| Department: |
Faculty of Arts |
Effective Date: |
September, 2011 |
| Grade: |
USG 14/15
35 hr/wk |
Reports to: |
Dean, Faculty of Arts |
General Accountability
Accountable directly to the Dean of Arts, the Director is responsible for Development and Alumni Affairs activities within the Faculty of Arts. The Director works within the framework of Waterloo’s Central Office of Development and Alumni Affairs and the office of the Vice President, External Relations, to ensure that Waterloo has a co-ordinated overall strategic advancement plan.
Using professional expertise in fundraising, alumni relations, marketing and communications, proactive leadership skills and outstanding communications and interpersonal skills, the Director has accountability for all development activities in the Faculty. S/he advises and consults with the Dean, Associate Deans, Chairs and Directors within the Faculty of Arts, and with the Vice-President External Relations and the Associate Vice Presidents (Principal Gifts and Campaigns), on matters related to University development procedures, guidelines and strategy.
The Director is accountable for the annual fundraising plan, for overseeing major gifts fundraising activity, managing a personal portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and donors, and for Arts’ overall donor and alumni relations strategy development. The Director is also responsible for developing and maintaining faculty, staff and student relations related to Advancement.
The Director oversees and provides team leadership to a professional staff of Development and Alumni Officers and additional team members. S/he provides oversight to affiliated programs in the School of Accounting & Finance and at the Stratford campus. S/he liaises and consults on University-wide development and alumni procedures and guidelines as appropriate with the University’s Office of Development and Alumni Affairs (ODAA).Other management responsibilities include overseeing the planning and development of communications materials in support of the Faculty’s advancement objectives, directing alumni relations, stewarding endowment funds, and managing special events to support the cultivation of major prospects and donors.
The Director participates in strategic planning and administration of ODAA as a member of the Directors/Associate Directors Group. Working in a collaborative team environment, s/he works closely with other staff in the ODAA, with Development/Alumni Officers from the Faculties, and with the campus community (Senior Administrators, Deans, College Heads, faculty, staff, students, and volunteers).The Director interacts with the President, Provost, Sr. Director, Government Relations to advise and support government relations as required. The Director has accountability for ensuring Advancement statistics, reports, plans, agreements, approvals and other development obligations are in keeping with University policies and provided to ODAA and other University departments as required.
Political acumen is critical; the incumbent must be sensitive to the needs and interests of divisions, departments, and units in the Faculty and elsewhere in the University who may have competing development objectives.
Nature and Scope
Organizational relationships:
The Director reports to the Dean of Arts. S/he will oversee a team of 4-8 staff including:
- Senior Development Officer
- Alumni & Development Officer
- Events & Special Projects Officer
- Administrative Assistant; Co-op student(s)
The Director has a direct relationship to the Assistant Vice President, Development and Campaigns in Waterloo’s Office of Development and Alumni Affairs. The AVP serves as fundraising counsel and communications co-ordinator to the Director and his/her team.
General environment:
Arts is a large, organizationally complex Faculty, with a variety of teaching, research and service objectives. The Faculty includes 15 academic departments, two Schools, and a campus in Stratford, as well as a number of research centres and administrative units. Arts employs more than 270 regular faculty members, an estimated 120 regular staff members and numerous adjunct, visiting and research faculty.
The Faculty offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and serves an estimated 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Through its affiliation with Conrad Grebel University College, Renison University College, St. Jerome's University and St. Paul's University College, the Faculty of Arts offers more than 425 undergraduate degree options. All management and administrative functions, both academic and non-academic, fall under the purview of the Dean of Arts.
Significant internal relationships:
- Dean, Associate Deans, faculty members, staff members, students in the Faculty of Arts
- Senior directors, ODAA
- President, Provost, Vice President External Relations
- Directors of Development and Development and Alumni Officers across the campus
- Communications and Public Affairs staff
- Office of Research
- Co-operative Education and Career Services
- Student Awards Office
Significant external relationships:
- Prospects and donors for cultivation, solicitation and stewardship purposes
- Executives in corporations, associations, community and government organizations
- Volunteers associated with UW boards and committees
- Alumni
- Research partners
- Co-operative Education partners
- Other members of the external community
Statistical Data
- Faculty members: 270
- Staff members: 120
- Alumni: 47,000
- Faculty annual fundraising goal: $8-10M
- Prospect base: 25-35 qualified prospects with gift capacity targeted between $500K and $10M
- Prospects assigned to Arts: 657
- Combined Development and Alumni non-salary budget: est.$200,000
Specific Accountabilities
General:
- Establishes and implements short- and long-range organizational goals, objectives and policies and operating procedures;
- Monitors and evaluates Advancement program effectiveness; effects changes required for improvement;
- Creates and implements an effective, ongoing Advancement program for the Faculty of Arts, aligned with the strategic goals of the Faculty;
- Provides leadership, priority setting and management direction to staff in the Arts Advancement Office;
- Liaises with the Vice-President External Relations, Associate Vice Presidents (Principal Gifts and Campaigns), Associate Vice President (Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs), Sr. Director Government Relations and Development, Director of Communications and Public Affairs and Director of Alumni Affairs to determine common objectives and programs in areas including Capital Campaign, Development, Alumni Affairs, Government Relations and Communications; ensures Arts Advancement programs are in line with overall university goals and objectives;
- Consults with others in the central administration and other universities in Canada and internationally to seek information on related fundraising issues and developments;
- Ensures that all development programs and campaigns are kept on a deadline-driven timetable and that donor recognition and acknowledgement programs are in place to maintain, grow and evolve good relations with the Faculty’s supporters;
- Develops a national and international network of senior volunteers and spokespersons as appropriate, identifying, motivating and advising on their activities;
- Organizes and trains influential and affluent volunteers to assist and promote the Faculty in all aspects of the Advancement program including major gifts, alumni relations, co-op placements, government relations and communications;
- Promotes the needs of the Faculty at fundraising and other special events through public speaking engagements and personal contact.
Major Gifts: The Director of Advancement has particular responsibility for identifying cultivating, soliciting and stewarding major donors at the highest possible level ($250,000 to $1M+).
With the direction of the Associate Vice Presidents (Principal Gifts & Campaigns),
- Plans, creates, organizes and executes the Faculty’s Major Gift Program; establishes a prospect review program to evaluate giving potential of individual, corporate and foundation prospects across Canada and internationally;
- Develops immediate and long-range plans for comprehensive programs to realize the potential from individuals for various levels of gifts;
- Works collaboratively with the Office of Development and other university units to match donors’ interest with university priorities;
- Consults with and obtains support and endorsement of senior University officials in the definition of program plans, projects, and goals;
- Provides strategic service support and assistance as required to members of the Faculty of Arts involved in program implementation;
- Leads a process for collaboration with the Arts Advancement team and Advancement staff embedded in other programs/units within the Faculty of Arts (Stratford, Wood Buffalo, School of Accounting & Finance);
- Initiates relationships with potentially generous donors, develops and cultivates commitment and works toward its translation into financial and volunteer support;
- Initiates, leads, directs and manages programs designed to obtain maximum financial support from a wide range of potential individual donors;
- Directs proactive research on individuals identified as having significant donor potential;
- Collaborates with the Vice-President External Relations, the Faculty’s Executive Officer and Faculty Financial Officer, central donation management and other related staff to establish endowment funds for the purposes set out by donors;
- Assumes primary responsibility for a significant portfolio of major gift prospects and donors; develops and implements tailored action plans, solicitation strategies and proposals for each prospect;makes face-to-face calls both with and without key volunteers and University faculty;
- Prepares notes for prospect tracking and clearance system;
- Plans and hosts campus visits for major donors and potential major donors.
Annual Fund:
- Liaises with the Associate Vice President (Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs) to create Arts strategies and programs aimed at achieving the highest possible rate of participation by Alumni, Parents, Faculty, Staff, Retirees and Friends while paying special attention to those alumni who have the potential to make larger annual gifts.
Alumni Affairs:
- In coordination with the Vice President External Relations and Director of Alumni Affairs, leads the development of an overall strategic direction for all Arts alumni activities;
- Engages students before they leave the University of Waterloo; works closely with the Student Success Office to maximize opportunities for relationship building.
Communications:
- Develops and implements a communications strategy for Advancement activities in the Faculty of Arts, working in consultation and co-operation with Arts and other Waterloo communications staff.
Government and Business Relations
- Works with the Vice-President External Relations, Sr. Director, Government Relations & Development, and other members of the senior administration to ensure that strong and meaningful relationships are developed and maintained with all levels of government and business;
- Assists the Dean and Associate Deans, Chairs, Directors in maximizing government support by identifying and securing appropriate government funding opportunities; works closely with the Research Development Officer.
Departmental:
- Develops appropriate infrastructure and links for strategic fundraising and other advancement initiatives across all Arts Departments including the School of Accounting & Finance, Stratford Campus and Wood Buffalo project;
- Advises Chairs and Directors on advancement plans and policies; provides consultation and ensures the development of effective advancement programs at the Department level;
- plans and develops strategies and advises on pilot projects to test the effectiveness of new strategies and techniques,
- recommends new advancement programming as appropriate.
Complexity, Judgement and Planning:
- Works with the Vice-President External Relations, Associate Vice President (Principle Gifts & Campaigns), and Faculty Directors to ensure that prospect clearance policies are established and implemented;
- Meets particular challenges in the development and execution of multi-faculty donor strategies, requiring a high degree of coordination and consultation;
- Provides advice to senior university staff within the Faculty on the feasibility of fundraising goals;
- Develops strategic plans for all major gift activities of the Faculty of Arts to meet specific financial objectives;
- In consultation with the Dean of Arts and the Vice President External Relations, determines the feasibility and implementation of new programs and fundraising techniques;
- Defines and develops the role of volunteers in the Arts advancement program;
- Directs, sets work priorities and objectives for professional advancement staff assigned to programs;
- Provides input to campaign and project themes;
- Selects consultants as needed in consultation with the Dean and the Vice President External Relations;
- Assumes responsibility for contact with alumni, volunteers and individual/corporate/foundation donors;
- Integrates effective fundraising in the Faculty into University-wide campaign/priorities as these are established;
- Manages the Arts Advancement operating budget;
- Addresses and manages challenges in obtaining the best volunteer leadership, resolving conflicts among senior volunteers and maintaining a central focus on goals among volunteer groups; many volunteers will themselves be major gift prospects; consideration must be given to maintaining their long term commitment.
Contacts:
- Develops and maintains contact with influential prospects and volunteers to develop and cultivate financial commitments, monitor campaign progress and communicate the needs of the Faculty; prospects and volunteers will include senior members of the corporate sectors, faculty, alumni, students and staff;
- Maintains frequent contact with the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs in the development of cooperative fundraising strategies, to provide information on campaign progress and fundraising procedures, guidelines and strategies;
- Maintains frequent contact with the Dean, Associate Deans, Department Chairs and Directors, Executive Officer, Vice President External Relations, and advancement staff in the other Faculties, University Vice-Presidents, President, and other senior faculty members;
- Communicates regularly with alumni, development, marketing and communications staff, student engagement staff and with individuals who have made or might make major gifts to the Faculty.
Working Conditions
