Department: University Advancement
Appointment Type and Duration: Regular, Ongoing
Salary: $180,000 - $200,000 per year
Compensation Band: OS-OA13-Fiscal Year 2024-2025
FTE: 1.0

Application Review Begins

September 30, 2024; position open until filled

Special Instructions to Applicants

Please submit the following with your online application:
A cover letter in which you clearly describe how your knowledge, skills, and abilities prepare you for the job responsibilities and requirements outlined in the job announcement.
A resume of your educational and professional work experience.

Please Note: We may contact applicants who meet the minimum requirements in the job posting to request additional information for the next stage of review.

Department Summary

University Advancement (UA) supports the University of Oregon’s (UO) mission of providing exceptional teaching, discovery, and service by strategically positioning the university to create awareness, build long-term relationships, and secure resources that increase understanding and further its aims. We are committed to fostering equity and inclusion in a welcoming, safe, and respectful environment that recognizes the value of all members of our community.

The Office of Development as part of University Advancement has a mission to maximize philanthropic impact at the University of Oregon. We do this by identifying, connecting, and engaging alumni and friends around the globe with their passions to advance the vision and priorities of the university.

Position Summary

The Assistant Vice President for Regional Philanthropy (AVP) reports to the Senior Associate Vice President for Development (SAVP) and is responsible for leading the University of Oregon’s (UO) regional philanthropy plan, along with increasing alumni engagement and annual giving programs to drive greater levels of engagement and support in partnership with development leaders across University Advancement (UA).

A member of the Development Leadership Team (DLT), the AVP is responsible for creating and overseeing a comprehensive national fundraising program that will drive larger success in securing funds to support key priorities, which could include, but are not limited to, student success, financial aid and scholarships, academic programs, and capital projects by raising gifts from alumni, friends, and parent prospects rated $1,000 - $4,999,999.

This position is expected to coordinate, plan, and work directly with the SAVP to achieve annual fundraising targets to support these priorities, and in the annual goalsetting process each fiscal year to set targets that are both ambitious and achievable.

The AVP will manage a portfolio of 25-40 major and leadership gift ($100,000 - $4,999,999) prospects and be responsible for individual visits and asks, securing $3-5M annually in philanthropic revenue and will demonstrate a commitment to supporting a diverse and inclusive work culture and work with diverse external stakeholders. Productivity will be measured through the growth of individual performance and regional team commitments.

The AVP is also required to develop and maintain a strong working relationship with the University Advancement Executive Leadership team to facilitate partnerships around goals, priorities, and outcomes.

In preparation for Oregon’s next comprehensive campaign expected to launch in 2026, the AVP is charged with setting, tracking, and assessing progress toward Regional Philanthropy’s fundraising goals in coordination with other Development teams.

To maximize the success of the Regional Philanthropy’s efforts, the AVP will support university-wide objectives, along with a commitment to being donor-centric, by working in collaboration with fellow members of UA, with particular attention to the Central Development Programs and Academic Programs teams, as well as other development leaders in academic schools, Intercollegiate Athletics, the Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact (Knight Campus), The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health (Ballmer Institute), and principal gifts.

This position will also develop prospect strategies for the effective utilization and deployment of the President, Provost, Deans, and other university leaders around the most significant fundraising opportunities that support the UO’s mission.

Strategic planning and advice are highly valued, as these are skills frequently utilized to complement philanthropic efforts beyond development. Will work diligently with donors and volunteers to identify their peers to help increase the UO sphere of influence.

Travel within the United States up to 50% of the time is an essential expectation of this position.

This position will be located in Eugene or Portland. It is eligible to work a hybrid schedule, and will need to work on campus approximately 3 days per week. During the first few months and certain time periods the position will be expected to be on campus more often.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of skills and experience.
• Ten years of progressively responsible major gift experience, including the successful close of multiple seven-figure gifts.
• Eight years of management experience of a team, including two years of management of other supervisors.

Professional Competencies

• Working with donors and prospects: Sophistication in prospect identification, cultivation, and solicitation with a demonstrated ability to serve as a core anchor relationship between donors and the campus. Strong ability to build comprehensive five-year donor pipeline strategies, cultivate families as well as individuals, maximize gift potential, and solicit principal gifts. Established ability navigating seven-figure asks and complex multi-interest university priority gifts.
• Professionalism and citizenship: Strong leadership skills and executive presence, including the ability to regularly mentor and steward a broader team towards success. Ability to lead task forces and organizational maturation initiatives. Inclination to regularly provide learning opportunities and resources for growing and high-potential team members.
• Institutional navigation and industry knowledge: High level of programmatic and institutional knowledge, with the ability to take a leadership role in using past successes and failures to inform new strategies. Ability to maintain strong partnerships with on- and off-campus partners to create and sell the narrative of new programs and initiatives. Ability to articulate strategic plan in the context of positioning the institution in comparison to aspirant peers.
• Management and coaching of employees: Demonstrated ability to manage supervisors of successful teams that allow individual team members opportunities for professional growth, including setting integrated metrics for all employees, inspiring performance and engagement for the team, and empowering them to proactively partner with senior staff and campus affiliates. Ability to train rising leadership.
• Academic leadership: Ability to act as a core advisor and partner to the multiple campus leaders, especially in aligning central programs to meet the needs of multiple initiatives, units, and academic programs.
• Strategic planning: Ability to provide leadership in advancement-wide discussions of comprehensive campaign, capital project planning, strategic staffing, and 3–5-year trends in the industry. Ability to communicate and articulate how individual initiatives, programmatic direction, and overall advancement strategy will shape the university. Leadership in aligning alumni engagement, annual philanthropy, central development and units with regard to goals, donor strategy, and communication.
• Ability to interact, communicate, and work effectively with individuals, recognizing and respecting the many and varied identities of each person.
• Commitment to promoting and enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Ability to travel.

Preferred Qualifications

• Fifteen years of progressively responsible development experience.
• Significant experience in higher education or similar non-profit sector development.

FLSA Exempt: Yes

All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

The University of Oregon is proud to offer a robust benefits package to eligible employees, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. For more information about benefits, visit https://hr.uoregon.edu/about-benefits.

The University of Oregon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the ADA. The University encourages all qualified individuals to apply and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status, including veteran and disability status. The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation in connection with the application process, please contact us at uocareers@uoregon.edu or 541-346-5112.

UO prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy (including pregnancy-related conditions), age, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including family medical history), ancestry, familial status, citizenship, service in the uniformed services (as defined in federal and state law), veteran status, expunged juvenile record, and/or the use of leave protected by state or federal law in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by UO policy. Questions may be referred to the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance. Contact information, related policies, and complaint procedures are listed here.

In compliance with federal law, the University of Oregon prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and services. The Annual Campus Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at https://clery.uoregon.edu/annual-campus-security-and-fire-safety-report.