Major Gift Officer at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts

Job Description:

Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with Wellesley College in the search for a Major Gift Officer.

Reporting to the Director of Major Gifts and Leadership Annual Giving, the Major Gift Officer will manage a portfolio of 250 high-capacity prospects rated $250,000 to $1,000,000 or more, including alumnae, parents, and friends of the College. The Major Gift Officer will be responsible for developing personalized strategies for engagement and solicitation that maximize each individuals philanthropic capacity and support for the Colleges funding priorities, as well as broad-based engagement, qualification, and cultivation strategies for pool segments as a whole. The Major Gift Officer will collaborate across the department to move prospects and donors through the pipeline and solicit gifts, working closely with frontline colleagues in The Wellesley Fund, Gift Planning, and the Principal Gifts team. In addition to managing an assigned portfolio of prospects, the Major Gift Officer will be responsible for a special assignment to a particular Friends, affinity group, or strategic priority, serving as the captain, both building support for and serving as liaison with campus partners and bringing back to the Department information and updates. This position is in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Development staff are required to be in the office on Wednesdays plus at least one additional in-office day of their choice. This role requires significant travel across the US and occasional international travel.

Situated on a breathtaking campus in the quintessentially New England town of Wellesley, and home to over 2,400 of the highest-achieving female undergraduates in the world, Wellesley College is a lively learning community dedicated to probing inquiry and creative, cross-disciplinary thinking. With a focus on collaboration, students are encouraged to question, debate, and refine their points of view with each other, and the world-class faculty. As a private, liberal arts institution, Wellesley places a great deal of importance on preparing its graduates for the real world in all senses. The Colleges full-engagement philosophy ensures that the student voice is central in decision-making with students serving on major committees of the Board of Trustees, participating in faculty searches, and contributing to strategic planning. Accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, Wellesley grants bachelors degrees in more than 50 majors and boasts an 8:1 student to faculty ratio.

Wellesley graduates are ready to make a difference in the world, evidenced by the fact that 98 percent of the most recent graduating class were in jobs, graduate education, the military, or service within six months of graduation. The 2024 US News and World Report ranks Wellesley College as the fourth best national liberal arts college in the nation, #20 in best undergraduate teaching, and sixth in best value schools. Wellesley received an A+ rating from NECHE (New England Commission of Higher Education). Wellesley is the only liberal arts college that consistently rates in the top 50 colleges and universities in producing the largest number of women Ph.D.s in STEM. Considered to have created the most powerful womens network, Wellesley College was ranked #57 in the top colleges and universities of 2023 by Forbes and #36 in private colleges. Not forgetting the beautiful setting of Wellesley, the College was voted first among the best river and lake colleges by College Consensus.

A bachelors degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience and at least five years of front-line fundraising or comparable experience, including conducting solicitations and closing gifts, familiarity with reunion giving and/or alumni/ae development, and management experience, preferably in an academic setting, is preferred for this position. Wellesley College will consider candidates with a broad range of backgrounds. If you are excited about this role and feel that you can contribute to the College, but your experience does not exactly align with every qualification listed above, we encourage you to apply. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and rsum. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of Wellesley College as well as the responsibilities and qualifications stated in the prospectus.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 to $135,000 annually.

Wellesley College is committed to the inclusion of all qualified candidates. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, or participating in the selection process, please contact Tonya Malik-Carson at tonyamc@aspenleadershipgroup.com.

To apply for this position, visit: https://opportunities.aspenleadershipgroup.com/opportunities/2072.