Director, Community Resource Development

General Statement of Duties:

The Director is a Webster ambassador who enthusiastically cultivates positive relationships and serves as the University’s key contact with committed stakeholders, supporters and investors.  As such, it will be important for the Director to build a deep understanding of Webster’s rich history, facts about the University and its programs, initiatives, people and competitive position in the market to empower expertise when interfacing with internal and external stakeholders. The Director reports to the Associate Vice President for Community Resource Development, ensuring that all resource development strategies and activities align with the University’s broader advancement goals. The Director engages with University Agents (deans, directors, faculty, and staff) to learn about programs, initiatives, and student needs, ensuring that donor materials and engagement strategies are informed by those closest to the work.

Leadership in Donor Engagement

• Lead the development of compelling case statements, proposals, and selling materials for potential investment opportunities, including scholarships, academic programs, endowments, schools, colleges, and faculty positions (chairs and professorships), ensuring materials are aligned with Webster’s mission and donor interests. Analyze and profile prospective donors to assess giving capacity, philanthropic interests, and affinity for the University, and translate this analysis into tailored engagement and solicitation strategies.
• Collaborate with deans, faculty, and program leaders to articulate the value and impact of specific initiatives in ways that resonate with donors’ passions and motivations.

Prospect Research & Donor Strategy

• Conduct research and data analysis on prospective supporters of the Webster Community and maintain relationship management data, including documenting communications with alumni, parents, families of students, community leaders and organizations. Examples of research on prospective supporters might include their respective career and work histories, lifestyle interests, respective giving capacity, and potential and real affinity for Webster in general and in its people and programs more specifically (20%).

Collaboration & Institutional Alignment

• Work independently and in partnership with individuals from Webster’s internal community who might be considered “agents” for resource building, such as deans, directors, faculty, staff and administration, from the various schools and campuses, to learn as much as possible about the inventory of programs and initiatives that would be of personal interest to selected supporters as identified through effective research and data analysis. Maintain a database that captures the details of those programs and initiatives (20%).
• Actively facilitate the cultivation of support resources from intrinsically committed stakeholders of Webster University, by working independently and in partnership with Webster’s Global Marketing Group and Webster’s agents to craft compelling communications and selling materials designed to generate financial support from stakeholders and stakeholder groups (e.g., alumni). For specific programs and initiatives, content generated for selling materials might include, but not be limited to, case statements for programs and investment opportunities, envisioned benefits and benchmarked values (20%).

Supervision & Mentorship

• Steward positive relationships with all supporters through regular communications, including but not limited to phone calls, letters, emails, events and gatherings (15%).
• Manage the logistics and scheduling of various communications with stakeholders and supporters (10%).

Governance & Reporting

• Engage in professional development that empowers knowledge of benchmarked best practices in fundraising and creates new ideas to foster awareness of, and affinity for, the Webster Community and their programs (10%).
• Other duties as needed to promote unity within and across the Webster Community (5%).

Secondary Duties and Responsibilities*

Other duties as needed to promote unity within and across the Webster Community.

Days M-F 8:30a-4:30p with some occasional weekend coverage. This position is approved for a 1-day hybrid, work arrangement as offered in Webster University’s Flexible Work Arrangements policy. Use by individual employees is at the discretion of the supervisor and unit leadership based on department and University needs”.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in resource development, with documented success in generating transformational gifts
• Credentialed in fundraising-related skills from reputable entity
• Experience with financial analysis, budgeting, and aligning donor capacity with institutional priorities
• Expertise in business analytics, with ability to interpret donor data to inform strategy
• Effective project management and organizational skills
• Commitment to team building and collaboration across academic and administrative units
• Enthusiasm for, and experience in, fundraising, sales, and donor engagement
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and long-term relationships with diverse stakeholders
• Capacity to exercise intangibles such as emotional intelligence, adaptability, and innovative thinking
• Exceptional storytelling and persuasive communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling cases for support
• A foundational commitment to ethical behavior and integrity in all fundraising practices
• Capacity to exercise intangibles such as emotional intelligence, adaptability and innovative thinking
• Demonstrated Interpersonal and business communications skills
• Enthusiasm for, and experience in, sales and marketing
• Commitment to team building
• Effective project management skills
• Expertise in business analytics
• Experience with financial analysis and budgeting