What are the responsibilities and job description for the Vice President of Institutional Advancement position at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
POSITION SUMMARY:
The Vice President for Institutional Advancement (VPIA) serves as the College's lead advancement officer and a member of the President's Cabinet. Reporting directly to the President, the VPIA provides visionary, strategic, and operational leadership for all institutional advancement activities, including fundraising, alumni and constituent engagement, advancement services, foundation relations, donor stewardship, grants development, communications, public relations, and campaign planning and execution.
SUPERVISION RECEIVED: Reports directly to the President.
SUPERVISION EXERCISED: Provides leadership, supervision, professional development, and performance management for all personnel assigned to the Institutional Advancement division, including professional, classified, and student employees.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
Strategic Advancement Leadership
1 Develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive institutional advancement strategy aligned with the College's mission, strategic plan, and institutional priorities.
2. Serve as the College's chief strategist for philanthropy, donor engagement, and resource development, ensuring the integration of fundraising, alumni relations, communications, stewardship, and advancement operations.
3. Advise the President, Cabinet, and Foundation Board on fundraising opportunities, philanthropic trends, constituent engagement strategies, and advancement best practices.
4. Establish annual and multi-year fundraising goals and key performance indicators, utilizing data analytics and benchmarking to evaluate effectiveness and support continuous improvement.
5. Represent the College as a member of the MA State University Advancement Group
Fundraising and Resource Development
1. Lead all aspects of the College's comprehensive fundraising program, including:
- Major and principal gifts
- Annual giving
- Planned giving
- Capital and comprehensive campaigns
- Corporate and foundation relations
- Government and public-sector funding opportunities
- Foundation grants
- Special fundraising initiatives and events
2. Maintain an active portfolio of major and principal gift prospects and personally cultivate, solicit, negotiate, and steward significant philanthropic investments.
3. Work closely with the President, Foundation Board members, alumni leaders, and volunteers to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward transformational gifts and strategic partnerships.
4. Direct campaign planning, readiness assessment, implementation, and evaluation for major fundraising initiatives and capital projects.
Foundation Leadership and Governance
1. Serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the MCLA Foundation, Inc.
2. Report regularly to the Foundation Board of Directors regarding financial performance, fundraising results, strategic initiatives, and organizational effectiveness.
3. Support the work of the Foundation Board, Corporators, and committees by developing agendas, facilitating strategic discussions, and ensuring implementation of board priorities.
4. Ensure Foundation operations, investment activities, and stewardship practices comply with all applicable legal, regulatory, fiduciary, and ethical standards.
5. Manage Foundation owned properties.
Alumni and Constituent Engagement
1. Provide strategic leadership for alumni engagement initiatives that strengthen alumni participation, volunteerism, advocacy, lifelong affinity, and philanthropic support.
2. Develop programs that enhance connections among alumni, students, families, community partners, and friends of the College.
3. Oversee donor stewardship and recognition programs that ensure meaningful engagement, accountability, and long-term donor retention.
Communications and External Relations
1. Provide executive oversight for advancement-related communications, publications, marketing efforts, digital engagement, social media strategies, and donor communications.
2. Collaborate with campus leadership to strengthen the College's public image, reputation, and visibility among internal and external audiences.
3. Serve as an ambassador for the College throughout the region and Commonwealth by cultivating relationships with business leaders, elected officials, philanthropic organizations, and community stakeholders.
4. Supervision of campus Conferencing & Events program.
Advancement Operations and Data Strategy
- Ensure effective advancement services operations, including Prospect research
- Database management
- Gift processing
- Data integrity
- Reporting and analytics
- Campaign tracking
- Stewardship systems
1. Utilize data, technology, and predictive analytics to improve donor engagement, portfolio management, fundraising performance, and resource allocation.
2. Maintain policies, procedures, and systems that support ethical fundraising, donor confidentiality, and exemplary constituent service.
Leadership and Administration
1. Recruit, develop, mentor, and evaluate a high-performing advancement team characterized by collaboration, accountability, innovation, and continuous learning.
2. Develop and administer divisional budgets and resources in accordance with institutional and Foundation policies.
3. Foster a culture of philanthropy and engagement across the campus community by partnering with faculty, staff, administrators, students, and volunteers.
4. Advance the College's mission, vision, values, and strategic priorities through leadership, decision-making, and relationship building.
5. Attend and partner with the other MA State University Advancement Officers.
6. Ensure effective communication within the Institutional Advancement division and throughout the College.
7. Serve as a member of the President's Cabinet, participating in institutional planning, policy development, and strategic decision-making.
8. Ensure that gifts align with the institutional strategic plan.
9. Perform other related duties as assigned by the President.
REQUIREMENTS:
Required
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
- Minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible leadership experience in higher education advancement, development, nonprofit management, or a closely related field, including significant fundraising responsibility.
- Demonstrated success personally cultivating, soliciting, closing, and stewarding major and principal gifts.
- Proven experience leading comprehensive fundraising programs, including annual giving, major gifts, planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, campaign management, donor stewardship, and alumni engagement.
- Experience working effectively with governing boards, foundation boards, volunteers, and executive leadership.
- Strong financial and operational management skills, including budget development, resource allocation, and performance management.
- Demonstrated success using data, metrics, and technology to drive decision-making and improve advancement outcomes.
- Exceptional interpersonal, relationship-building, communication, presentation, and negotiation skills.
- Thorough understanding of fundraising ethics, donor stewardship, charitable giving regulations, and nonprofit governance practices.
- Ability to inspire confidence, build consensus, and work effectively with diverse constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, community leaders, and public officials.
- Experience utilizing advancement CRM systems and fundraising technologies; familiarity with Raiser's Edge or comparable advancement platforms preferred.
Preferred
- Master's degree or other advanced professional degree.
- Experience serving in a senior advancement leadership role within higher education.
- Experience directing comprehensive or capital campaigns with multimillion-dollar fundraising goals.
- Knowledge of public higher education governance, finance, policies, and procedures.
- Demonstrated experience overseeing integrated advancement functions, including communications, marketing, alumni relations, advancement services, and foundation operations.
Leadership Competencies
- The successful candidate will demonstrate:
- Integrity, professionalism, and sound judgment.
- Strategic and visionary leadership.
- Commitment to collaboration and shared governance.
- Entrepreneurial thinking and innovation.
- Political acumen and relationship-building ability.
- Accountability for results and measurable outcomes.
- Commitment to diversity, belonging, and institutional excellence.
- Flexibility, resilience and adaptability in a dynamic environment.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
This is a full-time, permanent, benefited position starting on 1/04/2027. Salary for this position is between $200,000 and $210,000 per year. Applications received by 8/31/2026 will receive preferential treatment.
Until further notice, in response to the Presidential proclamation, issued on September 19, 2025, imposing a significant fee on the entry of individuals with new H-1B visas, this position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. Should you need to request a reasonable accommodation for the application process, please email Brenda Stokes, Executive Director of Human Resources.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is deeply committed to fostering a community of excellence, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We provide equal access to educational, co-curricular and employment opportunities for all applicants, students, and employees regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, marital or parental status, veteran status, or membership in any other legally protected class. Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that they operate, which extends to admission and employment.
Salary : $200,000 - $210,000