University of North Texas · 2 months ago
Executive Director of Development, Principal Gifts
Denton, TX
Full-time
Onsite
Director/Executive
8+ years expThe University of North Texas is a prominent educational institution in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, dedicated to transforming lives through education and opportunity. They are seeking an Executive Director of Development, Principal Gifts who will cultivate long-term relationships with high-net-worth donors to secure transformative gifts for the university's strategic priorities.
Higher Education
Responsibilities
Working with approximately 30-50 high potential individual prospects through the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship cycles. Forge long-term relationships with these individuals to cultivate their interest in UNT that will lead to seven and eight-figure solicitations
Actively maintain a portfolio of principal gift level prospects, particularly where there are multiple complex university relationships and the opportunity exists to have university-wide impact that requires thoughtful, experienced, prospect management
Promotes planned giving and has an understanding and expertise in estate vehicles and the role they can play in supporting visionary gifts
Collaborate with key university development officers on opportunities for their involvement with specific fundraising and engagement events and initiatives with top prospects
Provide staff assistance to President, Deans and other university leadership in direct solicitations and interactions with top donor prospects
Establish measurable goals and track progress of securing philanthropic support
Provide regular updates to University leadership on principal gift-related activities, outcomes, and strategic opportunities
Strong ability to maintain confidentiality and set pace around donor moves
Model a collaborative style of leadership to facilitate and guide creative principal gift level donor relationship strategies in concert with colleagues
Develop and execute a thoughtful plan to ensure that UNT can rely on an increasing and sustainable flow of philanthropic support from the highest level of donors/prospects
Support the work of the President’s office, Vice President for University Advancement, and is in alignment with the University’s goals in educational innovation, student success, and workforce development
Foster diversity at all levels of the organization, including the professional staff, the volunteer corps and the constituencies served
Facilitate internal coordination to align initiatives and projects with foundation funding priorities
Oversee the development of compelling proposals, ensuring alignment with University interests and priorities
Monitor compliance and reporting requirements, maintaining positive relationships with funding partners
Represent the University in events, meetings, and convenings, articulating the institution’s vision and impact effectively
Serve as a trusted advisor and partner to University leadership, providing insights and strategies for engaging with prospective donors
Qualification
Required
Bachelor's degree in related field and eight years of increasingly responsible leadership and/or management experience or any equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
Understand key global and local issues effecting higher education
Strong marketing, public relations, and fundraising experience with the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders and cultures
Experience in effectively planning, analyzing, and coordinating activities
Ability to work effectively in a team and with many diverse constituencies
Experience in developing, implementing and monitoring strategic plans
Demonstrated success in executing fundraising activities, identifying prospects, developing strong relationships, cultivating support and stewarding gifts
Strong verbal and written communication skills
Ability to maintain confidentiality of donor information
Preferred
A Bachelor's degree in any rigorous academic field and a minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible experience as a proven fundraising leader in a complex, decentralized, comprehensive university environment is preferred
Experience with high-net-worth individuals, planned giving or wealth management highly valued
Experience managing a major/principal gift portfolio utilizing metrics, systems, and relationship building skills to maximize strategic cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of $1 million plus donors and transformational gifts
Keen understanding of the collaboration that must exist when working with a multitude of colleges, departments, and programs with varying priorities is essential
Experience working to sustain strong working relationships with staff, donors, faculty, volunteers and academic leadership is imperative
A strong ability to develop sincere, productive relationships and to build trust both with internal colleagues and external constituencies is a must
Clear and effective written and oral communication and presentation skills, including individual and large groups
Keen sense of requirements necessary to foster a team-centric culture and environment
Proven success at developing and implementing creative solicitation strategies for transformational philanthropic gifts in a team-oriented and collaborative environment
Superior interpersonal and listening skills and exceptional negotiation skills and proven ability to make independent decisions
Company
University of North Texas
Ranked a Tier One research university by the Carnegie Classification, UNT is the flagship of the UNT System and is located in Denton, Texas.
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
University of North Texas has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (73)
2024 (64)
2023 (54)
2022 (46)
2021 (26)
2020 (26)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Clayton Gibson, CPA
Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO
Clay Simmons
Vice President and Chief Integrity Officer
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