Champlain College, named a "Most Innovative School," seeks a dynamic and skilled Leadership Gift Planning Officer (LGPO) capable of securing and stewarding restricted and unrestricted current use and planned gifts to drive transformative change across the institution. The successful candidate will excel at raising donor sights, building a culture of philanthropy, and articulating aspirational goals and ideas to internal and external audiences. This position is open to hybrid work with in-person and remote work each week.

The LGPO is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding a portfolio of current and potential donors with the capacity to make current use and planned gifts of $50,000+. They will create and sustain meaningful relationships with donors and work collaboratively with the Advancement team, key parent and alumni volunteers, school leadership, and faculty to develop and implement proposals and gift opportunities that maximize individual support of the College. In addition to working with donors in an assigned region, the LGPO will have the opportunity to lead events, develop high-level strategies for special constituencies, and/or work on special projects related to institutional priorities.

The LGPO will be the Advancement Team leading expert on Planned Giving vehicles and will assist and mentor fellow gift officers with planned giving prospects and conversations. The LGPO will oversee the membership and growth of Champlain's Legacy society.

This self-directed and goal-oriented individual will have experience exhibiting sensitivity to the needs of high-net-worth individuals. They will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with a diverse community of donors, staff, and faculty in an innovative and professionally-oriented academic environment. The high-energy candidate will have: strong organizational skills and an impeccable work ethic; the ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects simultaneously; personal initiative and achievement against goals; exceptional verbal and written communications skills, engaging interpersonal skills, and a great sense of humor.

Responsibilities:

• Develop relationships with major prospects ($50,000+) to secure financial support for institutional priorities and the Champlain Fund
• Manage existing donors, qualify new donors, and build a portfolio, including stewardship and solicitation. Many of these donors will be specifically identified for their potential in planned giving.
• Gather data to assess prospects and develop and implement long-term and short-term strategies to realize prospects' giving potential, both for current use and planned gifts
• Oversee stewardship of a high-quality donor experience through correspondence, donor engagement, professional proposals, mailings, and acknowledgements
• Build a knowledge base of Champlain College and Champlain College Online that can be used to assist prospective donors in clarifying how they direct their philanthropy
• Assist with recruitment of key volunteers to ensure a strong and diverse volunteer network, including Parents Advisory Council and Alumni Leadership Board
• Participate in the development of institutional narrative, cultivation events, and reports
• Create and develop new initiatives within a growing advancement office
• Work with the Director of Development to write and implement a strategic vision for the Legacy Society.
• Work within the Development Team to identify and support the engagement of planned giving prospects.
• Coordinate with donor's legal and financial representatives to ensure appropriateness of planned gift for the particular donor, while honoring donor intention.
• Participate in continuing education to maintain knowledge of industry trends and best practices in gift planning.

Requirements:

Bachelor's degree required, along with a minimum of five (5) years of increasingly successful experience in fundraising or related work in education, non-profit, or similar setting. Professional experience in planned, current-use and capital gift fundraising, knowledge of deferred giving vehicles, and entrepreneurial spirit is highly desirable. Demonstrated proficiency in Windows operating systems, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.), and preferred experience with donor/client relational databases (Blackbaud).

Additional Information:

The successful completion of a criminal background check is required as a condition of employment.

Champlain College does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, place of birth, ancestry, religion, age, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, veteran or military service status, HIV -positive status, qualified disability, or on the basis of any other status protected by law, and does not discriminate in the administration of its education and admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, employment practices or co-curricular and other College-administered programs. Champlain College will make reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified students, applicants for admission or employment, or employees. Please contact the People Center at 802.651.5800 with questions concerning the hiring process or future employment at Champlain College, or if auxiliary aids or services are needed to apply for employment at Champlain College.

Champlain College is committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse community. Recognizing that diversity is both a reflection of our world and a source of rich education, Champlain strives to be diverse and inclusive in ways that reflect the world in which we live and work. All members of the Champlain community are valued as individuals.

Application Instructions:

Application materials must include a resume/CV and a letter of interest (Cover Letter) specifically addressing the desired qualifications. The College seeks candidates who, through their work and life experiences, service to the community, teaching or research can contribute to the diversity, inclusivity and academic excellence of Champlain College. Please include information about how you would contribute to these efforts and help to further this goal in your letter of interest/cover letter.