About the University |
Western Washington University, with over 15,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western has additional sites in Anacortes, Bremerton, Everett, Port Angeles, and Poulsbo. Western is recognized nationally for its successes, such as being named one of the top public master's-granting institutions in the Pacific Northwest for 25 years in a row by U.S. News & World Report. Western Washington University is committed to achieving excellence through advancing inclusive success, increasing our Washington impact, and focusing on transformational education grounded in the liberal arts and sciences and based on innovative scholarship, research, and creative activity. Western's greatest strength is the outstanding students, faculty, staff, and alumni/ae who make up its community. Western supports an inclusive governance structure for all and provides a learning and working environment in which everyone can thrive. In pursuit of this excellence, individual employees are expected to establish and maintain productive and effective inclusive working relationships amongst diverse populations including staff, faculty, administration, student, and external constituents. Further, individual employees are expected to have the ability to operationalize sustainability concepts (economic, societal, environmental) into all aspects of performing their job duties. |
About the Position |
The Director of Corporate Relations manages an extensive network of relationships on behalf of all colleges and programs across the university. They are responsible for collaborating with members of the Advancement Team, including development directors and annual giving directors, as well as partnering with deans, department chairs, faculty, students, and other divisions on campus including career services, student services, alumni engagement and the AVP of Academic Affairs to ensure that we meet our annual fundraising goals.
As a senior member of the development team, this position is charged with creating and implementing a strategic plan for corporate relations that takes into account potential opportunities to engage and solicit alumni, business and civic leaders and other friends of Western who have valuable connections to our corporate partners. The Director of Corporate Relations is personally responsible for soliciting and closing major gifts of $25,000 or more.
Furthering Western’s mission requires strategy, creativity, and innovation, which are cultivated by an inclusive, diverse environment that respects and appreciates differences. Western is seeking professionals for these positions who will also contribute to our mission of enhancing, increasing, and supporting a diverse and inclusive environment.
This is a full-time position reporting to the Associate Vice President of University Advancement. The Director of Corporate Relations is responsible for the discovery, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of corporate donors. In this ever-changing profession, multiple channels are utilized to connect with and cultivate donors, including face-to-face, phone and video, with a key success metric focused on substantial contacts. This position requires travel in and out of state with a heavy focus on the Puget Sound area.
Position Duties and Responsibilities
20% - Identification, discovery, and qualification of prospects
- Work with campus partners, board members, and prospect research team to establish lead and prospect portfolios
- Review prospect background including stated goals for corporate social responsibility, past or current activity with the university, alumni connections, gift history
- Contact prospects through various channels (email, LinkedIn, phone, and networking events) to secure initial meeting (in-person or virtual)
- Implement discovery visits to qualify prospect based on affinity with university, interest in programming, and capacity to give
20% - Cultivation of prospects with a goal to secure philanthropic gifts
- Build relationships with current and potential corporate partners
- Share information about Western areas of research expertise, instrumentation, and industry relevant capabilities
- Communicate the value of Western students as interns and the impact of alumni as employees within companies and industries
- Explore alignment of philanthropic goals with Western programs, activities and projects
- Connect corporate representatives with Western faculty and students, with an emphasis on leadership level connections
- Engage corporate partners in conversations focused on the impact of philanthropy at Western
20% - Soliciting major gifts from prospects through specific proposals
- Develop funding proposals that support face-to-face solicitations for philanthropic gifts
- Partnering with deans, chairs, faculty and university leadership to use a team approach where necessary in solicitation
- Refining proposals when needed to meet donor desires
- Drafting gift agreements that serve as memorandums of understanding between donors and the university
- Bringing final resolution to all major gift solicitations, whether yes or no
20% - Stewardship activities focused on gift acknowledgement and grant management
- Ensuring the submission of donor required reports
- Impact reporting not defined by donors
- Direct contacts with funders including email, phone, virtual and in-person meetings
- Extending invitations to funders to university sponsored activities as appropriate
10% - Position specific administrative responsibilities
- Developing annual plans
- Weekly contact reporting responsibilities
- Monthly expense reporting responsibilities
- Regular meetings with academic partners to ensure strategic and tactical alignment with funders and potential funders
10% - Other duties as assigned
- Collaborating across other UA departments for broad success
- Serving on campus hiring committees as needed
- Interfacing with the WWU Foundation board of directors as required
|
Required Qualifications |
• Bachelor's Degree
• Minimum of four years experience in face-to-face donor/client cultivation activity, whether fundraising or sales with transactions of $10,000 or higher
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Demonstrated ability to develop and write grant proposals including a strong understanding of project budgets and how to work with program partners to develop compelling proposals
• Proficiency with MS Office Suite
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with people of diverse social identities and backgrounds
• Proven experience with proposals, presentations, and other professional activities focused on a call to action which produces measurable revenue results
• Demonstrated ability to organize, manage and prioritize multiple projects and activities
• Welcoming and professional demeanor with a demonstrated ability to build relationships, establish trust, and discuss personal financial matters with the highest level of integrity
• Ability to travel at least once a week within Washington State, and occasionally outside the state for overnight travel and availability to work on various nights and weekends throughout the year as required
|