Director of Advancement

Description

The Episcopal School of Dallas prepares young men and women for lives of intellectual discovery, integrity, and purpose. Built upon our Founding Tenets of religio, daily worship; eruditio, scholarship; and disciplina, training within a community of learners, ESD continues to direct its mission to ignite a life of purpose in each student through the development of an educated conscience.

Founded in 1974 by The Reverend Stephen B. Swann with eight seventh-grade students, today ESD educates and inspires 1,150 students in grades beginner (age 3) through grade 12. ESD is located in Dallas, a modern metropolis of North Texas, and a commercial and cultural hub in the region.

At the heart of ESD are talented and compassionate faculty and staff who are the backbone of our institution and paramount to the school's success. They adeptly balance rigorous, college preparatory coursework with understanding and nurturing of the whole child. Classes are small, with an overall student-teacher ratio of 7:1. ESD employees are lifelong learners, and the school invests nearly $500,000 in professional development annually. More than 250 serve the ESD community and all are appreciated and respected for their individual and collective contributions.

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This position is scheduled for a start date of January 1, 2025.

Purpose:

The new Director of Advancement will play a key role in positioning the school for a successful campaign and beyond. During the Our Time to Soar campaign, the school will engage in the process of campus master-planning with the intent of moving into a capital-focused campaign soon after. All told, the school aims to raise a combined $70-$100-million over the next ten-years, making this an exceptional professional opportunity.

Essential Functions:

• In collaboration with the Chief Advancement Officer, develop strategic plans to support the department's operating annual goals and ESD's Our Time to Soar campaign
• Manage the Our Time to Soar campaign
  • Including staffing campaign leadership and the cabinet, planning and executing cabinet meetings, and following through on meeting actions
  • Working with Advancement Data Services, maintain current and accurate campaign progress, as well as on-going review of prospects and prospect research
  • Orchestrate and leverage, along with the Chief Advancement Officer and frontline fundraisers, the influence of cabinet members as resources to identify, cultivate, and solicit leadership gifts
  • Relying on the ESD Communications Office, manage campaign materials - brochures, lists of naming opportunities, impact stories, etc.
  • Plan and oversee execution of campaign donor cultivation and stewardship events
  • Oversee drafting major gift proposals while collaborating with appropriate gift officers
  • Oversee documentation of all major gifts and endowment agreements
  • Oversee the flow of communications of gift announcements, announcing the public phase of the campaign, and all relevant correspondence
• Cultivate and solicit a portfolio of appropriately-assigned donors (timing and quantity of to be determined)
• Prepare Advancement Board reports
• Manage the Advancement budget
• Manage the advancement team operations to include Annual Fund, Major Gifts, Stewardship, Data Services, Alumni Relations, and Events to meet annual goals and enhance best practices
• Occasional travel
• Occasional evening and weekend work
• Maintain working knowledge of campus news

Abuse Risk Management Standards:

• Adheres to policies related to boundaries with students.
• Attends required abuse risk management training.
• Reports suspicious and inappropriate behaviors.
• Follows mandated abuse reporting requirements.
• Adheres to job specific abuse risk management responsibilities.

Working Environment:

• Occasional lifting, carrying, pushing, and/or pulling.
• Generally, 40% sitting, 40% walking and 20% standing.
• Minimal temperature variations.
• Generally, hazard-free environment.

Dallas is the 22nd most wealthy city in the world and sixth in the United States (based on household millionaires), home to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, the NHL's Dallas Stars, MLB's Texas Rangers, the Meyerson Symphony Center in the midst of the 70-Acre Downtown Arts District - the largest arts district in the United States, and future home to the planned Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE)... all of which adds up to the dynamics of a vibrant city in which to live and to work.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree, Master's degree preferred
• 7+ years of experience in the nonprofit sector and in fundraising
• Management experience and demonstrated success soliciting and closing major and leadership gifts in a college, university, or an independent school setting, with a preference for independent school experience
• Comprehensive campaign experience preferred
• Excellent planning, writing, and verbal communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with all the school's constituents while maintaining strict confidentiality
• Strategic and ambitious thinker with an outstanding positive attitude
• Passionate about working in a school with a clearly defined, faith-informed mission of igniting lives of purpose
• Outstanding knowledge of fundraising data software and database management software
• Experience with and motivating volunteers and staff members
• Familiarity with Dallas and the local community