on alumni and parent areas of interest.
Partner with fund-raising colleagues (corporate & foundation relations, leadership giving, international and regional giving, gift planning, and family philanthropy) to develop interdisciplinary strategies for donors providing support across the university.

Build Prospect Portfolio and Pipeline

Discover new prospects and build pipeline to feed gifts at the major gift level. Work closely with the Senior Associate Vice President to create a strategic development plan for College and develop and manage a portfolio of prospects (approximately 80+).
Establish region-based plans for cultivating and soliciting alumni and current parents in targeted areas nationally.
Engage faculty strategically with prospects; maintain correspondence; and keep the Senior Associate Vice President, faculty, and appropriate University administrators apprised of funding opportunities and trends. Travel as needed to strategically identified regions to support prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
Achieve annual fund-raising goals and activity (visits, video meetings, calls, proposals, etc.) metrics set by the Senior Associate Vice President.

Staff Management

Mentor and develop a high functioning team.
Empower their efforts to manage their own prospect pools while also fostering collaborative, multi-unit strategies.
Provide strategic guidance and motivation that enables staff to achieve activity and dollar metrics.
Promote best professional practices via exemplary behavior, staff training, and professional development opportunities.

Maintain Prospect Portfolio

Maintain high-quality development process for active alumni, parent, and friend prospects, and donors.
Create call reports and maintain database system. Maintain the data integrity of prospect portfolio using the Development Office data management systems (Ascend).
Prepare monthly progress prospect reports for the Senior Associate Vice President. Work with Advancement's Stewardship team to ensure that past, present, and future donors are appropriately recognized, including their administration and accounting.

Position Type

Advancement

Additional Information

Northeastern University considers factors such as candidate work experience, education and skills when extending an offer.

Northeastern has a comprehensive benefits package for benefit eligible employees. This includes medical, vision, dental, paid time off, tuition assistance, wellness & life, retirement- as well as commuting & transportation. Visit https://hr.northeastern.edu/benefits/ for more information.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Compensation Grade/Pay Type:
114S

Expected Hiring Range:
$130,945.00 - $189,868.75

With the pay range(s) shown above, the starting salary will depend on several factors, which may include your education, experience, location, knowledge and expertise, and skills as well as a pay comparison to similarly-situated employees already in the role. Salary ranges are reviewed regularly and are subject to change.

To apply, visit https://northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/job/Boston-MA-Main-Campus/Senior-Director-Major-Gifts--COE_R137038

Internal Number: 6792929

About Northeastern University

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. Northeastern is a leader in worldwide experiential learning, urban engagement, and interdisciplinary research that meets global and societal needs. Our broad mix of experience-based education programs?our signature cooperative education program, as well as student research, service learning, and global learning?build the connections that enable students to transform their lives. The University offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools.

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Senior Director Major Gifts- COE

Northeastern University

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