Vice President of Advancement

Organization Overview:

Americans for Ben-Gurion University (A4BGU) is a nonprofit organization that plays a vital role in connecting donors and other constituencies to the important work of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), located in the south of Israel. This is accomplished through awareness building, raising philanthropic support, and administering compelling programs throughout the United States (U.S.). A4BGU raises approximately $50M a year in support of the University and has endowment assets of over $750M. On average, the organization has forty full-time employees, half of which are fully remote and deployed across the country and half of which work in a hybrid capacity at the headquarter offices located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.

BGU is a public university that serves as an anchor institution and catalyst for growth in the Negev. Renowned for its cutting-edge research and unique academic programs, the University boasts a diverse student body of 20,000 students across three campuses in Beer Sheva, Sde Boker, and Eilat. On October 7th, given its proximity to Gaza, BGU was directly and disproportionately impacted by the Hamas terror attacks. Now, more than ever, the University has solidified itself as one of the most important institutions to Israel’s future and will be fundamental to the country’s recovery and rebuilding efforts through the south. 

BGU’s Way Forward Global Campaign:

Prior to October 7th, BGU was in the quiet phase of a comprehensive global campaign to raise $1B over a 10-year period. In the wake of October 7th, Way Forward is even more critical, not only for the University and for the Negev, but now for Israel as a whole. The global campaign includes support from all over the world with the U.S. committing to raise $600M by the year 2030. This will be achieved through comprehensive, or blended philanthropy, that includes not only unrestricted and planned legacy gifts, but large multi-year commitments in support of capital projects and other University priorities. The Way Forward Campaign is an audacious undertaking, the largest in BGU’s history, but represents an incredible opportunity for the person in this role to execute leadership on a global scale.

Position Summary:

The Vice President of Advancement (VP) will lead the Way Forward campaign in the U.S. by providing leadership and managerial oversight in all areas of financial resource development and donor engagement. This position will oversee a diverse team currently comprised of fourteen development professionals, eleven of which are direct reports. This position will also be responsible for cultivating, soliciting and stewarding a portfolio of high-net-worth individual donors and foundations. The VP will report to the Chief Executive Officer and will work closely with volunteer and professional leadership to develop, implement, and track multi-year development strategies and fundraising goals. It is estimated that 60 percent of the position will be dedicated to the leadership of the development function and related activities, while 20 percent will focus on a distinct donor portfolio, and the remaining 20 percent will focus on lay partnership and organizational leadership as a member of the senior management team.

Candidate Profile:

Strong candidates will have a deep passion for philanthropy and a desire to be part of a highly mission-driven organizational culture in support of Israel. Along with adept knowledge of various fundraising campaigns, giving vehicles, and development operations, the VP must also bring a proven track record of development success as well as an ability to cultivate stakeholders and community partners across multiple geographic markets. This individual should demonstrate exceptional team building skills with an ability to translate knowledge and experience to train, manage, motivate and inspire fundraising professionals at all levels of experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage the overall development function and related development professionals (currently comprised of 11 direct reports, 14 total team members), leveraging a prospect pipeline and a moves management approach, to cultivate and engage donors across the U.S.
• Establish fundraiser performance metrics, monitor results, and regularly evaluate the efficacy of fundraiser achievement.
• Demonstrate ownership for the development team’s collective and individual professional growth by regularly guiding and motivating them to perform at increasingly high levels.
• Lead the development team in creating an annual fundraising plan that focuses on donor prospect cultivation, stewardship of existing donors to both increased annual support and long-term commitments, and growing donor numbers at all levels of the campaign.
• Manage a volunteer-driven Development Committee designed to maximize lay/professional partnership in fundraising strategies and goals.
• Serve as the primary professional liaison for the U.S. on BGU’s Global Way Forward Development Campaign Committee and regularly interface with BGU colleagues on various resource development activities.
• Actively manage a portfolio of current and prospective major donors at BGU’s Founder’s Level ($50,000) and above.
• Understand and promote the engagement of donor families, with a focus on the next generation and multi-generational philanthropy.
• Provide strategic leadership on market development efforts to build lay-led chapters of support in defined markets.
• Help identify and implement strategies to maximize the engagement of Zin Fellows, alums of A4BGU’s premier leadership program, in local and national leadership opportunities.
• Promote cross-functional collaboration, specifically as it relates to virtual and in-person events, to further engage constituents at the market-level.
• Incorporate organization-wide tools (affinities, chapters, events, social media) to further connect donor families.
• Emphasize the importance and utilization of Salesforce as A4BGU’s customer relationship management (CRM) system and central infrastructure for all relevant donor engagement-related processes.
• Other relevant duties as assigned.

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field; master’s degree highly preferred.
• Minimum of ten years of superior organizational management skills, with proven ability to coach, inspire, and hold team members accountable to performance metrics.
• Minimum of Seven years of fundraising experience with a proven track record of securing 5-8 figure gifts from a diverse portfolio of donors.
• Minimum of five years of experience in project management, community outreach, coalition building, or comparable functions.
• Knowledge of various philanthropic and planned giving instruments, particularly in academic institutions is strongly preferred.
• A passion for Israel and/or a deep interest in better understanding the geopolitical realities of the country is preferred.
• General knowledge of scientific research in a university setting is desired.

Desired skillset:

• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship building skills; ability to develop strategic partnerships both internally and externally.
• Demonstrated expertise developing and executing high level fundraising strategies as well as incorporating them in day-to-day operations.
• Excellent written, verbal, and public speaking communication skills, including ability to craft compelling and audience-specific messaging.
• Presence and aptitude to interact effectively with sophisticated volunteer leadership and other important constituencies. A palpable level of comfort in working with individuals of high net worth.
• Proven competency in business planning, change management, people management and project management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects with tight deadlines.
• Basic knowledge of social media platforms as well as relevant trends and tools; knowledge of donor management software preferred.
• Willingness to travel.

Salary Range: Salary range is $230,000 – $300,000 annually and is commensurate with experience; competitive benefit package available

To Apply: Please submit a resume and cover letter to Jamie Perry at Evolve Giving Group, [email protected] — Please include “A4BGU VP of Advancement” in the subject line.