Senior Executive Director, Major Gifts

Rhode Island School of Design seeks an innovative and inclusive Senior Executive Director to lead the Major and Planned Giving Team and to work closely with the Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

The RISD community comes from a wide range of geographic, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, representing all forms of diversity. We seek a culturally competent candidate who will thrive in a campus environment that advances principles of innovation, social equity and inclusion, environmental and climate justice, and equal access to resources and opportunities. All potential candidates must recognize diversity and inclusion as central to success.

If you’re looking to join a cohesive and talented team dedicated to engaging alumni, parents and friends through creative outreach strategies, we are interested in hearing from you.

Founded in 1877, RISD has earned a global reputation as a leader in art and design education. It is recognized for its renowned faculty of artists and designers, the breadth of its specialized facilities, and the intensity of its studio-based approach to learning—an approach where critical thinking informs the making of works by hand. Approximately 2,500 students from around the world study at RISD, pursuing full-time bachelor’s or master’s degree programs in 19 fine arts, architecture, or design majors, complemented by essential study in the liberal arts.

The RISD Museum believes that art, artists, and the institutions that support them play pivotal roles in promoting broad civic engagement and creating more open societies. Established simultaneously with the college as part of a vibrant creative community, the Museum stewards works of art representing diverse cultures from ancient times to the present. The renowned collection is interpreted with the focus on the maker, engaged with art and artists, presenting ideas and perspectives that can be inspiring and complex. The museum educates and aspires to create an accessible and inclusive environment that fosters meaningful relationships across all communities.

RISD’s mission incorporates artistic and scholarly achievement with social impact, and the institution has played a vital role in preparing students for leadership roles in all sectors, as demonstrated through the outstanding and varied accomplishments of its 31,000 alumni.

Providence, Rhode Island offers its own vibrant art and culinary scene and is conveniently located between two other major cultural centers: Boston and New York. The RISD campus is contiguous with the campus of Brown University and the two institutions share social, academic, and community resources.

Job Summary

The Senior Executive Director, Major + Planned Gifts oversees the Planned Giving and Major Gifts programs for the Rhode Island School of Design. The Senior Executive Director oversees the Major and Planned Gifts team and develops and executes comprehensive program strategies for Major and Planned Giving including implementation of a multi-year plan and timeline with clear goals and metrics for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of assigned program prospects. The Senior Executive Director manages, coaches, and mentors assigned officers to achieve their personal productivity goals and supports creative prospective major donor engagement, as well as maintaining a portfolio of prospects. The Senior Executive Director, Major and Planned Gifts collaborates with the Senior Executive Director, Museum Advancement and the Executive Director, RISD Fund to ensure both frontline fundraising teams seamlessly advance relationships with prospective donors with major and/or planned gift capacity.

The Senior Executive Director is responsible for a portfolio of 150 Major Gift prospective and current donors. Major Gift donors and prospects are defined as capable of six- and seven-figure+ donations. The Senior Executive Director will be responsible for soliciting and closing this level of gift and conducting extensive donor visits annually. The Senior Executive Director devises individualized engagement plans for each assigned prospective donor, leveraging RISD cultivation opportunities, and presenting gift opportunity proposals that speak to a donor’s philanthropic goals while supporting the mission and goals of RISD. The Senior Executive Director employs the Raiser’s Edge database to manage prospective donor strategies, documenting all prospect interactions in a complete and timely fashion and ensuring that supervised staff do likewise.

Essential Functions:

• Lead, manage, coach, and mentor assigned Major and Planned Giving Officers using a moves management process informed by a multi-year plan and timeline with clear goals and metrics for each officer addressing the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of assigned prospects. The Senior Executive Director ensures that officers achieve their personal productivity goals and supports creative prospective major donor engagement
• Develop and execute a comprehensive program to engage and secure Major Gift and Planned Gift commitments in support of RISD’s mission and strategic goals from alumni, parents, and friends, setting dollar goals to meet or exceed them while monitoring progress on an ongoing basis.
• With review from the Vice President, Institutional Advancement and Director of Prospect Management and Analytics, establish a strategy to advance potential donors through the relationship development process; ensure progress at the program and individual officer level; monitor officer portfolio and prospect assignments.
• Implement a comprehensive Major and Planned Giving program that engages prospects and recognizes their support, informed by feedback from ad collaborations with Institutional Advancement teams including RISD Fund; Museum; Special Events; Donor Relations; Communications; Alumni + Family Relations; Prospect Management and Analytics.
• Proactively engage with the Senior Executive Director of Museum Advancement and the Executive Director RISD Fund to ensure regular communications, strategy execution and transition of Major Gift prospects are identified and highlighted through the RISD Fund program to Major Gift Officer assignments.
• Work with the Institutional Advancement Events team to conceptualize, plan and implement RISD events in assigned territory(s) that build the RISD brand and foster deeper engagement among top prospects and philanthropists in that area.
• Work with the Institutional Advancement Donor Relations team to develop and execute high-quality stewardship plans, maintaining detailed records, for assigned prospects that sustain successful relationships.
• Manage and maintain a portfolio of 150 Major Giving prospective and current donors at the Major Gift level. Develop and execute an annual solicitation plan for submitted proposals and gift closures providing gift projections of commitments. Maintain a rigorous schedule of extensive donor visits per year, creating individualized plans related to them that include strategies of engagement and solicitations.
• Utilizes Raiser’s Edge prospect tracking/management system, to identify, assign, rate, and track assigned prospects, complying with department policies and procedures and ensuring assigned staff do likewise.
• Conduct independent research through the Institutional Advancement database, Internet sources, and referrals from RISD representatives and volunteers to identify and appropriately engage assigned prospects.
• Work collaboratively and synergistically with peers on the Institutional Advancement Senior Management Group (SMG) including the executive Director of the RISD Fund; Senior Executive Director of Museum Advancement; the Executive Director of Alumni + Family Relations; Executive Director of Advancement Services; to achieve organizational goals and strategies.
  
  

Additional Functions

• Perform related duties as requested.
• Work collaboratively with other members of Institutional Advancement and other RISD professionals to support department initiatives, plans, and projects.
• Serve as a representative of Institutional Advancement with other campus partners.
  
  

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience

• Proven ability to manage complex organizational relationships and work effectively with executive leadership.
• Program strategy development and execution experience, preferably in a campaign environment.
• Individual and team success in securing and maintaining seven-figure+ accounts and/or philanthropy.
• Proven ability to work and communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of divisional and institutional colleagues, within an environment that values diversity.
• Excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to write and present persuasively.
• Strong organizational skills working in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated effectiveness in outreach to volunteers and other fundraising partners.
• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ten years of fundraising experience devising and managing fundraising programs, preferably in higher education or the arts.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in a relevant field
• Interest/experience in art and design
  
  

Union:

No

Work Schedule:

35 hours per week; 12 months per year

Employment Status:

Full-time, Exempt, Regular

Grade:

565EX

Work Modality:

Hybrid Eligible

Documents Needed to Apply:

Resume (Required)

Cover Letter (Required)

Salary Grade Structure

Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please upload all required documents.

The successful candidate will be required to meet our pre-employment background screening requirements.

RISD recognizes diversity and inclusivity as fundamental to its learning community and integral to an art and design education. We welcome candidates whose experience has prepared them to contribute to our commitment to diversity and excellence. RISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetics, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.

For internal use only - Job Family:

Development - Fundraising